Kentucky's Booker using NBA Draft workouts to prove he's more than a shooter

Some NBA team is going to pay millions for Devin Booker's jump shot. That team wants to make sure the former University of Kentucky standout's shooting form and range aren't the only reasons to draft him.

Booker, at 18 the youngest player in this draft, ran the agility drill at the NBA Combine last month when many other lottery-pick candidates passed on physical testing. Booker was looking to change the perception he's a deficient athlete.

He made his point, running a strong 10.22-second time in the lane agility drill. But that doesn't stop teams from asking him to repeat that performance in individual workouts.

"Definitely I have," Booker replied when asked if he's quelled concerns about his athleticism.

"When I get to other teams they still want to check my agility drills, take the score again. So I end up having to do it again. But then they see it. That's why I come to these workouts, and it's always a good time."

Booker, arguably the best shooter in the 2015 draft, auditioned for the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday with five other players, most notably Wisconsin small forward Sam Dekker.

Booker didn't plan to be a one-and-done college player. But he shot so well at Kentucky — 41 percent from the college three-point line, 47 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line — that he turned pro along with six other Wildcats underclassmen.

Booker interviewed with the Hornets during the Combine, and he seems an obvious candidate for Charlotte's No. 9 overall pick. The Hornets were the NBA's worst three-point shooting team last season (31.8 percent). They were 29th among 30 teams in field-goal percentage (44 percent) and 28th in scoring (94.2 points per game).

The Hornets thought they addressed their shooting last summer, adding Lance Stephenson, Marvin Williams and Brian Roberts in free-agency and trading for rookie P.J. Hairston on draft night. But the three-point shooting declined. With limited room under the salary cap to sign free agents this summer, drafting a shooter seems like a priority.

Booker has good height for a shooting guard at 6-foot-6, but at 206 pounds he needs to get stronger. At 18 (he'll turn 19 in October) he is far from a finished product.

Booker says the perception he's exclusively a catch-and-shoot player is partially a function of the wealth of talent he played with at Kentucky. Fellow Wildcats Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein look like locks to be top-10 picks.

"I feel like I can show more," Booker said. "At Kentucky I didn't have to — I had a talented team around me, and we all helped out each other. We all found our niches on that team.

"In the NBA you're going to have to do a lot more things. That's why I've been training very hard this summer. I always know I have to work on some things, and so I do"

Booker is friends with Hornets small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who also played for Kentucky. Kidd-Gilchrist and Booker would have contrasting skill sets should the Hornets draft Booker — Kidd-Gilchrist is a top athlete-defender, still developing shooting range. Booker and Hairston would figure to be the Hornets' top three-point threats next season.

Wednesday was Booker's fifth pre-draft workout, and the pattern of teams he's auditioned for confirm he's likely in the Hornets' zone of this draft. He's also worked out for the Denver Nuggets (picking seventh), Miami Heat (10th), Phoenix Suns (13th) and Oklahoma City Thunder (14th).

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 7:57 PM.