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The Utah Jazz were ecstatic in getting UCLA power forward TJ Leaf in for Sunday morning's pre-draft workout.

At the same time, Leaf and his agent chose to work out solo, instead of going against Tony Bradley and Thomas Bryant, two other first round big man prospects who also worked out Sunday.

The Jazz wish that part was a little different.

"Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do to get players in," Utah's VP of Player Personnel Walt Perrin said. "We wanted him in the gym, so, we will for the most part give in to what they ask."

Leaf is a perfect example of the cat-and-mouse game agents and NBA organizations annually play with each other in the weeks leading up to the draft. It's all about leverage.

His general draft stock — his ceiling is thought to be right outside of the lottery — is higher than Utah's position at 24 and 30. So, Perrin and the Jazz, in order to get Leaf into the workout, were forced to deal with stipulations. In this case, Leaf was only allowed to work out solo, instead of against competition. It's not ideal for the Jazz — they wanted to see Leaf against others of his caliber. But, at least they were able to see him shoot the ball, put him through drills and interview him face-to-face.

"We always like to see players play against players, and not against coaches," Perrin said.

Instead, Leaf and Jazz assistant Tony Lang went through drills. Leaf shot the ball — Perrin said he was fine spotting up and struggled a bit on the move. And he did the famous Jazz 100 shooting drill, 100 3-pointers while sprinting from spot to spot. Perrin said he was good there as well.

Leaf could very well be drafted before the Jazz have a chance to pick. Still, his game represents a lot of what the Jazz are looking for from their power forwards. He's 6-foot-10 and is a good 3-point shooter. He's very athletic for his size and can do a variety of things offensively. Utah's power forward spot is in a bit of flux. Derrick Favors is entering the final year of his contract. Boris Diaw's contract is nonguaranteed for next season. Trey Lyles took a significant step back last season. Joe Johnson, for all of his brilliance last year, is still better suited for coming off the bench at this point of his career.

There is room for the Jazz to draft a power forward, especially one who's as proficient from the perimeter as Leaf. That's why he and his agent worked out for the Jazz, despite some mock drafts pegging him to Denver with the 13th pick.

"I think you look at the draft and it's all about fit," Leaf said. "That's more important than where you get drafted, and we think the Jazz are a great organization. We're more worried about going to the team with the perfect fit. The Jazz have a great coach and a great system, and I feel like I fit here."

Offensively, Leaf's one year at UCLA was very good. He averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. More importantly, he was efficient. He shot 61 percent from the field, and made 46 percent of his 3-point attempts.

But the raw numbers require a bit of context. Leaf's season as a Bruin was spent with point guard Lonzo Ball, who grades out as one of the best passers coming into the league since Jason Kidd. Odds are, even at the pro level, Leaf won't be playing with someone as good at getting others involved.

Leaf's defense has also been questioned. With the Jazz, that could be mitigated some by Rudy Gobert's presence in the lane. But he still realizes it has to be better.

"Like everything, it's something that you work on," Leaf said. "I definitely want to be good at it. My athleticism is fine laterally. I need to get a bit quicker, and know tendencies."

tjones@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz —

TJ Leaf

• Averaged 16.3 points and eight rebounds per game in college

• Played at UCLA with projected first round picks Lonzo Ball and Ike Anigbogu

• Helped the Bruins to a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament appearance