On Saturday morning the Sixers hosted a workout with Arron Afflalo (UCLA), Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech), Dominic McGuire (Fresno St.) and Nick Young (USC).

Nick McGuire of Fresno State

“Today’s workout was the most intense we’ve had of all the workouts,” 76ers President Billy King said after the workout. “These guys went after each other. It was probably the longest workout and all of them have the chance to be playing in this league.”

Sixers.com was there to survey the scene and listen in on the players being interviewed by local media:

WILLIE GREEN UPDATE

Sixers Guard Willie Green

Before addressing the media about today’s workout, King announced the 76ers guard Willie Green underwent a right knee scope on Friday, June 15. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews at the Andrews Institute at Gulf Breeze Hospital in Pensacola, Fla.

“It was not the knee he’s had problems with [left knee],” King explained. “It was more or less to have a look. The MRI didn’t show much so they went in and did a little trimming. It was a 20-minute surgery and [Willie] will have a speedy recovery. He’ll be back playing basketball in two or three weeks. Willie wanted to make sure he got it looked at now so it’s not bothering him during the season.”

On Aug. 16, 2005, Green underwent left knee surgery in Birmingham, Ala., a procedure that was performed by Dr. Andrews. The 6-foot-3 guard, missed the majority of the 2005-06 regular season rehabilitating from the surgery before signing with the Sixers on March 23, 2006. During the 2006 off-season, the 76ers re-signed Green as a free agent on July 12, 2006.

TARGETING THEIR PICK
On Sunday, the 76ers scouts will begin arriving in Philadelphia to continue the final phase of preparation for the draft. Once the scouts arrive, King and the 76ers basketball operations staff will begin to collectively review all their reports.

“We have one or two guys that we would take for the 12th pick and one or two for the 21st pick and about ten for the third pick,” King said. “The one thing that is different about this year’s is that the player that is taken 12th could be just as good as the player that’s taken fourth. You don’t want to give up too much to move up in that case.”

A GOOD TEAMMATE TO HAVE

Javaris Crittenton of Georgia Tech

Javaris Crittenton, a 6-foot-5 point guard, just finished his freshman season at Georgia Tech, continuing the tradition of heralded Yellow Jacket point guards joining Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, Travis Best and Stephon Marbury.

Crittenton was highly recruited after attending Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy HS, where he teamed up with the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard to capture the Class A Championship in 2004 and led his high school to another state championship in 2006. Howard has proved to be a good reference for Crittenton as he goes through NBA workouts.

“[Dwight’s] been giving me a lot of information, telling me to be patient and listen to what the NBA has to say,” Crittenton said. “He’s letting me know that the NBA is more than just basketball. Playing with him was a great experience, having him open plays for me and throw alley-oops.”

As an early-entry candidate, the Georgia Tech product has until June 18 to withdraw from the NBA Draft, but when asked about his status, Crittenton was quick to answer, “Based on information I’ve gotten from the league, my college coach, my family, I’ve made the decision to stay in (the draft). Mock drafts don’t mean anything. Anyone can get on there and make a mock draft so they don’t really mean anything.”

A VISIT TO DELMONICO’S STEAK HOUSE

Nick Young of USC

Arron Affalo of UCLA

USC product Nick Young had the chance to catch up with Sixers assistant coach Henry Bibby on Friday night at Delmonico’s Steak House on City Ave, along with UCLA product and Pac-10 rival Arron Afflalo. Bibby recruited Young to USC where he coached him for the first part of the 2004-05 season, while Young and Afflalo became familiar with each other while playing for rival schools.

It was a good opportunity for Young to catch up with some friends since he has been bouncing from city-to-city for workouts.

“I think it went pretty well,” Young said of the workout. “We were all working hard. I put in my years at USC and my hard work, long hours, and now I feel I’m ready for the NBA. I’ve had seven workouts and I have three more scheduled. It’s been a long trip. Everyday is in a different city and you don’t know what day it is. Today was a hard workout, but you have to step up to the plate. I feel like I would fit in great here. It’s a young team and my first college coach [Bibby] is here.”

UPCOMINGWORKOUTS
The Sixers will return to workouts on Monday, June 18, when Morris Almond (Rice), Wilson Chandler (DePaul), Al Thornton (Florida State) and Marcus Williams (Arizona) will be at the Sixers Practice Facility.

Following Monday’s workout, the next scheduled workout in Philadelphia will be on Friday, June 22, with Aaron Brooks (Oregon), Coby Karl (Boise State), Acie Law (Texas A&M) and Sun Yue (China).