NBA's guest list has a few surprises
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Updated: June 19
4:14 PM ET
Want a pretty good sign of who will be in the lottery come draft night?
Look no further than the NBA's exclusive "Green Room" invitation list. Each year the NBA selects 12 to 15 players to travel to the draft and sit in a special player's only room. When a player's name is called on draft night, he gets to stroll to the podium, put on his new team's hat and shake David Stern's hand.
The invitation list is complied from a poll of NBA GMs on who they think will be drafted in the lottery. It's usually a great barometer of who will likely be selected in or around the lottery.
Each year there are a few surprising admissions and a snub or two.
This year the big surprises are invites to Illinois' Brian Cook and Serbian forward Zarko Cabarkapa.
Three other international players -- Darko Milicic, Maciej Lampe, Mickael Pietrus -- were also invited to the room.
All of the other usual suspects will be invited: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Mike Sweetney and Nick Collison.
Cook, who many felt could slip out of the first round, has been playing to rave reviews at workouts. Several NBA sources now claim he could go anywhere from 10 to 19 in the draft. Cabarkapa is rumored to have a promise by the Suns at No. 17. But one league source told Insider he could end up going even higher.
One surprising omission was Oregon's Luke Ridnour. However, Ridnour's agent, Lon Babby, told Insider he asked the NBA not to put Ridnour on the list. Ridnour had a pulled muscle and missed several workouts. Babby felt Ridnour needed to spend every day, including draft day, working out.
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Updated: June 19
4:14 PM ET
Want a pretty good sign of who will be in the lottery come draft night?
Look no further than the NBA's exclusive "Green Room" invitation list. Each year the NBA selects 12 to 15 players to travel to the draft and sit in a special player's only room. When a player's name is called on draft night, he gets to stroll to the podium, put on his new team's hat and shake David Stern's hand.
The invitation list is complied from a poll of NBA GMs on who they think will be drafted in the lottery. It's usually a great barometer of who will likely be selected in or around the lottery.
Each year there are a few surprising admissions and a snub or two.
This year the big surprises are invites to Illinois' Brian Cook and Serbian forward Zarko Cabarkapa.
Three other international players -- Darko Milicic, Maciej Lampe, Mickael Pietrus -- were also invited to the room.
All of the other usual suspects will be invited: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Mike Sweetney and Nick Collison.
Cook, who many felt could slip out of the first round, has been playing to rave reviews at workouts. Several NBA sources now claim he could go anywhere from 10 to 19 in the draft. Cabarkapa is rumored to have a promise by the Suns at No. 17. But one league source told Insider he could end up going even higher.
One surprising omission was Oregon's Luke Ridnour. However, Ridnour's agent, Lon Babby, told Insider he asked the NBA not to put Ridnour on the list. Ridnour had a pulled muscle and missed several workouts. Babby felt Ridnour needed to spend every day, including draft day, working out.
