George O'Brien
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A lot of this stuff is old news.
Antoine Wright has made the most noise of late, shooting up
the draft board after a number of big workouts. Scouts feel
he has gone from a late lotto pick to a mid lottery pick in
course of the past week.
Wright had a very strong junior season and was projected by
most scouts as a mid-first rounder after the season ended.
But with his impressive workouts, and a weak field in the
mid-lottery area, Wright has become a virtual lock for a top
10 pick, possibly to Charlotte at 5, Toronto at 7 or New York
at 8.
Having recently signed an agent (Billy Ceisler), Wright is
in the draft for good and is considered the top shooting guard
prospect for the draft by NBADraft.net (Gerald Green is considered
a SF).
NBADraft.net has long rated Wright as a top 5 player in
his class, and while others considered him a second
rounder early in the college basketball season, NBADraft.net
stuck with him, and has always projected him as a First rounder.
Wright struggled in his sophomore season with his shooting
percentage and turnovers. But with a better coach and point
guard on board, he played sensationally all year, and nearly
led an upset of Kansas in their arena.
Suns Promise Diogu?
Ike
Diogu
The Phoenix
Suns were knocked out of the playoffs Wednesday, and now look
to the future with the draft less than a month away.
NBADraft.net received word Friday that the Suns may have a
promise in place to take Arizona St. power forward Ike
Diogu. Diogu reportedly measured a legit 6-7 and change
in a workout, and a reported 7-3.5 wingspan, meaning he is
a big 6-8. So his size is not far off from a player some have
likened him to: Elton Brand.
Diogu doesn't exactly fit into the Suns up tempo style, but
after their quick 5 game boot from the playoffs at the hands
of San Antonio, coach Mike D' Antoni was heard saying they
needed to add toughness to compete with them next year.
With their star shooting guard Joe Johnson a free agent, the
team is doing everything they can to trim their payroll in
an effort to keep him. There has been some speculation that
the team would go with a European player that they could leave
over in Europe. This remains a possibility if Diogu is gone
when they pick, or if the rumor turns out to be false.
Phoenix also loves high schooler Monta Ellis, and is was said
to be hoping he will slip to them at 21, but they may figure
he'll be gone by the time they pick.
According to sources, Ellis had a favorable match up with
Jarrett Jack in their workout in Minnesota. Ellis is considered
a likely top 20 pick with a legit chance to quick-first-step
his way into the late lottery. Minnesota has been searching
for a talented young point guard to pair with KG for years,
and could make a pick for the future with Ellis.
Chris Taft Steadying the Ship
Chris
Taft
After a lackluster season in which he showed flashes of immense
potential, but a lack of desire and passion, Chris
Taft has been the subject of a lot of media scrutiny.
However his workouts have not been as bad as some will have
you believe.
On Thursday Taft worked out for the Clippers against Sean May and outdualed the Final Four tournament MVP. In a 2 on 2 game with Elder
and Ewing, Taft outplayed May in all facets of the game.
During the past season, despite being the most talented player
on the team, Taft had a hard time getting opportunities to
prove himself at Pitt. Senior Chevon Troutman was a lot more
assertive shooting the ball, and ate into Taft's numbers considerably.
Also, taking away from Taft's effectiveness was a point guard
(Carl Krauser) with a shoot first mentality. Taft averaged
just over 9 shots a game, scoring more than 14 points a game,
meaning he had great ratio of more than 1 1/2 points per shot.
Taft has slid some from his early projection as a top 5-10
pick, (as high as the #1 pick in early season) but with as
much upside as any bigman in the draft, Taft has become a
huge sleeper. And while some Pitt fans will say he slept all
season, even while games were going on, it could be teams
caught sleeping in the draft.
Look for him to end up somewhere in the 10-18 range when draft
night rolls around.
Tiago Splitter Likely to Pull Out
Despite a very strong effort Thursday against Fran
Vazquez in a Spanish league (series) game between
their teams, Splitter will likely end up waiting another season
to enter the draft. He's a player with very good upside, however
the buyout situation with him is very difficult, meaning that
a team in the 6-12 range would have to wait a year for him.
Therefore the odds of him coming over next season are low.
He remains in the same boat with Nemanja Aleksandrov, Ersan Ilyasova, Martynas Andriuskevicius looking for a promise that probably
wont come.
Andrew Bynum Workout Saturday
Andrew Bynum, the elite UConn recruit who was impressive in the Jordan Classic will workout for teams on Saturday at Baruch College in New
York City. The general thought on him is that he is somewhere
in the late first round with a chance to move up with a great
showing in the workout.
His long term potential would be best served however, with
a few years at UConn. He has the potential to be a top 5-10
center in the NBA someday, but the chances of that happening
are far greater if he played a couple seasons under Jim Calhoun
at UConn. NBADraft.net will have contacts at the workout and
will give a report on how it affects his status for the draft.
Rashad McCants Troubles
Rashad McCants has had a couple workouts where he has gotten sick and had to stop. Workouts in Minnesota and Toronto had to be cut short
due to McCants feeling ill. After missing time during the
season due to a stomach ailment, this could be a troubling
sign for the immensely talented shooting guard.
He was able to overcome the ailment which cost him a few weeks
towards the end of the NCAA regular season, and was key in
North Carolina's championship run.
McCants had a workout planned for Orlando Friday, no word
yet on how it went, but we will keep tabs on the situation.
Portland Likes Webster
Word has leaked that Trailblazers management might actually
prefer to trade down to get Martell
Webster instead of Gerald
Green. The original scenario had Portland moving down
two spots taking Charlotte's pick and a future first rounder
and then select Green at 5.
Portland continues to shop the third pick, with Chris Paul
having the most value at the position. A number of teams are
very interested, so it will be interesting to see if Portland
wants to have contracts taken off their hands, or adds a player
or pick(s) if a deal is made.
Another trade possibility is Toronto at 7, where Portland
would let Green go to another team in front of them and select
Webster. Regardless, Webster's stock is on the rise and there's
a very good chance he will end up a top ten pick.
Marko Tomas to Real Madrid
Marko Tomas' club KK Zagreb has reached a (verbal) agreement regarding
Marko with European basketball powerhouse Real Madrid of Spain
ACB. KK Zagreb will reportedly sell Marko Tomas's current
contract for 1 milion euros, while Real Madrid is expected
to offer Marko new, 3-year deal, after the expansion of current
contract.
Real Madrid's coach Bozidar Maljkovic is planning to play
Marko alongside Serbian guard Igor Rakocevic, formerly drafted
in the second round by Minnesota.
In Tomas'
final game with Zagreb, Marko scored 26pts and adding 12reb
but the team lost to Cibona, 71-69 on a last second shot.
Tomas has declared for the draft, but this move signifies
he will likely play in Europe at least another season. He'll
also need a high pick in the draft to stay in, and because
that's not likely look for him to pull out and wait for the
2006 draft.
Stock Watch:
Moving Up:
In a recent workout, Joey
Graham reportedly benched 185 pounds - 25 times! He
is obviously one of the true athletic specimens in the draft
and has a body normally only seen in comic books. For a 22
year old small forward, it's an amazing feat.
Travis Deiner
has been especially impressive in workouts, and while many
were under the impression he was too much of a shooting guard
trapped in a point guards body, that shooting touch has endeared
him to a lot of teams. his point guard skills also seem to
be of team's liking and he's now considered a likely mid-second
rounder.
Julius Hodge
has done well working out for teams, and is now seen as a
possible high second round pick. His body strength has improved
since the season, and he has a very good feel for the game.
Scouts however still feel that the first round is a stretch
for him. They think he will wind up in the 35-45 range when
all is said and done.
Moving Down:
John Gilchrist
is slipping fast. Sources indicate Gilchrist has slid from
a bubble first rounder to a likely mid to late second rounder
recently. Gilchrist had a dismal season after an apparent
feud with coach Gary Williams. He must perform well in workouts
and personality tests with teams in order to reverse the spiral.
Salim Stoudamire,
once thought to be a legit first round possibility measured
at under '6 foot at a workout recently. While he remains one
of the top shooters on the planet and has maybe the quickest
release known to man, he will likely fall to the mid second
round in the draft.
Defensive standout shooting guard Eddie
Basden has struggled in workouts due to a lack of
an outside shot.
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