Report: DaRon Holmes II canceled several workouts due to possible first-round promise

Report: DaRon Holmes II canceled several workouts due to possible first-round promise

Last week, former Dayton big DaRon Holmes II officially declared for the 2024 NBA Draft after three seasons with the Flyers.

Holmes is classified as one of the better big men in the glass, being a consensus All-American and helping Dayton advance to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24. Though Holmes, who’s No. 28 on NBA Draft Network’s consensus big board, has reportedly canceled multiple workouts ahead of the draft, which led to speculation that he could be a first-round pick, according to ESPN draft analyst and insider Jeremy Woo.

Sources told ESPN Holmes recently canceled several workouts, raising strong suspicions that he has secured a guarantee in the back part of the first round,” Woo wrote last week. “Coming off a productive career at Dayton in which he made strides as a shooter (38% from 3 last season), Holmes appears to have helped himself in the pre-draft process, moving himself into the first-round picture.”

Holmes averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks on 54.4 percent shooting, 38.6 percent from 3-point range (2.5 3PA; 20.8 3PAr) and 71.3 percent from the free-throw line. He won the Atlantic-10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards, finishing his Flyer career with three A-10 All-Defensive and three All-Conference honorees.

In the mock draft, Woo and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony had Holmes pegged to the Denver Nuggets, who own the No. 28 selection. They had him behind Australia’s Bobi Klintman (Wizards) and Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman (Timberwolves) and ahead of Kentucky’s Justin Edwards (Jazz) and Kansas’ Kevin McCullar (Celtics).

When you’re not a sure-fire top-5–or even top-3/2 pick–it’s always risky to skip workouts due to a promise. How do you guarantee that said team will still want you at the back end of the first round, depending on how the board falls? What if that team gets an enticing offer to trade back? Even if you may or may not have received a “promise,” why limit your possibilities to be selected by other teams, even if you’re not viewed as a top-flight selection?

It’s unclear which teams Holmes has worked out for already, which could be disclosed by the time the draft rolls around on June 26. Do you think this is a smart decision? Let us know in the comments!

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