Lawson makes for an intriguing workout finale

The Blazers released the lineup for Tuesday's final draft workout, and one name jumped out as an intriguing prospect: North Carolina's Ty Lawson.

The 6-foot point guard has been kicked up and down the first round over the last month, with some people bumping him down because of his size, and then bumping him back up toward the high teens as he progressed through workouts. But while Lawson has gone largely overlooked behind likely lottery picks like Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and Jrue Holiday, Lawson sure seems like he would be an intriguing pick for a team like the Blazers who are picking in the mid-20s for several reasons

-- He may be small, but several scouts with which I've spoken have compared him to Orlando's Jameer Nelson because of the combination of size and speed he brings to the court, which just might be enough to overcome his lack of height. He'll have to prove some things in the NBA, though. In college, players often stayed a step or two off him to avoid getting beat by his blazing speed, which left him open for jumpers. So you have to wonder how much his 53 percent shooting and 47 percent 3-point shooting benefit from that?

-- He's a leader. His Tar Heels team was often lauded by the media for its explosiveness in the open court, but what often went overlooked is that the Tar Heels entered the season as the nation's best fast-break team, and may have finished as its best half-court team as well. And that is due to Lawson, who grew tremendously as a point guard last season and became as efficient on the break as he did on set plays. He made everybody on his team better in the process -- obviously something you want to see in a point guard.

-- He can change the game with his defense. We saw that in the national championship game, when Lawson made a record six steals to lead the Tar Heels to a national championship. And that brings us to an absolutely astounding stat: Lawson made more steals in his senior season (75) than turnovers (66), and he did it while producing an impressive 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. I'm not sure I can boil down exactly what that says about Lawson, except to say that it's awfully good.

But the most impressive thing about Lawson is the growth and maturity he has shown this season compared to years past. This is a guy who wore SpongeBob SquarePants laces on his practice shoes earlier in his career and admitted to enjoying watching cartoons — images that illustrated the little kid that was still running the man. But this year, Lawson became the Tar Heels' leader even though teammate Tyler Hansbrough was the reigning national player of the year and a three-time All-American. Lawson made the Tar Heels into a dominating national champion, and was a difference maker every step of the way. That might be why he earned ACC Player of the Year despite Hansbrough's popularity among the fans and media.

Now, this is not to suggest the Blazers should draft Lawson -- the point guard situation in Portland is, after all, a tad crowded and ripe with debate already. But there is a lot to consider with Lawson that doesn't seem to be getting discussed right now. And with the Blazers pulling him in for their final workout, this is a good time to start considering how much value he truly brings.