INDIANAPOLIS – Workouts leading up to the NBA draft are usually nerve-racking. Pre-draft workouts essentially work as a job interview, with players showing potential employers what they’re made of and how they’d fit within a given organization.
Imagine going through a workout and Larry Bird shows up. That’s what happened Wednesday.
Bird — who returned to the organization as a consultant last June — decided to observe Wednesday’s workout. The Pacers hold picks 36, 49 and 50 in the draft on June 26-27. (All three Pacers picks are slated to be made on June 27.)
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The team worked out Yongxi Cui (China), Thijs De Ridder (Spain/Belgium), Jack Gohlke (Oakland), Emanuel Miller (TCU), Ajay Mitchell (UC-Santa Barbara) and Tyson Walker (Michigan State) for its third set of workouts. For the six draft hopefuls, seeing Bird in attendance added pressure to an already intense situation.
“It’s exciting,” Gohlke said. “Obviously (he’s) an NBA legend, and a guy who has been with the Pacers organization for forever and a legend with the Celtics, too. So I think it’s just really cool. … I would say it’s almost easier to play in front of a sold-out arena than to have these guys sitting courtside, but it’s still a really cool experience.”
