Duke Basketball: One NBA Team Has Eyes on Two Blue Devils

Kyle Filipowski becomes the second Duke basketball product to complete a workout with the Trail Blazers this month.

Duke basketball forward Kyle Filipowski / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

After a successful two-year Duke basketball career that saw him win ACC Rookie of the Year and later become an All-American, Kyle Filipowski now has his full focus on becoming a professional basketball player.

The former Blue Devil declared for the NBA Draft back in April, with many scouts projecting the 7-foot forward to hear his name in the middle of the first round.

However, it appears that the 20-year-old Filipowski may be slowly sneaking up draft boards. One sign of that is the Duke basketball talent recently completed a workout with a team that boasts a late lottery pick.

On Thursday afternoon, NBA writer Sean Highkin reported that the Portland Trail Blazers were conducting a pre-draft workout with six prospects, including Filipowski. HoopsHype's pre-draft workout tracker confirms the report.

Today's Blazers predraft workout session participants:

Tristan da Silva (Colorado)
Nikola Djurisic (KK Mega Basket Belgrade)
Kyle Filipowski (Duke)
David Jones (Memphis)
Pelle Larsson (Arizona)
Jahmir Young (Maryland)

— Sean Highkin (@highkin) June 13, 2024

Filipowski was one of three forwards at Thursday’s workout session, along with Colorado’s Tristan da Silva and Arizona’s Pelle Larsson. They were joined by Maryland’s Jahmir Young, Memphis’ David Jones, and international prospect Nikola Djurisic.

Last week, Filipowski's former Blue Devil teammate and fellow draft prospect Jared McCain was in Portland for a pre-draft workout of his own.

Portland currently owns the No. 7 and No. 14 overall selections in this year’s draft. The latter is the last pick of the lottery.

Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Filipowski has long been projected as a first-round pick with the ability to sneak up into the late lottery.

Thursday’s workout is just the second reported team-specific workout that the former Blue Devil has completed outside of the NBA Draft Combine. Last week, he worked out for the Orlando Magic, who hold the No. 18 overall selection.

Kyle Filipowski, as well as fellow mid-first-rounder Jared McCain, could both be available when the Portland Trail Blazers are on the clock a second time at the NBA Draft in Brooklyn's Barclays Center, June 26-27.

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