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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2004/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=1814285
Josh Smith's agent wants his client in the same gym as Luol Deng. Pick a day. Any date in June is fine. He'll gladly reschedule any of Smith's workouts so the two potential lottery picks will be on the same court.
You see, if Deng is projected to go as high as No. 3 overall in the draft to Chicago, well Smith's co-agent Brian Dyke wants Smith to at least get a chance to go one-on-one with him.
But it hasn't happened yet.
Deng originally made stringent pre-draft workout plans. He had Duke send out a release saying he would only hold workouts at Duke for scouts of top-five teams. But Duke associate head coach Johnny Dawkins said Deng never held any pro workouts at Duke and his plans have changed. Deng is interviewing agents this week and is willing to go on the road to visit teams' facilities now that he has decided to stay in the draft.
Smith, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-8 forward out of Oak Hill Academy (Va.) who's willing to go up against anyone in this year's draft. A former Atlanta Celtics summer league teammate of Dwight Howard, Smith is currently working out against Stanford small forward Josh Childress at Atlanta and Washington this week. The two are projected to go in the same range within the lottery, but Childress has apparently climbed ahead of Smith, possibly as high as No. 4 to Charlotte.
And while Smith may be able to sway a few scouts' minds by working out against Childress, Deng has been off limits.
Josh Smith, left, is willing to showcase his skills against anyone this month.
"When we went to Charlotte, we said go get (Deng) but he wouldn't do it," Dyke said. "It's hard to control, but we want to work out against guys in his range. We've got Childress. We wanted Deng but he won't do it."
Aaron Goodwin represents Howard, the possible No. 1 overall pick, and doesn't want or need to see his client matched up against the other possible top pick Emeka Okafor of Connecticut.
"I want the teams to focus on Dwight, not on Dwight versus Emeka," Goodwin said. "I want them to see the stuff he can do that pretty much only (Kevin) Garnett can do. I want them to see him dribble the ball, run the point and shoot facing the basket."
Goodwin, however, has seen how a player's stock can rise if given a chance to match up against his competition. When Goodwin represented Jamal Crawford in 2000, the guard had an impressive Chicago pre-draft camp and leaped past other notable point guards Mateen Cleaves, Keyon Dooling and Erick Barkley to go No. 8 in the draft.
This year is different.
"It's about timing and it's about the right player," said Goodwin, who also represented last season's No. 1 pick in LeBron James. "But not in this case. I wouldn't do it."
I like the confidence.
Josh Smith's agent wants his client in the same gym as Luol Deng. Pick a day. Any date in June is fine. He'll gladly reschedule any of Smith's workouts so the two potential lottery picks will be on the same court.
You see, if Deng is projected to go as high as No. 3 overall in the draft to Chicago, well Smith's co-agent Brian Dyke wants Smith to at least get a chance to go one-on-one with him.
But it hasn't happened yet.
Deng originally made stringent pre-draft workout plans. He had Duke send out a release saying he would only hold workouts at Duke for scouts of top-five teams. But Duke associate head coach Johnny Dawkins said Deng never held any pro workouts at Duke and his plans have changed. Deng is interviewing agents this week and is willing to go on the road to visit teams' facilities now that he has decided to stay in the draft.
Smith, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-8 forward out of Oak Hill Academy (Va.) who's willing to go up against anyone in this year's draft. A former Atlanta Celtics summer league teammate of Dwight Howard, Smith is currently working out against Stanford small forward Josh Childress at Atlanta and Washington this week. The two are projected to go in the same range within the lottery, but Childress has apparently climbed ahead of Smith, possibly as high as No. 4 to Charlotte.
And while Smith may be able to sway a few scouts' minds by working out against Childress, Deng has been off limits.
Josh Smith, left, is willing to showcase his skills against anyone this month.
"When we went to Charlotte, we said go get (Deng) but he wouldn't do it," Dyke said. "It's hard to control, but we want to work out against guys in his range. We've got Childress. We wanted Deng but he won't do it."
Aaron Goodwin represents Howard, the possible No. 1 overall pick, and doesn't want or need to see his client matched up against the other possible top pick Emeka Okafor of Connecticut.
"I want the teams to focus on Dwight, not on Dwight versus Emeka," Goodwin said. "I want them to see the stuff he can do that pretty much only (Kevin) Garnett can do. I want them to see him dribble the ball, run the point and shoot facing the basket."
Goodwin, however, has seen how a player's stock can rise if given a chance to match up against his competition. When Goodwin represented Jamal Crawford in 2000, the guard had an impressive Chicago pre-draft camp and leaped past other notable point guards Mateen Cleaves, Keyon Dooling and Erick Barkley to go No. 8 in the draft.
This year is different.
"It's about timing and it's about the right player," said Goodwin, who also represented last season's No. 1 pick in LeBron James. "But not in this case. I wouldn't do it."
I like the confidence.
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