Yotam Halperin in Washington workout
Courtesy of The Washington Wizards
Phoenix Suns VP: Halperin impressed me
Israeli point guard continues road to NBA, leaving positive impression in Phoenix. In exclusive Ynet interview, David Griffin says 'he showed polish you expect player of his league to display'
Less than one week before the NBA Draft, which will be held on Wednesday in New York, Yotam Halperin continues to excel in his personal workouts in hope that the positive impressions he is leaving will promote him up the June 28 Draft, maybe even to the first round, which will guarantee a contract in one of the teams.
After completing a first successful workout with the Washington Wizards last week, the Israeli point guard left for Phoenix, where he held a workout in front of David Griffin, the Phoenix Suns' vice president for basketball operations.
Hoop Dreams
Amir Bogen
Point guard Yotam Halperin joins Washington Wizards workout, set to take part in Suns, Pacers workouts ahead of June 28 Draft. 'Not many Israelis get to play in this league, I'm going to do the best I can,' he says
Griffin, the man who calls the shots in terms of designing the team's group of players after President Bryan Colangelo left for Toronto, was very impressed with the abilities displayed by Halperin.
Halperin. Continues to impress Americans (Photo: Union Olimpija ,Aleš Fevžer)
"Yotam worked out here Saturday and was very good," Griffin said in an exclusive Ynet interview. "He shot the ball well, made good decisions in two on two, and in general terms showed the polish that you expect a player of his pedigree to display. His basketball IQ is, as you know, very high and we were pleasantly surprised with his quickness."
'What a great guy'
Halperin then continued from Arizona to Miami Heat, where he was hosted by new NBA champion Raanan Katz, who also partly owns Maccabi Tel Aviv. From there, Halperin left for the Indiana Pacers and will continue to the Seattle Supersonics and Dallas Mavericks.
Griffin's counterparts in these teams are not expected to discuss their impressions, as this is usually against the team's policy. For this reason, Halperin can perhaps remove the Suns from his agenda.
Steve Nash's team, which does not have a second round pick, will probably not bet on the player, in spite of Griffin's additional compliments: "Overall, I would say he impressed. And, what a great guy."
