He might not have got invited to the NBA Combine, but Kentucky sophomore Wenyen Gabriel has now worked out for five NBA teams — Sacramento, Oklahoma City, Utah, Milwaukee and Brooklyn — as teams look for insights into the June NBA Draft.
He’s not listed in any mock drafts and ESPN did not have him among its top 100 prospects in this year’s draft.
Gabriel still has not hired an agent and has until May 30 to take his name out of the draft and return to Kentucky if that is what he decides to do.
Gabriel seems to be enjoying the draft workouts.
“It’s been great, you get to compete against a bunch of different talent, you get to evaluate, see where you’re at and see the things you need to work on, just get a lot of feedback,” Gabriel told media members after his workout in Sacramento. “The workouts is great too, but then you get to go and talk to the coaches and interviews and get one-on-one conversations and get to know more about the program and they get to know more about you and just get more informed in your decision.”
Many seem to think he’ll take his name out of the draft. Yet without being invited to the combine and not listed in any mock drafts, it seems as if he was returning to UK he would already have made that decision. Maybe he just wants to get more feedback in NBA workouts to prepare him for next year. Or maybe he already knows he’s going to take any route he can to start a professional career either in the G-League or overseas if he can’t make a NBA roster.
No one knows for sure, but this week we will know if he’s staying at UK or going to start a professional career.
