Larry Bird Has His Eye On Three NBA Draft Prospects, Workouts Resume Today

Indiana Pacers president, Larry Bird joined JMV's show with Chris Denari hosting yesterday (podcast link) to discuss the offseason while trying not to say anything substantive. Bird maintained the company line on Frank Vogel, indicating he wasn't in a hurry and is more interested in the assistant coaches Vogel can add.

As for the draft, Bird did say he's sharpening his focus.

"I got it narrowed down from my end of it, to what I see, to three guys and I know either one or two of them are going to be there so I'm pretty excited about it. I know we're going to get a player that can come in and help us right away. "

A few weeks ago, Bird mentioned he was down to four potential picks, so either one player fell out of favor or rose up the draft board to the point Bird has given up on him.

The Pacers resume pre-draft workouts today looking at second-round possibilities. The group includes Austin Freeman (Georgetown), Rick Jackson (Syracuse), Frank Hassell (Old Dominion), Willie Reed (Saint Louis), Mychel Thompson (Pepperdine) and Billy White (San Diego State).

After the jump, a few links of interest including more thoughts on Vogel from Mike Wells and a Crate episode with scouting director, Ryan Carr.

• Big East standouts hope to enhance draft status - Caught in the Web
• Ryan Carr joins Pacers Crate crew
• A decision on Vogel could be coming soon | Pacers Insider blog | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker work out for Jazz - fox59.com
  Jimmer continues to light up the work out circuit.
• DraftExpress: The Forgotten One: Ben Hansbrough
• Mavericks hope to keep Chandler, Barea to defend title - USATODAY.com