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Boise State forward Chandler Hutchison appears to have a promise from a team selecting between picks No. 20-30 and has pulled out suddenly from the NBA Draft Combine, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. The situation is worth noting as the Portland Trail Blazers have the No. 24 overall pick in the draft and Hutchison has been a popular target by draft experts in mock drafts for Portland — not to mention a swell of fans that seem to be behind drafting the forward as well.
Chandler Hutchison has withdrawn from the NBA Combine and canceled all workouts after receiving assurances he's found a "safe landing spot." It appears that he has secured a promise from a team drafting in the 20-30 range. Hutchison is currently slated #24 on the ESPN mock draft
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 16, 2018
The combine started Wednesday and Hutchison was one of about 70 participants, but with an assurance ahead of the NBA Draft, there’s little incentive to work out and risk injury or potentially slide down draft boards with a so-so combine performance.
Hutchison has a connection to Blazers star Damian Lillard, who has worked out and talked with the prospect directly, as Sports Illustrated reported back in December. The two share the same trainer in Phil Beckner, and he’s acted as an intermediary between the two with Lillard watching Hutchison grow into a first-round draft prospect:
Yet his remodeling is undeniable, and he’s won over Lillard, the notorious gym rat, the All-Star who chides college kids not even dressing for his alma mater to grind harder than him. “I think he’s even become a bigger Chandler fan, because he’s like, ‘Damn, Phil, he’s pretty good.’ Or, ‘He’s gotten better,’” Beckner said.
The NBA Draft is June 21.