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| New Content Section on DraftExpress |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| November 19, 2009 |
Starting today, you’ll find a new means of consuming the latest NBA draft content on DraftExpress, via the box directly underneath the article section on the front page.
We’ll update this area daily with our latest thoughts on NBA draft prospects and other things going on in the basketball world, including but not limited to:
-Film we’re watching of draft prospects
-Lives games we’re attending or watching on TV
-Links to NBA draft (or non draft) related articles we’re reading
-Commentary on things going on in the basketball world
-“Retweets” of things that were said on Twitter that we found interesting or agreed with
-Books we’re reading
-Upgrades we’ve made to DraftExpress
-Talk of upcoming articles we're working on at DraftExpress
-Replies to questions or comments made to us via Twitter
-Replies to emails sent to us (feel free to chime in using the email address listed below)
-Requests for feedback on articles, scouting reports, etc
-Much more |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
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| Live Blogging the 2009 NBA Draft |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 25, 2009 |
We’ll be here all day and through the night keeping track of all the latest movement in the 2009 draft as well as keeping you up to date on the latest rumors we’re hearing from around the league.
If you are not able to watch the draft tonight, we invite you to spend the evening with us, as we’ll be keeping a live draft board going pick by pick, as well as sharing our thoughts on the proceedings in Madison Square Theater as they happen.
11:15 We’re done for the night here. We’ll be back tomorrow to recap everything. Stay tuned.
10:25 Cleveland locks up the 2nd round with Christian Eyenga? This is an insane pick. Eyenga put his name into this draft hoping not to get picked period, and now he goes in the first round? Over DeJuan Blair and Sam Young? Wow. It looks like Eyenga’s plan to avoid the first round salary scale definitely backfired.
10:16 Chad Ford nailed this one. No Jack McClinton or DeJuan Blair, the pick is Toney Douglas.
Highest rated players left on our board as we approach the second round: Sam Young, DeJuan Blair, Jack McClinton, Nick Calathes, Jonas Jerebko, Chase Budinger
10:12 It looks like Denver traded for another first rounder from Minnesota, and they decided to take Wayne Ellington. Now New York is on the board, with the pick they got from the Lakers. Will they take McClinton? Or maybe DeJuan Blair?
10:08 Some people give you bad information year after year…some people don’t. It’s nice to add a couple more correct picks to the tally here at the end of the first round.
10:02 Nope, Chicago goes with Taj Gibson, which is what we predicted on our mock draft. Good advance scouting by DraftExpress I guess.
Next up is Memphis. Will we go 2/2 and nail it with DeMarre Carroll? Let’s hope so.
10:00 We’re told that Rodrigue Beaubois was traded for B.J. Mullens. Looks like Dallas knew that OKC liked Mullens and was able to force their hand by taking their guy and probably getting a little cash out of them at the same time. Will DeJuan Blair go 26 to Chicago? Seems like a no-brainer of a pick.
9:50 Off the board comes B.J. Mullens. DeJuan Blair continues to slip. Maybe he goes here at Oklahoma City?
We got bad information on Calathes I guess. Or maybe they just couldn’t pass up Mullens’ upside.
9:47 Casspi it is…and wow what an ovation the pick gets here in Madison Square Theater! There are tons of Jews and Israelis here in attendance waiving the Israeli flag…this is really a big moment for Israeli basketball, getting their first ever player in the NBA. Look for Casspi to come over right away. And hey, that’s who we had at 23…
9:42 A couple of surprises here, as things start to get a little bit crazy. New Orleans picks Darren Collison, which is certainly something that no one really saw coming. Then Portland picks Victor Claver, a move we speculated about quite a bit today, but is still a little surprising to see come to fruition. Claver now has a tough choice to make, since he really tried to do everything in his power to fall to the 2nd round, but saw his wishes ignored by Portland. What’s funny is that Claver’s agents saw this one coming all the way, but thought that Portland would possibly wait until the #31 pick to take him.
Sacramento is on the clock now. Do they ignore the medical reports and try to make their team much tougher by picking DeJuan Blair, or do they go with the upside of a B.J. Mullens? Sam Young and Omri Casspi are also legit possibilities here.
9:24 Jeff Teague goes to Atlanta over Maynor. We heard Maynor has lots of fans in the 20-22 area, though, so he probably won't be waiting long. Utah we hear likes DeJuan Blair, Toney Douglas and maybe Maynor.
9:20 Lawson goes 18. We're hearing that this pick was traded to Denver...
Next on tap, Atlanta. We've got Eric Maynor here in our mock draft, but it could be DeJuan Blair, Jeff Teague or maybe a surprise pick like Toney Douglas. Let's see.
9:15 Holiday comes off the board in Philadelphia, and the Green Room is officially complete. Good job by the NBA picking the 15 players to participate, for the last one to come off at 17 isn't too shabby at all.
Now the real action starts. As one team told us, 17-30 is going to be a roller coaster. Minnesota can't really keep this pick can they?
9:10 James Johnson it is. Holiday is the last player left in the Green Room, and his family doesn't look very happy about that.
Philadelphia is next. We've heard a lot of Eric Maynor here, but Ty Lawson is a very logical pick as well. Will Portland try to make a move for Lawson?
9:09 Chicago is up next. We have them taking James Johnson. Will they go with Jrue Holiday? It seems that might be duplication with Kirk Hinrich, but at this point in the draft, not many players have more upside.
9:05 Another Green Room invite comes off the board in
9:00 Holiday continues to slip, as Phoenix elects to take Earl Clark. We've talked about their need for a long-armed Boris Diaw type, and they got one here. Does this pick go to Golden State in the Biedrins trade, though?
Detroit is up next.
Nice gesture by the NBA letting Brandon Jennings come on stage to shake David Stern's hand. Jennings decided to pull out of the Green Room at the last minute, and a statement to the media was handed out on behalf of his agent Bill Duffy which read:
"Because we do not have a strong grasp of Brandon's draft positions, I've advised that he and his family enjoy this day in a more private setting with the people he loves the most. Brandon Jennings will have a very illustrious career in the NBA, and at the end of the day, that is all that is important."
What's interesting is that Jennings was here in the Garden with his family. We ran into his mom shortly after he was picked. She was obviously ecstatic.
8:55 Tyler Hansbrough to Indiana. Another pick we heard being speculated about, but didn't really want to believe. Holiday continues to slip. Ben Howland is probably not very happy.
8:50 More server problems...our sincere apologies. It's been very difficult to avoid the temptation of downing 5 beers in the last 30 minutes while we sorted this out.
Let's recap some of the big surprises:
-Jrue Holiday is slipping, maybe to Indiana at 13?
-Flynn still hasn't been traded anywhere? Rubio's camp has no idea if they are staying in Minnesota or not. Funny quote from Rubio, after being asked whether he's excited to play for Minnesota, said "I'm excited to play in the NBA."
More hilarious quotes from Rubio, who we're quickly discovering needs to work with a media trainer ASAP:
Question: Do you ever think about cold weather, is that an issue?
Answer: "It's cold there. Yeah, my mom hates cold places. But we are going to see..."
Clearly Rubio hasn't 100% accepted the fact that he is going to Minnesota it seems.
-Brandon Jennings goes 10, as we talked about potentially happening this afternoon. Surprising to see them pass on Holiday here.
8:21 Jordan Hill it is. There goes our mock draft. Holiday is right there on the board for Toronto now…do they take him over DeRozan? That’s a tough decision. It sounded like they were leaning towards Holiday for a while there, but today they seemed to be back on DeRozan.
8:18 Another sort-of-surprise here, as Golden State takes Stephen Curry over Jordan Hill. So much for Monta Ellis’ trade demands, but this could also be a pick for the Suns in the Amare for Biedrins. Curry’s family looks pretty crushed sitting in the Green Room. They definitely wanted to go to the Knicks.
8:10
Jonny Flynn surprisingly went 6th, and now the T'Wolves just drafted two point guards. They must have a trade in place, but its not with the Knicks, since they don't seem to know what is going on.
Where will Flynn or Rubio end up? And will Jordan Hill still go 7th?
8:08
Sorry about the hiccup with our server there...we're hoping it doesn't happen again.
So far we're 5/5 on the mock. That is pretty unbelievable all things considered. Now is when the action really starts.
7:48
Plenty of material for Bill Simmons' draft blog already. First it took Memphis about 10 minutes to make that pick, and then David Stern choked up twice in a span of three seconds, once while trying to say Memphis and once while trying to pronounce Hasheem Thabeet. We're not off to a great start here.
But at least our mock draft is 2/2.
7:45
By the way, we're sitting so close to the Green Room that we're talking with Terrence Williams' table, and are within spitting distance of Jonny Flynn. Rubio's table looks worried, and Harden's camp looks somewhat relaxed.
Thabeet looks like the pick at 2, since the cameras are converging on him already.
7:40
Rubio's camp doesn't think they are going 3, and Harden's camp has no idea either. Sam Presti does an amazing job at keeping everyone in the dark. This draft seemed a lot more clear 40 minutes ago when Rubio was going 3rd. Everyone in the Green Room is scrambling to figure out what is going on.
Big surprise: Blake Griffin went 1st .
7:35
No team or agent has any clue what is going to happen. That's the bottom line. Everyone is calling everyone and no one can really say what is going to happen.
7:15
It looks like we need to move Harden into that 3 slot. That's the word here in the Green Room at least. It's really interesting to look around the tables and see who knows where they are going and who doesn't.
Regarding the Amare trade that is being reported, it seems like the Warriors are balking at including the #7 pick. I guess we'll see what happens when that pick comes up. The Suns would sure like to get Curry if he's available.
6:56
Just spoke to Sergio Rodriguez's agent, Bob Myers. He says he was informed that the trade is done. Portland will likely target Victor Claver at 31, although there is some thought that they could be tempted to take him at 22.
6:45
We're hearing that Sacramento and Portland are closing in on a deal that would send Sergio Rodriguez and the #38 pick to Sacramento for #31.
5:45 Update
Plenty of Uncertainty at the Top Still
With just hours to go before the NBA draft officially kicks off, there is still plenty of uncertainty regarding who is going where exactly. Oklahoma City is heavily involved in trade talks for the #3 team, but appears to be asking for too much for the rights to Ricky Rubio.
Minnesota appeared to be playing it cool in regards to Rubio early on, but has emerged as a major suitor for his services this evening, which will make things very interesting leading up to the #3 pick. OKC seems to be asking for Al Jefferson right now…will they settle on Kevin Love?
Right now it appears that Oklahoma City is leaning towards picking Rubio and keeping him as a trading chip to potentially use this summer. A few sources we spoke with mentioned that they still expect Rubio to end up in New York when it’s all said and done.
Oklahoma City is also active in trade talk with Phoenix, with their main target appearing to be Robin Lopez. They are reportedly offering Phoenix their 2010 unprotected pick back in return for Lopez, but that seems like a very high price for the Suns to pay.
Sacramento seems to be leaning towards Tyreke Evans from what we’re hearing, and may have even told him as much.
If Minnesota keeps the pick, it looks very likely that they will take Jonny Flynn with one of those picks, with the other pick likely being used on James Harden. Some people think that DeMar DeRozan could be a target, but that seems far-fetched.
That would leave Golden State with an interesting dilemma at 7—take Jordan Hill or Stephen Curry? It seems like they would lean towards Hill, although this is a tough one to call.
At #8, we might see the unfathomable happen—Stephen Curry available to the Knicks? That would really make for an unforgettable moment in the Garden. Gerald Henderson also appears to be a target here.
At #9, it appears that Toronto will take DeMar DeRozan, if he’s on the board.
That would leave Milwaukee with an interesting choice between Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings. All indications are that Holiday has been “their guy” for weeks now since Flynn went out of their range, but Jennings has really come on strong in the last 24 hours, so we may have to wait and see.
At 11, we’re hearing Terrence Williams, and at 12, Gerald Henderson.
We’ll see how things play out…
Calathes to Dallas?
We’re receiving some indications that the Dallas Mavericks are still in hot pursuit of Greek-bound Nick Calathes with the #24 pick. Owner Mark Cuban and head coach Rick Carlisle are both fans of the big point guard, and appear to be willing to wait a year until signing him. There is a school of thought that Calathes may be able to get out of his contract with Panathinaikos and play for the Mavs this year already, possibly with a buyout, but we’re not sure of how accurate that is.
This pick makes sense considering what Cuban said the other day about being able to “get the guy we like even at 24” after moving down two spots in the Portland trade. Sacramento likes Calathes at 23, but appears to be leaning in other directions, although that could change.
Atlanta-Golden State Trade Official
We received word this afternoon that the Jamal Crawford for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton trade was officially consummated after a trade call with the league was made.
Other options for Dallas include Jeff Teague, Tyler Hansbrough and Toney Douglas.
Vince to Orlando?
4:15 Update
Vince Carter is apparently close to getting traded for Tony Battie, Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston. The trade is "80% done" according to a source, but there are other trades available to the Magic.
2:15 PM Update
Phoenix Trade Ramifications
It deserves mention at least once in this blog that “the Daddy” got traded and will be paired alongside Lebron James. That opens up a huge spot in Phoenix’s frontcourt, and likely pushes Amare Stoudemire back to the center position, where he really thrived playing alongside Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Steve Nash in Mike D’Antoni’s super up-tempo offense. Phoenix is clearly going back to their running ways next year, and will now likely target an athletic combo forward in the Diaw/Marion mold that can defend, rebound, pass and get up and down the floor. The most likely candidates appear to be Earl Clark and James Johnson, with Austin Daye being a long-shot at that spot.
There is still some talk that Phoenix will trade Oklahoma City the #14 pick in exchange for the #25 and the Suns’ unprotected 2010 first rounder the Thunder currently own. We have a hard time seeing Sam Presti make that deal, though, especially now that Phoenix decided to dump Shaq for financial considerations. The 2010 draft already looks much stronger than 2009, and Phoenix is one injury away from finding themselves in the lottery next season. We’d be very surprised if that happened.
Portland Moves Up Two Spots
Kevin Pritchard and the Portland front office made an interesting move last night, trading their own pick and two second rounders to Dallas to move up two spots to the #22 pick. Two players they appear to be targeting are Omri Casspi and DeJuan Blair, although it would be a little surprising if Blair was there at 22. The prevailing notion is that Blair would not have lasted past Sacramento at 23, so they at least moved a step in the right direction to acquire him. Casspi is also firmly on their board from what we’re told, as they like his toughness and may feel like they can stash him in Europe for a year or two. It’s not quite clear that Casspi has the same plans.
One team we spoke to mentioned hearing that Portland is now trying to get up to the #17 pick, and that they are continuing to target Ty Lawson. They also hear that Portland will likely take Victor Claver with the #33 pick, if he’s available.
Knicks Trade Fallout
Look for the Knicks to use the #29 pick to select Jack McClinton. They are still exploring their options there, trying to figure out who might be on the board, and McClinton may some suitors a little bit earlier in the first round potentially, but that’s clearly who Mike D’Antoni would like them to pick. They just worked him out a few days ago when they brought Jrue Holiday in. If Tyreke Evans falls to the 8th pick, the two could definitely share the same backcourt, with Evans handling the point guard duties and McClinton slated to defend the opposing team’s smaller guard.
Denver may have come away disappointed not to have acquired the Lakers pick, as they are apparently looking at Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison as two potential draft picks in the late first round. They may be able to acquire either one at #34, but will look to Chicago’s pick at 26, as its rumored to be available.
Crazy Trade Rumors
The fact that we’re hearing these rumors makes them somewhat newsworthy, but considering the timing and nature of draft day, we’re extremely skeptical about the veracity of these reports, so take them with a grain of salt.
-Houston sends Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks to Sacramento for Beno Udrih at the #4 pick. A third team might have to get involved to make the salaries work. Most people around the league believe that Houston is very happy with their team at the moment, and that McGrady is really the only player they are looking to move.
-Plenty of Rondo talk throughout the top 10.
-A complicated three-way trade involving New Jersey, Minnesota and Memphis, which would send Devin Harris to Minnesota, the #5 and #6 picks to Memphis and Ricky Rubio and Craig Smith to New Jersey.
-New Jersey is also heavily shopping Vince Carter around in exchange for expiring contracts. It looks like they could be starting over from scratch, especially if both of these rumored trades go through.
-Portland dangling Greg Oden to try and get into the top 5? A number have teams say they are hearing that, although it could all be coming from the same source. A Trailblazers executive we spoke with emphatically denied that they would even consider trading Oden.
-Detroit is trying to unload more salary on teams with a trade exception or cap space, in order to get further under the cap for this summer’s free agent class. Walter Sharpe is one player mentioned often in a salary cap dump.
Update: 1:40 PM
A source with the New York Knicks tells us that they've acquired the #29 pick from the LA Lakers in exchange for 3 million dollars in cash.
More on that as it becomes available.
Update: 1:25 PM
17-30 “a total mess”
While much of our attention revolves around the lottery, we don’t want to forget about the rest of this draft, which is likely to be even more unpredictable. We’re touching base with a number of NBA teams sitting inside their war rooms on an hourly basis to figure out the latest, and it seems like we can expect quite a bit of movement to occur in the 17-30 range based on what we’re hearing.
“I’ve never seen a draft with so many loose ends this late in the game” one longtime observer told us this morning.
Multiple teams are trying to trade into the first round at the moment, with the most aggressive of them still being Houston, Miami and San Antonio. Another team that has begun to explore that option more thoroughly is Denver apparently. They could be in the hunt for a point guard, with the likes of Toney Douglas, Jeff Teague and possibly Darren Collison being their targets.
Picks that are potentially available include Oklahoma City (#25), Chicago (#26), Memphis (#27), Minnesota (#28) and the Los Angeles Lakers (#29). The going price will likely be cash.
Phoenix Trade Ramifications
It deserves mention at least once in this blog that “the Daddy” got traded and will be paired alongside Lebron James. That opens up a huge spot in Phoenix’s frontcourt, and likely pushes Amare Stoudemire back to the center position, where he really thrived playing alongside Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Steve Nash in Mike D’Antoni’s super up-tempo offense. Phoenix is clearly going back to their running ways next year, and will now likely target an athletic combo forward in the Diaw/Marion mold that can defend, rebound, pass and get up and down the floor. The most likely candidates appear to be Earl Clark and James Johnson, with Austin Daye being a long-shot at that spot.
There is still some talk that Phoenix will trade Oklahoma City the #14 pick in exchange for the #25 and the Suns’ unprotected 2010 first rounder the Thunder currently own. We have a hard time seeing Sam Presti make that deal, though, especially now that Phoenix decided to dump Shaq for financial considerations. The 2010 draft already looks much stronger than 2009, and Phoenix is one injury away from finding themselves in the lottery next season. We’d be very surprised if that happened.
Update: 12:45 PM
First, a recap of which picks have switched hands:
#5- Traded to Minnesota, from Washington, as part of Mike Miller/Randy Foye trade
#22- Traded to Portland, from Dallas, in exchange for the #24 and #56 picks, along with a 2010 second rounder
#24- Traded to Dallas, from Portland
#46- Traded to Phoenix, from Cleveland
The Draft Starts at 3
-Despite the assumptions many (including us) are making about Oklahoma City’s intentions to draft Ricky Rubio with the #3 pick, it feels a little early to be penciling him in definitively. Many NBA executives around the league feel that Sam Presti is broadcasting his intentions to take Rubio at 3 for the sole purpose of making teams drafting behind him step up with stronger trade offers to move up.
Presti has done a great job at keeping his cards close to the vest historically, as you would expect from a former San Antonio Spurs executive. Last year he surprised many by taking Russell Westbrook over Brook Lopez at #4, and this year he could very well resort back to the logical selection at #3—James Harden.
At the end of the day, Presti will likely pick the player that he feels is the best overall value in this draft, and deal with positional concerns later on.
What is Sacramento Thinking?
The situation in the Kings war room appears to be extremely fluid at the moment, with plenty of trade offers on their table for the #4 pick, and four point guards in the lead to be selected should they hold onto it. Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry are the players they are looking at, even if they continue to say that James Harden is in the picture as well, likely in order to prevent Oklahoma City from feeling comfortable about moving down to #5 in a swap with Minnesota.
All teams we’ve spoken with have either Evans or Flynn at this spot, assuming that Rubio is selected by Oklahoma City at 3.
Sacramento’s pick will have huge ramifications on how the entire draft shakes out, and the situation here is being monitored by every other team in the lottery.
Should Flynn go 4th, New York would be ecstatic, since that means that one of Harden, Curry, Evans or Jordan Hill would be available at their pick, with the most likely being Evans, since he’s probably not a great fit next to Harden in Minnesota, and he didn’t work out in Golden State and probably isn’t even on the board there.
The Raptors are also on pins and needles waiting to see how things shake out, since they are trying to figure out whether or not their top target Jrue Holiday will be on the board at 9.
Jennings in the Mix for Milwaukee
With DeMar DeRozan on much shakier ground in Toronto (#9) than initially thought, there is a pretty legit possibility that he could be on the board at 10 when Milwaukee picks. Just days after trading an extremely athletic wing player in Richard Jefferson, you would assume that this would appear to be a perfect fit…Apparently not, though, since they seem to have their heart set on drafting a point guard, with Brandon Jennings being one player that Assistant GM Jeff Weltman seems to be especially fond of. We had Jennings slipping all the way to the #17 pick in our last mock draft, which would definitely make him the steal of the draft, but have moved him back up to #10…for now. |
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| Word on the Street, June 24th: The Latest |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 24, 2009 |
10:35 PM Update
-Sacramento has reportedly offered Detroit the #23 and #31 picks in exchange for the #15. The Kings may target DeJuan Blair at 15 if he’s available, while the Pistons like Toney Douglas and possibly DaJuan Summers.
-Does Atlanta unloading Acie Law for Jamal Crawford change their priorities in this draft? GM Rick Sund has supposedly told people that he will surely target a point guard, possibly Eric Maynor or Jeff Teague (assuming Lawson is gone at 13 or 17), but this might change things for him. Tyler Hansbrough and DeJuan Blair appear to be firmly in the mix here as well.
-Washington was able to save decent money in their trade with Minnesota, as well as bring in two players that appear to be more equipped to help them win right away than the #5 pick. At #32 they seem to be targeting a big man, although it’s not quite clear if they can find a quality player there. Some options include Taj Gibson (likely gone already), Ahmad Nivins and Victor Claver.
-There appears to be lots of interest in high 2nd round picks this year, with the going rate so far being at least what Miami paid Minnesota last year for the rights to Mario Chalmers—two future second round picks and 1.5 million dollars, and possibly more.
-The Cavs supposedly like Garrett Siler and are considering taking him with the #46 pick.
-It appears that New Orleans is leaning towards keeping their pick for now. Some of the options on their board supposedly include: DeJuan Blair, Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson and Toney Douglas.
-Two teams that may be looking to sell their late first round picks are Chicago and Memphis.
-Three teams that are looking to move into the first round are Miami, San Antonio and Houston. The Heat are supposedly looking at Taj Gibson and the Spurs are intrigued by Omri Casspi and Jonas Jerebko.
-Minnesota supposedly may not be done making moves, and could be looking to package some assets and move up even higher in the first round. Right now they seem to be dangling the #18 pick and Nikola Pekovic, possibly to Detroit sitting at 15. Gerald Henderson could very well be their target, as he’s likely gone one pick later by Chicago.
-A couple of teams are wondering where in the world is Rodrigue Beaubois, and why hasn’t he conducted even a single workout after the Eurocamp in Treviso? The answer is that Beaubois was supposedly just cleared to play last Friday, and after a few weeks on the shelf, his agent Bouna Ndiaye decided not to risk the excellent momentum he has going for him with some bad workouts. Beaubois supposedly feels good about where he stands with a number of teams in the late first round, including Portland, Oklahoma City, the Lakers and Cleveland.
10:00 PM Update
-Oklahoma City appears to have narrowed in on Ricky Rubio as their top choice with the #3 pick, at least according to what most NBA teams have on their board at the moment. For now, it seems like they will be keeping him. While we’re told that the Knicks will definitely explore a sign and trade with David Lee to acquire Rubio, it might take more to convince Oklahoma City to make that trade.
It will be interesting to see what the fallout is from Russell Westbrook’s camp after this, as he’s been extremely vocal publicly about not wanting to relinquish the full-time point guard duties, which is bound to happen eventually with Rubio around. Westbrook is currently scheduled to be on Jim Rome’s show tomorrow, so we may expect some fireworks.
-With Rubio locked up at three, we can probably move our attention to Sacramento, where Jonny Flynn and Tyreke Evans are clearly the top two candidates on the board.
If Jonny Flynn is the choice as expected, Tyreke Evans may be in for a slightly longer stay in the Green Room than he initially planned. James Harden would be the likely choice at Minnesota at 5, while logic suggests that Stephen Curry would be a much better fit in the backcourt than Evans at #6.
Evans did not work out for Golden State at #7—they are leaning towards Jordan Hill anyway—which means he would probably land at #8, where the Knicks would happily snatch him up.
That would slide Jrue Holiday down a slot, and in turn bump off James Johnson, since he is supposedly slightly Holiday on Toronto’s board. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.
-In this scenario, Milwaukee may have an interesting choice on their hands at #10. DeMar DeRozan was never supposed to get to their pick, but all of a sudden they find him right there for the picking, just a few days after trading away an extremely athletic wing player in Richard Jefferson. Do they swing for the fences on DeRozan’s upside, or will they stay true to their plan of drafting a point guard at all costs and reach for Jeff Teague?
-One of the tougher situations to read in this draft lies in New Jersey with the 11th pick. The Nets supposedly aren’t all that close to finalizing their draft board, although three of the players that will likely be on there will include Tyler Hansbrough, James Johnson and Terrence Williams, not necessarily in that order. It’s definitely possible that the Nets listen to one of the trade offers that comes their way, especially if Houston comes calling with Carl Landry.
8:20 PM Update
-Plenty of NBA teams are trying to figure out the motivation behind Portland packaging the #24 pick with the #56 pick and a 2010 second rounder to Dallas just for the sake of moving up two spots to 22. Who are they targeting?
The likely answer to that is, why wouldn’t they? Portland has too many draft picks as it is and not enough roster spots. All they did was acquire a slightly more valuable asset, one they can now use to try and move up even higher.
It’s widely accepted that Portland would love to get their hands on Ty Lawson if they can. The problem is that Indiana seems very high on him at 13, and Philadelphia is also extremely interested at 17.
-Minnesota is offering Oklahoma City the #5 and #18 picks for the #3, but don’t seem likely to get a deal done with those parameters.
-Multiple NBA teams believe that the Lakers have zeroed in on Nick Calathes as their likely target with the #29 pick, and will likely leave him over in Greece for one to two years until they sort out their salary cap situation. Calathes is an excellent fit for the triangle offense as a big point guard who can shoot and has an excellent feel for the game.
7:05 PM Update
Scattered Rumors:
-Indications we’re receiving are that Sacramento appears to be leaning towards drafting Jonny Flynn, even in the scenario that Oklahoma City decides to pass on Ricky Rubio. The wildcard here are the team owners, the Maloofs, who are extremely high on the Spanish point guard and could decide to assert their own will and make the front office pick Rubio.
Flynn won’t have to wait long in the Green Room regardless, as its extremely unlikely that he gets past the Milwaukee Bucks. He may even have a promise there.
-Brandon Jennings seemed somewhat dazed at today’s media sessions, which is yet another indication that he has no idea where he is going to get picked at this point. Privately, Jennings is telling people that he feels he has a good chance of being selected 5th by Minnesota, even if he really doesn’t want to be there apparently. The latest word is that Jennings may actually pull out of the Green Room, especially if his situation doesn’t clear up by tonight.
When asked about the possibility of sitting for an extended period in the Green Room, Jennings admitted that the thought had crossed his mind.
“Yeah, it actually has a lot. Being on the road with some of these guys, they make you think a little bit, should I go, should I not go? Some of these guys were saying, no way, you aren’t going to see me sitting alone in the Green Room. So I had a little bit of cold feet thinking about it, actually I’m still thinking about it, so I don’t know yet.”
-Another interesting quote in today’s media session came from Jordan Hill, as he was very candid in deflecting criticism he had received from some comments he made in private interviews at the NBA combine in Chicago earlier this month about affinity for nightlife.
“I definitely don’t regret it; they asked me to be honest. I don’t go out and party all night, I’m not like that, but I like to have a little fun. When I get my work done first, then I’ll go out and have a little time for myself. I don’t regret saying what I did, they wanted me to be honest and I was.”
If Stephen Curry is indeed off the board as expected, Hill appears to be a very strong target for the New York Knicks, particularly their head coach Mike D'Antoni. The front office seems to be leaning towards Jrue Holiday, but could be swayed towards selecting Hill instead, especially if they feel like they can sign and trade David Lee to Oklahoma City for the rights to Ricky Rubio.
When told about the rumors about D’Antoni, Hill did not surprised at all, telling us about an interesting conversation the two had after Hill’s workout in New York:
“I was able to show more athleticism, my quickness, how well I run the floor, my mid-range jumper; they say I’m like Amare. You know Coach D’Antoni coached him and I feel like any team would want to have Amare and that’s how they feel about me.
DX: Did he bring that up to you? Amare?
JH: Yes.”
New York is reportedly very frustrated not to have found a way to move up into the top 5 of the draft, as they apparently felt like they already had a deal done with the Washington Wizards (Wilson Chandler and Larry Hughes for expiring contracts) before Minnesota’s offer won out. They are very much in the mix trying to make a trade happen, and therefore it wasn’t surprising to see them try and acquire Darko Milicic.
New York’s two main targets are still Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry. Unfortunately for the Knicks, Curry’s camp appears to be resolved to the fact that he is going 5, 6 or 7. Rubio will obviously be long gone.
6:05 Update
Oklahoma City the Wild Card
With the top two picks likely falling into place in the form of Blake Griffin and Hasheem Thabeet, all eyes are now on Oklahoma City, to see whether they would take Ricky Rubio or James Harden.
Oklahoma City has already reportedly offered Minnesota to trade the #5 and #6 picks for the #3 selection, where Ricky Rubio is sure to be available for the Timberwolves. Oklahoma City appears to be sending out signals that Rubio is the player they covet at #3, although this could very well be a smokescreen to force Minnesota to trade up if they indeed covet Rubio as much as people think.
Another rumor that is making the rounds is that Oklahoma City may be working on a deal with the New York Knicks that would involve drafting Rubio and then shipping him to the Knicks in July in a sign and trade for David Lee. The tricky part would be coming to terms with Lee on an appropriate contract figure before the pick is made, since technically they are not allowed to negotiate, and Lee likely does not yet know what his true value on the open market. He is reportedly looking for around 11 million dollars a year.
Still, considering his restricted status, and the fact that there are precious few teams with substantial cap space this summer, Oklahoma City could be a very attractive destination for Lee if his agent can reach a handshake agreement with their front office. It seems like the Thunder definitely have eyes for him. The only question is whether they are willing to part with Rubio to make that happen.
In this scenario, the Knicks would likely select Mike D’Antoni’s favorite, Jordan Hill, with the #8 pick. More on that later.
5:25 Update
Thabeet a Lock at Two?
Virtually every team we’re speaking to right now has Hasheem Thabeet slated to be picked second by the Grizzlies. Memphis’ entire front-office met with owner Michael Heisley yesterday at his house to go through all the various possibilities for tomorrow night’s draft, and came to the conclusion that barring a trade, they will select Thabeet with the #2 pick.
We asked Thabeet about his decision to decline his workout in Memphis at the Media session in New York today. After a long and awkward pause, here is what he had to say:
"I didn’t…I haven’t…I mean I couldn't reschedule because the schedule was kinda you know...I couldn't work out early like I was supposed to like everyone else because I had hyper-extended my shoulder working out. Later on when I was scheduled to go to Memphis I found out my visa had expired so I had to get to New York as soon as possible to get it done on Monday morning or I would be deported. So I had to get out here as soon as possible."
In regards to not wanting to play in Memphis:
"That's not accurate at all. To me this is a blessing to be in this position wherever I am to play basketball; wherever I end up I'll be happy. I'm just happy to be in this position. Whoever drafts me, I’ll be happy to go there."
4:45 Update:
Harden Skips Media Day
James Harden made the unconventional decision to skip out on the NBA’s media session with the players who have been invited to sit in the Green Room tomorrow evening.
Harden was in Minnesota today, working out for David Kahn and the Timberwolves. This was a direct response to yesterday’s trade, in which Minnesota acquired the #5 pick from Washington. Harden’s agent Rob Pelinka previously felt that their floor was at Washington following an outstanding workout there, and needed to quickly readjust once they moved their pick to cover their bases in case Oklahoma City decides to select Ricky Rubio. His camp appears to have given up on the chances of being selected by Memphis, which goes along with everything else we're hearing from around the NBA.
The Timberwolves had already conducted an interview with Harden at the NBA combine in Chicago, but wanted to see him one more time to make sure they have all the information they need. They put him through a light shooting session today, with Harden was the only player on the floor.
Harden is landing in New York tonight and will be sitting in the Green Room tomorrow with his family.
Austin Daye was also hanging out at the hotel today we saw, which means that he probably will be sitting in the Green Room. Terrence Williams was at the media session, meaning he was a last-minute addition to the Green Room invite list. B.J. Mullens, James Johnson and Eric Maynor declined their invites as expected.
Here is what appears to be the final list of Green Room invites:
1. Blake Griffin
2. James Harden
3. Hasheem Thabeet
4. Ricky Rubio
5. Jordan Hill
6. Tyreke Evans
7. Stephen Curry
8. Jonny Flynn
9. Demar DeRozan
10. Jrue Holiday
11. Gerald Henderson
12. Brandon Jennings
13. Tyler Hansbrough
14. Terrence Williams
15. Austin Daye |
Feedback
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| Fifteen Questions with Jonathan Givony |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 24, 2009 |
The annual tradition continues at RaptorsHQ as Howland talks about the upcoming draft with draft guru Jonathan Givony.
1. It looks like it has been another great year for DX. What has transpired over the last 365?
JG: This year we have sent a lot of time upgrading our database. We have added a lot more stats this year and our traffic numbers continue to rise. The search engines are liking us more and more, and we’re at or near the top of the first page when you Google almost any prospect in this draft. We have a great partnership going with NBA.com which I feel adds some credibility to what we do.
The key to our year was the work we put into the site in November through February. as you can read in the New York Times article on this topic, the mock draft is fun to speculate about and the rumors as well, but the core of what we do is the database and the scouting reports. You can click on any first and second round guy and even some undrafted guys and find a wealth of information, be it scouting reports, measurements or stats.
Some of these guys we’ve been following since high school, even from their junior year. This is what sets us apart from any of the other outlets in my opinion. Everything we write about every prospect is right there, so in that regard we are very accountable, which I’m not sure is always the case with everyone else. We have almost 6000 profiles on the site, but of course not all of them are filled. Some of them are ex-NBA players from years ago. Pretty much every NBA player has something and that was one of our goals this year was beefing up the database with the Kobe Bryant's and the Derek Fisher's and everyone else. We also spent the year updating profiles as well. For example, Brandon Roy has exceeded our expectations and we needed to update.
Our staff has improved a lot as well. They are outstanding and just a huge part of what we do, starting with our programmer Doug Thonus and continuing with the guys that help write scouting reports and articles—Matt Kamalsky, Joey Whelan, Kyle Nelson, Joseph Treutlein, Rick Ditto, Scott Nadler and many others throughout the years.
That’s what really excites me about what we’re doing—I could see us becoming sort of an IMDB of basketball in a few years. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the site free in the process. There is a tremendous wealth of knowledge there that a lot of people helped contribute to.
2. Let's get right into the draft talk – this crop of prospects has been described as a weaker draft class than most years. What are your feelings on the 2009 draft class?
JG: I don't think there is any question that a lot of guys passed up entering the draft this year. Unlike last year where everyone you thought would be in and 10 more guys declared, this year it is everyone you though would declare except 10 or so guys. This really takes away a lot of depth, in particular at the top where the Raptors are picking. Look who is in the mix at 9 for the Raps. If would have been very different if guys like Al-Farouq Aminu, Cole Aldrich, Evan Turner, John Henson, and Donatas Motiejunas were in. Those guys would have been in the picture at 9, and at worst they would have pushed other players down.
I would say the Raptors pick this year at 9 is more like a 15-16 pick in a regular draft year. There is no way to ignore that and for this reason it has been challenging for us to cover. It feels like this year there just are not that many interesting guys to evaluate and then you start to debate whether you are over-analyzing them. I was happy to go out to Colorado Springs last week and just get started on next year. Maybe it is because we have been focusing on this draft for the last 10 months and all the speculation and drama starts to wear on you eventually, but I am ready to move on to 2010.
3. One of the most interesting characteristics about this draft is that outside of Griffin there doesn't seem to be a consensus regarding the next best prospect. How would you break this draft class down into tiers?
JG: Well I would definitely but Rubio in a separate tier right after Blake. I would then put Harden, Curry and Jennings into the next tier, all for different reasons. After that you get Hill, Thabeet, Flynn, Evans. That's how I break it down, but there are a lot of differing opinions out there.
4. Although you believe Rubio is the second best player in the draft there is some debate as to where he will end up. What are your thoughts on him and do you think he will produce right away or will he need time to develop?
JG: I think he will need some time to adjust because the style of play in the NBA is so radically different than where he has been playing the last few years. He's the youngest prospect in this draft, but that being said, he is the most experienced, which makes for a very unique combination. I like him a lot as a prospect in this draft. He has All-Star potential as a point guard. There are some things that he can do that very few point guards in the NBA can do. He has tremendous vision and anticipation as well as great ability to see the court and make great decisions. These are the characteristics that set him apart. He will have to get stronger and adapt his game, but he is smart enough, talented enough and young enough that this won't be a major issue. He is clearly the most talented point guard in this draft, just ahead of Brandon Jennings in my view.
5. One of the things we talked about last year was work-ethic. Which prospects have really blown you away during the pre-draft process with their work ethic?
JG: Blake Griffin is one. You don’t go from being a borderline McDonald's All-American to a number one pick unless you have tremendous work ethic. The other guy is Stephen Curry. This guy was completely off the map in high-school and no-one had heard of him at all. Not only did he become an unbelievable scorer at the college level, but then he re-defined himself as a point guard as well which is very rare. A lot of that is his perseverance and his character as well as how smart he is and how hard he works. Those two guys really stand out this year.
6. Speaking of Stephen Curry, it strikes me that he is going to have to succeed as a PG at the next level because there is a long track record of guys his size who failed playing the two. Do you feel that curry can succeed as a NBA PG?
JG: I think he is totally a point guard. I don't think there is any doubt that he can play the point in today's NBA. This year think of the guys they had playing with him and you will see that he didn't really have anyone to pass to and he still averaged over 6 assists a game. Outside of him there was really only one other division 1 player on the Davidson roster. I have seen him make enough smart passes to not have a problem projecting him as a point guard. He is a very unselfish player, he is very smart. At 6'3” he has above average size for an NBA point guard.
7. What have you been hearing about the Raps and who they are targeting?
JG: I don't think that up until yesterday there was any question that if DeRozan is on the board that they will take him, unless someone that no-one anticipated falling is available. Now James Johnson’s name seems to be popping up quite a bit more, and that could very well be the pick from the conversations we’ve had, if Jrue Holiday isn’t there as anticipated.
8. Speaking of Derozan, John Hollinger and his statistical break-down have him as one of the most over-rated prospects in the draft. What is your take on Derozan?
JG: Hollinger was very open to admitting that his break-down didn't do a great job of projecting one and done guys. A lot of stat guys last year were not high on Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon and O.J. Mayo but those guys turned out just fine. On the other hand people thought was Michael Beasley had numbers unlike anyone else in a long time. Beasley is a good player but both the stats and DX though he was going to be better. The stats are just a tool, one of many that NBA teams should look at. NBA teams should definitely use them and factor them into their decisions, though. I think Hollinger is clearly the best basketball mind that is out there in the journalism realm. His work speaks for itself. I respect what he says on that front and we’ve said many of the same things, but with DeRozan you have to dig a little deeper than just that. We were really critical about Derozan through the year. He started off awful and didn't look like an NBA player at all until about February. He got a lot better over the last month or two of the year. If you ran his numbers over the past few months he would have looked better, albeit with a smaller sample size.
With that said, Raptor fans need to understand that Derozan is a project. He is not going to significantly change anything for them this upcoming year in the win/loss column. He will be a rotation guy, but it is all about developing him for the future.
9. Do you think Derozan is overrated?
JG: Derozan being considered a top ten guy obviously has something to do with how shallow this year’s class is. There just any many better prospects available. He is a guy who fits the mold of having NBA size and athleticism on the wing. He was a highly ranked high-school player and this is where his draft standing is coming from, not necessarily from what he has done on the court thus far. It's all about what he might develop into, and obviously that's a risky proposition. It could go either way. I don't think anyone has enough data on him to make a judgment on whether he will definitively be a stud in the NBA or not. He may or may not be helping himself by refusing to conduct individual workouts.
10. Who would you consider the most over-rated player in this year’s draft based on their talent and where they are projected to be picked?
JG: In terms of overrated we have been very skeptical about Thabeet over the past three years. There is no question he has improved, but I have a hard time seeing him as a number two pick, which seems to be where we are headed. I guess we will have to wait and see how he turns out, but if you read what we have written about him throughout the years you'll see we are not 100% sold and have been very open about that.
11. [b]Who would you consider the most under-rated player in this year’s draft based on their talent and where they are projected to be picked??
Jonathan Givony: From an underrated perspective, Brandon Jennings, especially if he falls out of the lottery as expected. Most NBA teams just haven’t seen how talented he is because they weren’t allowed to watch him in high-school and he didn't play much in Europe. In the work-outs people are starting to see the talent, but he has even more than that if you put him in a 5 on 5 setting. From the scrimmages I attended in Rome, the Synergy footage I’ve watched and the game I was at, I was pretty floored. He has a chance to be pretty awesome.
In terms of the comments he made about Rubio…It was obviously stupid to say some of those things, and this was obviously a concern we had early on. The first article I wrote on him was in late 07 or early 08 after we watched him in a high-school tournament. The first impression I had was that he was cocky, arrogant and way too flashy. He was not very mature, but on the other hand, a lot of 19 year olds aren’t. I can tell you that I said and did some really stupid stuff at his age, but thankfully no one had a microphone or video camera to record them.
From being around him a little bit it seems like he actually is a really good guy with a great family around him. I think he might just be getting too caught up in trying be someone he isn't. He has so much desire to show people how good he is that sometimes maybe that comes off the right way. At heart I think he is a good dude, but he needs to be with people that are not afraid to tell him to put a sock in it. One thing people can't question however, is his talent.
A few more underrated guys—DeJuan Blair, Gerald Henderson, Eric Maynor if he falls pretty far like some people are saying.
12. A favorite of the HQ is Terrence Williams. Since the beginning of last season he has moved around a lot on mock draft boards and now there are rumors of him to GS at 7 (DX has him at 11). What is the consensus, or is there a consensus on him as a player?
JG: There is no consensus on him as a player. If you want to take a guy like him and have him succeed you need to have the right kind of players around him which I am not sure the Raps have. Williams is a limited guy offensively. You need a point guard who can penetrate, another wing who can create and a big who requires a double-team and I am not sure the Raps have all those ingredients. If you draft the guy you are getting an all around role player but with the current make-up of the Raps roster, I am just not sure he is a great fit there. They need someone who can do a little bit more offensively I suspect.
13. To me it seems like DeRozan is a boom/bust player and Williams is a safer pick. My preference would be to take a guy like Williams and allow him to complement the team's style. Do you think that is the wrong approach?
JG: You can find parts like Terrence Williams, but it is harder to find a superstar. Derozan's upside may lead you to believe that he will be a star and it is tough to pass on that. I am a little skeptical that he can become that All-Star, but I am sure the Raptors have more information on him than I do.
14. What about Toronto as a destination for prospects? We spoke with Jerel McNeal recently and asked if there was a stigma about playing north of the border. Even though this is one of the biggest media markets in North America, do you hear any such rumblings from prospective picks?
JG: I think initially it is a pain for them to go and get their passports, but once they get past that, I don't think it is an issue. Once you get to Toronto, walk around and see how incredibly beautiful and diverse it is, how could you not want to go there? I would rank Toronto in the top 10 in terms of NBA cities I would want to live in without a doubt. Initially I think prospects might say “No, I don't want to go there” but first of all they don't have a choice and secondly once they get there they figure out pretty quick that Toronto is an awesome city. I don't think it is an issue that Raptors fans have to worry about. Maybe I am wrong but my initial impression is it is not an issue, except for maybe the tax situation which I’m not all that familiar with.
15. How about Andrea Bargnani? Since we spoke last year he has really blossomed as a player, why do you think that is?
JG: I think the jury is still out on him. I think he had a really good year which is encouraging. but I think he still has a long way to go before becoming a player that should have been a top 3 or top 5 pick and that can really carry you into the playoffs. I don't think he is ever going to be the type of player you can build a team around, but maybe I’m wrong.
My personal philosophy is that the way he produces is not necessarily conducive to winning games. His rebounding is atrocious for a big man. Inch for inch, he may be the worst rebounder in the NBA. He is not particularly efficient, his 2 point percentages are low, and even though he is a great three-point shooter, that's not enough, because you need someone to create those looks for him. I am not sure he’s a guy that can create high-percentage shots for himself.
Although he made strides defensively, I would still consider him to be below average there. In terms of toughness and doing the little things it takes to win games, I’m not sure he is a good fit at all alongside Chris Bosh. There is a lot of duplication there. I’m not sure what to think about what people say about his intangibles, about his feel and passion for the game. Maybe if the team had a different style of big man, like a Paul Millsap-type, it would be more beneficial to him, but with the way the Raptors are currently built, it’s tough to get too excited about Bargnani. I could be wrong though. He improved a lot this year. Let’s see what he does next season and revisit. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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| Word on the Street, June 22nd |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 22, 2009 |
Green Room Invites
The list of players that will invited to attend the NBA Draft in Madison Square Garden Theater on June 25th is slowly beginning to trickle out, and we’re here to report what we’ve found thus far. The Green Room invite list is an exclusive group of players that the NBA has done its due diligence to confirm that they will be drafted in the lottery or not far after, compiled from a poll of NBA GM’s conducted by Stu Jackson.
Being invited to the Green Room means the player will sit with his family at the front of the theater in front of the commissioner, have his name called [hopefully] early in the draft, given a hat with his new team’s logo on it, and then brought up to the podium to shake David Stern’s hand.
The day before the draft, the players invited will participate in a media session at the Westin Hotel, which will be attended and covered in great depth by DraftExpress.
Our understanding is that the League had about as tough a time as ever putting the list together this year—due to the extreme uncertainty that goes along with a draft featuring so much parity-- and that there was a great deal of back and forth that went on with teams until the list was finalized on Friday evening. Typically there are 15 players invited to attend, but the NBA reserves the right to bring in less or more at their judgment. Right now we know about 13 players that have confirmed.
Here are the invites, from what we’ve been able to gather:
1. Blake Griffin
2. James Harden
3. Hasheem Thabeet
4. Ricky Rubio
5. Jordan Hill
6. Tyreke Evans
7. Stephen Curry
8. Jonny Flynn
9. Demar DeRozan
10. Jrue Holiday
11. Gerald Henderson
12. Brandon Jennings
13. Tyler Hansbrough
14. B.J. Mullens (potentially declining)
15. James Johnson (declining invite)
16. Eric Maynor (potentially declining)
The first two things that come to mind when looking at this list are, who got snubbed, and who will be the last player sitting in the Green Room?
The biggest snubs would likely be considered Terrence Williams, Austin Daye, Earl Clark and DeJuan Blair. There is apparently still a chance that one or more of them could make it to the Green Room when it’s all said and done, as at least one snubbed agent thinks that “discussions are on-going.” We were unable to confirm whether Ty Lawson was invited or not.
Who will be the last one sitting in the Green Room? Just going off our latest mock draft, the answer to that would be Tyler Hansbrough. A strong workout on Tuesday in New Jersey (drafting 11th) could change that, though.
There seems to be a lot of uncertainty about where Brandon Jennings may end up too. We currently have him slated to be drafted 13th by the Pacers, but sources close to the situation indicate that there are some concerns there that could lead them in the direction of Ty Lawson or Eric Maynor instead. The fact that he worked out for Phoenix on Saturday for the #14 pick is a pretty good indication that he, like most of us, has no idea where he’s going to get drafted at this point. If Jennings begins to slip a bit, look for ESPN’s college basketball crew to not miss the opportunity to get some shots in at his decision to skip the NCAA for Europe.
Running down the Top-5 of the Draft
Today came word from the Associated Press that Hasheem Thabeet canceled his workout with the Memphis Grizzlies, citing a shoulder injury.
"Thabeet was a combination of he's had some shoulder situations and he wanted to talk to some other teams," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said of the 7-foot-3 center out of Connecticut. "It's also what goes on this time of the year with guys showing, not showing, that type of thing. The gamesmanship of the draft."
A quick call to Thabeet’s agent, Ugo Udezue, seems to indicate differently. “He has scheduling issues,” Udezue told us. “He has to come to New York to see his family real quick.”
Digging a bit deeper, though, it simply seems like Thabeet just isn’t interested in working out for anyone at this point, since he does not feel like that setting is conducive to his strengths. “He’s not going to block shots in a workout, and that’s what he’s going to do in the NBA,” Udezue told us. “What are they going to do, have Hasheem shoot 3-pointers? Ricky Rubio is not doing any workouts either.”
Speaking of Rubio, do we have a second player openly telling the Grizzlies that they aren’t interested in playing in Memphis? From what we can gather, it doesn’t seem like Thabeet’s camp is all that enamored with the direction Memphis is heading in, and there seems to be strong indications that he feels very good about his chances of being drafted by Oklahoma City, with one NBA source going as far as to say that the chances of him being picked there if available are “100%.”
That would probably be news to Ricky Rubio, who Oklahoma City spent the last day and a half with in Los Angeles meeting with alongside his family. Sam Presti also took time out on Sunday evening to meet with James Harden, which is Oklahoma City’s third meeting with him so far, including his workout at their facility and an interview at the NBA combine in Chicago.
While Harden may not have helped himself with his poor workout in Memphis, he may be the last man standing at this point—the only player in the elite tier of prospects that actually is interested in playing there. The fact that highly influential Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley flew into Memphis to watch Thabeet, only to have him cancel his workout at the last minute, could bode very well for Harden.
The wildcard in all this are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who could throw a wrench in things by trading up to #2 to take Ricky Rubio. Sources say that Rubio’s camp has warmed up significantly to David Kahn and the Timberwolves organization as of late, and that they would not be opposed to him landing there. The catch is that the rookie scale salary slot of the #6 pick would not be sufficient in terms of satisfying Rubio’s gigantic buyout from DKV Joventut, so Kahn would have to trade into the top three to make that happen.
At this point, Kahn is holding firm on not putting Kevin Love on the table for the right to move up in the draft, and is instead trying to acquire another pick to entice Memphis to swap with them. As other media outlets have reported, they are targeting Washington’s #5 pick, but are only offering some combination of Randy Foye, Mike Miller and the #18 pick, which probably won’t get it done.
The Wizards have been bombarded with trade offers as of late, some of them more realistic than others, but it’s not a given that they will decide to trade the pick. If Rubio is on the board, all indications are that the Wizards would take him, and worst comes to worse, deal with the repercussions of him staying in Europe for another year or two until his buyout situation gets resolved. There aren’t many teams that are higher on Rubio’s upside than Washington.
As messy as the rest of the top five sounds, Sacramento’s situation might be the most confusing. It’s looking more and more clear that the Kings are not nearly as enamored with Ricky Rubio as they once were, for a number of reasons. The official party line is that Sacramento is concerned that Rubio will struggle to assert his leadership ability on the group of players they currently have in place, due to the fact that he’s only 18 years old and not a native English speaker. One of the biggest issues Sacramento had last year was with the culture of their team lockerroom. On top of that, the Kings are worried that will Rubio will have a huge target on his chest coming into the NBA, and that other players will “try to go at him every single night.”
Something important to keep in mind is that long-time Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie has just one year left on his contract, and that ownership is putting a great deal of pressure on him to ensure that they don’t go through as painful a season as they just did in 08-09, winning just 17 games. With that in mind, they may opt to just put a Band-Aid on the problem and draft a more ready player, such as Tyreke Evans or Jonny Flynn—who is very attractive due to his outgoing personality and terrific leadership skills-- and hope that things magically get better next season.
This is a situation that seemed almost unfathomable a few months ago, as the Kings were supposedly so enamored with Rubio’s talent that they were strongly considering drafting him with the #1 pick before falling to the #4 slot in the lottery. Considering what we know about all these prospects, it’s tough not to think that Sacramento would be making a colossal mistake letting a playmaker of Rubio’s caliber get by them, as his upside is substantially higher than that of Evans or Flynn.
Jonny Flynn happened to work out in Sacramento this weekend, alongside other Kings favorite Tyreke Evans, as well as Stephen Curry, Nick Calathes. It’s well known at this point that Flynn is not getting past Milwaukee’s pick at #10 at worst, but his chances of going 4th seem to be improving by the day. It’s too early to rule out Evans at Sacramento’s pick either, even though Rubio is still very much in the picture as well.
Rubio is reportedly returning to Sacramento tomorrow for a workout, which should ease one of the concerns the team has about being unable to watch him last week.
Scattered Rumors
-B.J. Mullens worked out for the Philadelphia 76ers (#17) on Sunday, and is scheduled to work out for Chicago (#16) on Tuesday. While many NBA teams we spoke with have picked up on the rumor that he may have a promise from Detroit at 15, things don’t really seem to add up here. If anything, the Pistons seem to be most interested in Earl Clark, and have reportedly told him as much, as have the Phoenix Suns, drafting 14th. On the other hand, Detroit continues to be very active in trade-talk, though, and could very well decide to move the pick, which would make all of this moot. Would Mullens really turn down his Green Room invite if he definitely knew he was going 15th? Clark on the other hand just passed up a workout with Chicago this week in order to be with his newborn baby, as he seems to be feeling very good about where’s currently at in this draft.
-Golden State appears to be exploring possibilities to improve on the defensive end in hopes of making a strong run to the playoffs next season. One trade that has reportedly been offered by the Charlotte Bobcats that may help on that front would involve packaging Kelenna Azubuike and Marco Belinelli in exchange for Raja Bell. The Warriors are pondering the offer, but would have to get Azubuike’s consent to make the trade unless they decided to wait until July 24th.
In other Warriors news, it appears that despite not having worked him out, Stephen Curry is the team’s main target should he be available with the 7th pick. Other options include Jordan Hill, Tyreke Evans and James Johnson.
-According to an NBA source, super active Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn has offered Mike Miller to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Chris Kaman. The Clippers shot down that trade, but countered with Marcus Camby.
-A few players that could shake things up on draft night…Taj Gibson to Utah at 20? Wayne Ellington to Philadelphia at 17? Tyler Hansbrough to New Jersey at 11? Ty Lawson to Indiana at 13?
DeJuan Blair’s Outlook Improving?
A pair of MRIs making the rounds amongst NBA teams appear to be easing some concerns about DeJuan Blair’s knees, according to his agent Happy Walters. Blair was red-flagged at the NBA pre-draft camp for the ACL tears he suffered in both knees while in college. He does not appears to have an ACL in either knee now, and there were concerns that he may struggle to stay healthy as his career moves on.
In response, Blair’s camp retrieved an MRI from November of 2008 done at Pittsburgh for doctors to compare with the MRI of his knees from the pre-draft camp earlier this month. The specialists found that there had been “no deterioration in the situation of his knees whatsoever over the course of the season,” which has been conveyed to the doctors of various NBA teams that are most interested in Blair at the moment.
Blair still appears to be strongly in consideration at Indiana (#13) and Chicago (#16), and will indeed visit the Bulls on Tuesday to work out against B.J. Mullens. He’ll be in Utah (picking 20th) on Monday.
DeMarre Carroll’s Health Situation Clarified
Dr. Jeffrey Crippin, one of the leading experts in the world on liver disorders, has given DeMarre Carroll a positive evaluation that has eased the concerns of several NBA teams, Carroll’s agent Mark Bartelstein told DraftExpress.
Carroll was put through a liver biopsy procedure, which showed no signs of deterioration from when he first diagnosed with a disorder a year and a half ago. In a letter sent out to every NBA team outlining the test, results and prognosis, the chances given of something happening to Carroll’s liver that would impact his pro career was estimated at “1-2% at most.” In other words, there is “a negligible risk that his liver situation would have any effect on NBA career,” and that if anything needed to be done, it would be “20-25 years from now.”
Bartelstein indicated that the feedback he had received was that the teams that were apprehensive about the condition had their concerns put to rest. |
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| Taking Stock of USA Basketball with Jerry Colangelo |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 19, 2009 |
A sit-down with the national director of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo, to discuss a wide-range of subjects pertaining to our national teams, American basketball, and President Barack Obama.
 | | Reuters |
JONATHAN GIVONY: So, Mr. Colangelo, I saw that you talked to the players in the morning, but we couldn’t exactly hear what you were saying. Can you tell us what were you talking about?
JERRY COLANGELO: Basically, I wanted to give the players a perspective about what this is all about, that it’s an honor to represent your country, to have USA across your jersey. It’s not an entitlement, it’s something you earn.
Then I walked them through the experience with the Olympic Team last summer and how they all gave up their individual egos, it was about “we,” and “team,” and it wasn’t about “I.” It was all worth the effort and the time, and this is a great opportunity, take advantage of it, if you all aspire to represent your country on the Olympic Team, this is just a step, and you have to pay your dues. You have to keep yourself clean on and off the floor, and you need to stay focused. Life is short, you only come around once, and from here to your school situation, make the most of it.
In other words, encouraging them, kind of laying out a format for how the whole system works, how the pipeline works, and to encourage them. So that they know that if they get the job done, I said I know you will, I don’t know which of you, are going to be representing your country in the Olympics. I was trying to give them a little oomph and encourage them.
JONATHAN GIVONY: A lot of these guys were McDonalds All Americans, they were the top players in their cities, their high schools, their AAU teams, etc. Now, they’ve never been in a situation before where they actually have to make a team, where they might get cut. What do you think that does for them in a setting like this?
JERRY COLANGELO: First of all, that’s life in the big city. The higher up you go, the more competitive it is, and the more people who have been getting all the accolades in the past mean nothing, because the playing field, or the playing court is the equalizer. Those who earn it, those who are deserving will be the survivors.
So, the true competitor looks forward to that, and looks forward to competing with the very best. It’s pretty easy to see players who have the physical skills. It doesn’t take a genius to identify runners and jumpers and shooters and defenders, etc. It’s a lot of the intangibles. It’s the body language, it’s the focus.
If you could make two incisions, one over the forehead, one over the heart, you’d find out for sure what you have. But the competitor wants to go. Wants to keep pushing himself, because he wants to be the best. If you want to be the best, you have to play against the best, and the higher up you go in this whole program, the more competitive it is, and a lot of guys with great credentials won’t make it. That’s the way it should be.
JONATHAN GIVONY: Nineteen players, I was told, declined their invites to the Under-19 team, why do you think that is?
JERRY COLANGELO: Well, since I’ve been here, we’ve had discussion about that. It’s pretty obvious, we’ve got total buy in regarding everything we’re talking about. Usually you start on the bottom and build a foundation, and build a program working up. I came in at the top, and built a program working down. So we’ve got the NBA players, we’ve got the upper echelon totally bought in, we’ve got the younger guys like first and second year pros who are the next grouping, they’re all showing up this summer at the camp in July. There’s buy in there, there’s buy in on the sixteen year olds.
The nineteen year old thing is kind of a blip on the screen. It takes some getting into. We could just say, ‘Okay, that’s just the way it is.’ I don’t buy that, that’s not the way I operate. Some of them are summer school, some of the players’ fathers want to work with them one-on-one, they think they get better instruction that way. I differ with that, but that’s an opinion.
The NCAA allows teams to make major trips and they have tutors with them. I’m suggesting that we have tutors with our players, so we eliminate that piece of it. Even the coaches have their own agendas, they keep these kids eligible, and so on and so forth. I understand all of that, and we just have to work through it.
JONATHAN GIVONY: In a lot of countries, like Spain for example, Lithuania, Serbia, there’s kind of a rite of passage that happens, where guys start on the junior national team, then if they’re good enough they move up to the senior national team. There’s kind of a backlash if they don’t go through that process, by refusing an invite to one of the national teams or something like that. Why don’t we see that same mentality here in the States?
JERRY COLANGELO: Well, first of all, I think we’ve changed the culture here in the States, and there is an expectation level, so whatever happened in the past with USA Basketball before my tenure began, really is irrelevant.
Let’s put it this way, I saw what the other countries did, and admired what they did in building their national programs, in keeping these young guys together for the number of years. Basketball is the ultimate, consummate team game. It has been proven, because we’ve been on the losing end, good basketball teams can beat all-star teams, more talented teams.
We have an education-based structure here in the United States, that’s not true anywhere else. So, our coaches are limited by the number of hours they can be with their players, in AAU basketball which is huge, kids don’t work on their games necessarily, they play games in the offseason, and yet you look at the other more successful programs around the world, it’s almost like they’re at an institute to play basketball, hours and hours a day.
There are no academic requirements or prohibitions, so what would you expect? I would expect guys, when they’re 19 or 20, to be pretty fundamentally sound, which they are, be able to shoot the ball, which they are, to be able to understand the nuances of the game, which they do. That’s not the way we’re structured.
One of the things I said when I took over is, we’re going to a national team concept. For the first time, we have a national team roster. It’s fluid, we can add and subtract, whatever is required at any given time. What I’ve tried to do is put new infrastructure in place, it’s a pipeline, and we’re a work in progress. It has nothing to do with how our disconnect or anything, that’s old stuff- doesn’t mean anything.
JONATHAN GIVONY: Is there any thought about maybe putting in a rule where, if you want to play for the senior national team, you cannot decline an invite the U-19s? That would automatically rule you out from competing with the US in the future? Clearly the top prospects in this age group just aren’t here. There are some excellent players, I think that it’s a nice group, but it’s not the top group of guys in terms of prospects.
JERRY COLANGELO: Well, I’m going to the academic structure we have here in the United States, which is part of the problem. You have coaches that have their concerns; coaches have to win, coaches want the players eligible. We’re at that age bracket, that’s just where it’s the tipping point.
I don’t have a solution, other than what I’ve said to you is that we should address it, we should seek help from the NCAA regarding tutoring, I mean one of the reasons these kids aren’t here is that they have to go to summer school. Well, we’re going to get a lot more kids who would be here, if that was accurately the reason.
It’s hard to compete with a father who says, ‘I could do better with my son than this great group of coaches.’ I can disagree with it, but that’s still his opinion and it probably would prevail.
So, I’m not sure you can ever legislate, nor should you necessarily, I think you encourage, you try to make it pretty clear, that we think it’s important to be in the pipeline. If you’re not in the pipeline, your expectations should be limited, because just like I told our players the last three or four years, those who have paid their dues have built up equity. You can’t just show up in an Olympic year and expect, I don’t care who you are, that just doesn’t fly.
So, I think over a period of time, that message will get across. See if you get to the sixteen year olds, like we have, they’re going to get it, and they’re going to be nineteen pretty soon. So they’ll think twice about not participating, if they’re being encouraged to do that. Okay so we have a little blip this year, with this group, and we get these players; we’re going to address them. We’ll see if we can improve upon it and work on it.
JONATHAN GIVONY: In terms of what you guys are doing here, how much of this is about developing the players and how much of it is about going out and getting the gold medal?
JERRY COLANGELO: Well, realistically you don’t have the kind of time, the time that’s required to really work on development. Now, the mere fact that you’re playing competitively with this level of competition here in the States, that makes you a better player, no question about that.
Number two, playing against world competition makes you a better player, so in effect you’re working on your game. It’s a lot different than playing in the summer league, when you’re playing five games in one day. You’re not working on your fundamentals, I don’t think.
So, the training camps, where you have some duration of time, is when you get a lot more into the development. I know the players we’ve had, we’ve had for three years, are much better players after the Olympics experience than they were when they started, and I mean fundamentally. From the ’05, ’05 I think we participated, ’06, ’07, and ’08, it was the camps. We had a lot of camp time, and I think that’s where the improvement took place.
JONATHAN GIVONY: There’s a lot of criticism in the mass media of American basketball, how AAU is controlled by the sneaker companies, how our development system is broken, a lot of things that we’ve talked about in this conversation. How much responsibility does USA basketball feel to take part in fixing the issues we have in American basketball?
JERRY COLANGELO: Today USA basketball has a single-minded purpose, which is to field teams that represent the United States in international competition. On a personal basis, I think USA basketball has infrastructure, and should be the entity to address everything you’re talking about.
The recent announcement of the NBA and the NCAA with the Youth Initiative, that’s what that is supposed to be also. That’s just getting started, and they’re concentrating on a website for information, et cetera. In a perfect world, everyone would come together, Youth Initiative and USA basketball and we address a lot of those issues.
What I said earlier about coming in, starting at the top and working down is different than starting at the bottom and working up. But I do think, because we’ve had success at the top, it has already funneled down pretty well, short of the blip at the nineteen year olds. Everyone else, they get it, everyone is buying in. Well it’s a great platform from which to address these issues. Ultimately, that’s what I’d like to see happen.
JONATHAN GIVONY: Is Barack Obama going to be good for American basketball? Are there things he can do to help out?
JERRY COLANGELO: Having been a left-handed basketball player myself, knowing that he’s left-handed, I think that he’s got a great shot to give us a lift.
Seriously, I love the fact that he loves the game. And am therefore hopeful that he will have an open ear towards addressing a lot of the issues that are out there. I mean, it would be nice to clean up the mess. I’d like to see better coaches with younger players, I would like to have more talented players, some of the rules are archaic, they need to be addressed. The way it’s structured, the people who have more time with the players should have less time with the players, I mean it’s upside-down. So, it seems overwhelming, it’s a big big deal because it’s pretty entrenched, but it would be fun to kind of go at it.
JONATHAN GIVONY: Thanks so much for your time, Mr. Colangelo, I really appreciate it. |
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| Colorado Springs Snapshot: USA Basketball's Junior National Teams |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 18, 2009 |
About a week before the ball drops on the 2009 NBA draft, we decided to spend a few days in Colorado Springs, checking out the talent for next year’s draft and beyond at the tryouts for two USA Basketball teams this summer.
33 players are here trying out for USA Basketball’s Under-19 and World University Games roster, which will be competing in New Zealand and Serbia respectively. Before we go into an evaluation of some of the top players on hand, we’ll first talk about this setting and the scuttlebutt coming out of it.
• The Under-19 roster is comprised entirely of players who just finished their freshman season in college, except for two recent high school graduates, Kenny Boynton (Florida) and Dante Taylor (Pittsburgh). 17 players were in attendance. The roster was cut down to 12 today with the following players not continuing on to New Zealand:
Kenny Boynton (Florida)
Dante Taylor (Pittsburgh)
Ralph Sampson II (Minnesota)
Drew Gordon (UCLA) [injured, partially torn patella tendon]
Daryl Bryant (West Virginia)
Here are the players that did make it:
DeAngelo Casto (Washington State)
Seth Curry (Duke)
Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh)
Gordon Hayward (Butler)
Shelvin Mack (Butler)
Darius Miller (Kentucky)
Arnett Moultrie (UTEP)
John Shurna (Northwestern)
Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)
Howard Thompkins (Georgia)
Klay Thompson (Washington State)
Terrico White (Mississippi)
• The World University Games is eligible for all college students, and is made up of rising juniors and seniors. 16 players were in attendance. The roster was cut down to 12 today with the following players not continuing on to Serbia:
JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)
Dominique Jones (South Florida)
Mike Tisdale (Illinois)
Nic Wise (Arizona)
Here are the players that did make it:
James Anderson (Oklahoma State)
Talor Battle (Penn State)
Trevor Booker (Clemson)
Craig Brackins (Iowa State)
Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia)
Corey Fisher (Villanova)
Lazar Hayward (Marquette)
Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
Quincy Pondexter (Washington)
Deon Thompson (North Carolina)
Evan Turner (Ohio State)
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)
• This setting was interesting for a number of reasons, especially because of the fact that the players actually needed to compete for a roster spot. That raises the level of intensity of the practices significantly, but also makes for an interesting perspective, since pretty much none of these thoroughbreds have ever been put in a situation that they actually have to prove that they are worthy of being on a team.
• You could see plenty of nerves early on, from the younger group of players especially, who really seemed to hang their head after pretty much every mistake they made. They eventually settled in, but you could tell that these players are just not used to the concept of a team potentially not being interested in their services.
For some, this is a great introduction to the harsh reality of professional basketball, where they often just aren’t good enough to play at every level of competition. Being cut, or even facing the threat of being cut can be an incredibly humbling experience…No wonder so many players were diving on the floor for loose balls and stepping up to take charges, even long after they were tugging on their shorts from exhaustion, a combination of the extreme altitude and the fact that many players were mostly inactive since their season ended in March.
• We asked Tyshawn Taylor what his thoughts were on having to show that he’s good enough to make the team, and whether he’s ever been in a situation like that before:
“No, not that I can remember. Ever since I got into high school it’s kind of been like, Tyshawn you’re on this team, this is what you’re going to do. But it’s never really been like this where I have to work out against guys who are just as talented if not more talented than I am. To have to make this team and impress great coaches like Jamie Dixon, Roy Williams and Jim Boehiem, I’ve never had to do this. But this is a good experience for me.”
• There were somewhere around 15-20 NBA scouts here coming and going to check out the action, with no more than a handful being high-level executives/decision makers. With all the self-pity that goes on every year from General Managers complaining about how they aren’t being given the chance to properly evaluate the prospects available to them in the draft due to the restrictions placed on 5 on 5 play, you would think they would jump on the opportunity to evaluate a number of potential future lottery and first round picks in a setting like this. That obviously isn’t the case.
• It’s true that many teams are in the process of working prospects out every day, but many aren’t, and it’s debatable regardless whether they are actually seeing anything meaningful in a workout setting anyway. Are they really better off watching Jordan Hill shoot left-handed hook shots in a gym all by himself?
• For the cost-conscious amongst us, who don’t have the budget to spend 180 days of the year in airports and hotels, this is a perfect setting to see such a large group of prospects in person competing just a few feet in front of you. Once you get that part of the evaluation down (true size, athleticism, body language), we feel like you don’t lose all that much by filling in the blanks of their skill-sets with services like Synergy Sports Technology and your DVR. That saves a lot of time and money.
• It’s pretty amazing to note the stark contrast between the U-19 group and the World University Games roster. Immediately when they alternate courts you see an incredible difference in physical maturity, as well as their understanding of the game. The ball moves faster, the spacing is much better, the intensity raises a couple of notches, the half court sets are crisper, and the overall level of play rises dramatically.
• Part of that has to do with the fact that the WUG group is just more talented, but a lot of that revolves around just how much better players get between the ages of 19 and 21, in many different aspects. Is it any wonder David Stern wants to protect his teams and allow them to make better decisions on draft night by forcing players to stay in school for a few years? The difference between players in these age groups is simply night and day.
• While a significant amount of time here is based around competitive 5 on 5 scrimmages and instilling set-plays, there is also a certain development aspect that goes on at the same time as well, both on and off the court. We’ve seen the players put through a number of drills intended to help them improve on their skill-level—things that won’t reap immediate benefits for Team USA, but could be beneficial for the players long-term. Perimeter shooting, ball-handling, post-moves, transition play—just some of the drills that we’ve observed players conducting on the side while the teams alternate between the main floor for scrimmaging. Now that the teams are actually set and the players do not have to be evaluated any more to check their potential fit on the roster, we expect to see a lot more of that going on.
• In addition, the presence of such a large amount of highly respected college coaches surrounding the players at all times, barking out instructions, encouraging and providing feedback, has to be viewed as a major benefit for those that decided to attend. With all the criticism that is heaved in the direction of American basketball (some of it entirely-deserved), there is no question that the USA Basketball people are doing their part to help the players develop from a maturity and skills standpoint. They are ultimately making them better players and future pros, and are definitely good for the game.
• The coaching staffs includes the likes of Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Chris Lowery (Southern Illinois) and Matt Painter (Purdue) for the U-19 team, and Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), Frank Haith (Miami), Rob Jeter (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) for the World University games. There are also six coaches assisting as “court coaches” and doing their part to help run the drills and scrimmages. They are Mike Anderson (Missouri), John Beilein (Michigan), Johnny Estelle (Navarro College), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Alan Magnani (Iowa Wesleyan) and Herb Sendek (Arizona State).
In addition we also find the USA Basketball’s junior National Committee, including the likes of Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Bruce Weber (Illinois) and Roy Williams (North Carolina), who are sitting courtside, next to the godfather of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo.
That’s a pretty impressive group, any way you slice it.
• While it may sound cliché, the emphasis here is clearly on “playing the right away.” The coaches are for the most part all from programs known for being extremely organized and disciplined in their approach to the game, and much of the instructions they give the players from the sidelines revolve around concepts such as playing strong defense, moving the ball around unselfishly, correct spacing and not settling for bad shots. While there are referees on the court, they are forcing the players to adjust to the physicality of international basketball by calling the games very loosely, which makes things far more educational in our eyes.
• With that in mind, it should be said that the USA Basketball people have not had the easiest time filling out the rosters with the best talent available to them. While they would never publicly state as much, word trickled down from the NBA-types that as many as 19 players declined their invites to attend these tryouts, just from the Under-19 group. There are many reasons for that, mostly revolving around the fact that the schools and college coaches want their players on campus in the summer to attend summer school and get a head start on staying eligible, and thus maintaining their APR (Academic Progress Rate), which is essential for not losing future scholarships. As Jerry Colangelo told us in a wide-ranging interview that will be published in the next day or two, “they have their own agendas.”
• Some players, such as Kemba Walker, decided they would rather attend Nike’s Lebron Camp instead of representing their country in international competition, which is a real shame. Ignoring the patriotic element for a moment—which is a much stronger pull in seemingly every other country in the world outside of the US-- it’s tough not to feel like these players are missing out on a wonderful experience. Colangelo vowed to pay special attention to this issue and stressed the success they’ve had getting the younger and older NBA players to make sacrifices and commit to USA Basketball. He feels like it’s only a matter of time until the U-19 group is the same way.
• It’s pretty hard not to look at the roster that has been put together for the U-19 World Championship in New Zealand next month and not feel like this is a pretty weak group overall. Instead of rolling out a team with the likes of John Wall, Willie Warren, Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Devin Ebanks, Greg Monroe, Sylven Landesberg, Kemba Walker and countless others (not to mention freshmen like Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holiday, who are currently in the 2009 draft), this team has had to settle for a far less talented group.
• From our NCAA Freshmen Rankings, we have to scroll all the way down to the 20th and 21st spots to find the first participants in this USA Basketball tryout—Terrico White and Gordon Hayward. We (and the NBA teams in attendance) now know that we need to bump up Tyshawn Taylor significantly after what we’ve learned, but if this team is going to come home with the Gold medal, it certainly isn’t going to be because they are the most talented roster in New Zealand.
• The situation on the World University Games roster looks a bit better. Craig Brackins and Evan Turner are both currently projected as lottery picks on our 2010 mock draft, while James Anderson and Trevor Booker are in the first round. This group will have their hands full with the very talented and experienced Serbians on their home floor, but they won’t be underdogs going in. There are quite a few notable players not in attendance, though, such as Cole Aldrich, Patrick Patterson, Kyle Singler, Larry Sanders, Manny Harris, Stanley Robinson and Matt Bouldin.
• Sherron Collins is another omission, except he was already committed to the Team USA until he pulled out at the last minute, citing “family issues.” We saw Collins shooting around about a month ago while we were in Chicago, and we have a feeling that the fact that he’s about 25 pounds overweight has a lot more to do with it.
• We’ll be back in the next day or two to evaluate the top players seen here with scouting reports. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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