Orlando update and false promises
posted: Friday, June 2, 2006 |
GMs are already grumbling about the quality of this year's Orlando camp. Official invites went out late last week, but a surprising number of bubble first-rounders are choosing not to participate this year.While prospects still have a week to change their minds, at the moment it appears that Shannon Brown, Paul Davis, Guillermo Diaz, Alexander Johnson, Quincy Douby, Richard Roby, Dee Brown and Mike Gansey are all skipping the camp.
The feedback Shannon Brown has been getting from teams puts him solidly in the first round. He could go as high as No. 14 to the Jazz and is unlikely to slip past No. 26 to the Lakers. The Pacers at No. 17, the Kings at No. 19 and the Knicks at No. 20 are also possibilities.
Speaking of the Knicks and Brown, it appears that my source in New York may have fed me a bit of misinformation about him. Another source claims that Brown played very well in the workout -- so well that the Knicks decided to leak a little bad info. Too bad for Shannon -- as I said Thursday, the Knicks are not a great fit.
Johnson also has gotten strong feedback from his workouts, and it looks like he's got a great shot at going in Round 1. He's worked out well for the Nets, Bulls, Nuggets and Sonics. He's a legit possibility at No. 16 to Chicago and at No. 22 or No. 23 to the Nets.
Douby has the talent of a first-rounder and has been doing a lot of workouts to generally positive reviews. There are rumors he already has a first-round promise (see the next item below), but I have my doubts.
Diaz has been impressive in workouts, and there are a few teams that might draft him (starting with the Kings at No. 19 and the Lakers at No. 26). However, if a few things don't go his way, he could slip.
Dee Brown isn't a likely first-rounder at this point. However, given the serious injury he suffered at the camp last year, you can understand why he wouldn't want to risk injury again.
It seems that Davis, Roby and Gansey could help their stock by playing, which makes their decisions to skip the camp a little more puzzling.
Davis is the type of player who looks much better in a five-on-five game than he does in a workout. Roby and Gansey are just bubble guys at the moment.
So who is going to be there? There is no official list yet, but after talking to agents for a number of players, here's a look at who could be in:
James Augustine, Will Blalock, Curtis Stinson, Bobby Brown, Allan Ray, Denham Brown, Arron Afflalo, Steve Novak and Brad Newley.
Two other underclassmen who have not hired agents, UCLA's Jordan Farmar and UConn's Josh Boone, are still considering their options. I have my doubts that either will play.
Farmar is solidly in the first round. Boone may have been disappointing in a group workout in Chicago but seems to have found a team, the Knicks, willing to draft him in the first round. Multiple sources claim that both New York and New Jersey are seriously looking at taking him in the early 20s. If that's true, you can bet he'll skip Orlando and use a strained shoulder as the excuse.
• It's about this time of year that we start hearing rumors about promises or draft guarantees. Every year one or two of them turn out to be real. Most are bogus.
The first two players to get mentioned as possibly having guarantees are Rutgers guard Quincy Douby and Ukrainian forward Olexsiy Pecherov.
Pecherov's agent, Steve Heumann, told me on the phone that Pecherov does not have a deal in place.
"He's flying over to the U.S. and is starting individual workouts with teams," Heumann said. As Heumann pointed out, the fact that he's working out for several teams is an indication that no deal has been made.
Heumann's partner, Marc Fleisher, said they did have a place for Pecherov. "We do have a team who drafts later in the first round who wanted to shut him down," Fleisher said. "So I think I know the team he won't get past. But we felt like he's got the potential to go much higher once teams see him work out."
Fleisher, you may remember, represented Russian Yaroslav Korolev last spring. Korolev received a promise from the Clippers in May and was drafted No. 12 by L.A., as promised.
As for Douby, the rumor is that he hired an agent after receiving a promise from the Bulls at No. 16.
If that's true, why is he still working out for teams? Douby has more workouts scheduled the next few weeks, for teams both ahead of and below the Bulls. So it looks like this "promise" is bogus too.
• In an effort to get the latest and best info out, here is an update on Marcus Williams, formerly of UConn; at his workout in Houston on Tuesday, Williams weighed in at 215 pounds.
Last week I reported that Williams had weighed in at 220 for a workout in Boston. So, in the course of a week he's already shed five pounds.
The general consensus on the workout in Houston that also featured Mardy Collins and Guillermo Diaz was that everyone played well.
The weight issue for Williams might not be an issue after all.
At UConn, Williams was listed at 205, but three NBA execs said they think that was an underestimate. According to these sources, he was probably closer to 215 in college and still very effective. So, according to two of the executives, his weight really isn't much of an issue. Furthermore, as he continues to work out, his weight will probably get closer and closer to his ideal playing weight, they said.
"Would we like his body to be better? Sure," one NBA executive said. "But the guy is the smartest player in the draft. He knows how to play basketball. That's what you want in a point guard. The conditioning will get much better once he's in an NBA system. People were worried about the same thing with Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony, and it turned into a nonissue. The kid has a chance to be special."
• We told you last week that Adam Morrison was working out for four teams. Here's his schedule: Charlotte on June 6, Portland on June 15, Chicago on June 19 and Toronto on June 21. Morrison will reserve the last week for workouts for any teams that might move up in the draft.
posted: Friday, June 2, 2006 |
GMs are already grumbling about the quality of this year's Orlando camp. Official invites went out late last week, but a surprising number of bubble first-rounders are choosing not to participate this year.While prospects still have a week to change their minds, at the moment it appears that Shannon Brown, Paul Davis, Guillermo Diaz, Alexander Johnson, Quincy Douby, Richard Roby, Dee Brown and Mike Gansey are all skipping the camp.
The feedback Shannon Brown has been getting from teams puts him solidly in the first round. He could go as high as No. 14 to the Jazz and is unlikely to slip past No. 26 to the Lakers. The Pacers at No. 17, the Kings at No. 19 and the Knicks at No. 20 are also possibilities.
Speaking of the Knicks and Brown, it appears that my source in New York may have fed me a bit of misinformation about him. Another source claims that Brown played very well in the workout -- so well that the Knicks decided to leak a little bad info. Too bad for Shannon -- as I said Thursday, the Knicks are not a great fit.
Johnson also has gotten strong feedback from his workouts, and it looks like he's got a great shot at going in Round 1. He's worked out well for the Nets, Bulls, Nuggets and Sonics. He's a legit possibility at No. 16 to Chicago and at No. 22 or No. 23 to the Nets.
Douby has the talent of a first-rounder and has been doing a lot of workouts to generally positive reviews. There are rumors he already has a first-round promise (see the next item below), but I have my doubts.
Diaz has been impressive in workouts, and there are a few teams that might draft him (starting with the Kings at No. 19 and the Lakers at No. 26). However, if a few things don't go his way, he could slip.
Dee Brown isn't a likely first-rounder at this point. However, given the serious injury he suffered at the camp last year, you can understand why he wouldn't want to risk injury again.
It seems that Davis, Roby and Gansey could help their stock by playing, which makes their decisions to skip the camp a little more puzzling.
Davis is the type of player who looks much better in a five-on-five game than he does in a workout. Roby and Gansey are just bubble guys at the moment.
So who is going to be there? There is no official list yet, but after talking to agents for a number of players, here's a look at who could be in:
James Augustine, Will Blalock, Curtis Stinson, Bobby Brown, Allan Ray, Denham Brown, Arron Afflalo, Steve Novak and Brad Newley.
Two other underclassmen who have not hired agents, UCLA's Jordan Farmar and UConn's Josh Boone, are still considering their options. I have my doubts that either will play.
Farmar is solidly in the first round. Boone may have been disappointing in a group workout in Chicago but seems to have found a team, the Knicks, willing to draft him in the first round. Multiple sources claim that both New York and New Jersey are seriously looking at taking him in the early 20s. If that's true, you can bet he'll skip Orlando and use a strained shoulder as the excuse.
• It's about this time of year that we start hearing rumors about promises or draft guarantees. Every year one or two of them turn out to be real. Most are bogus.
The first two players to get mentioned as possibly having guarantees are Rutgers guard Quincy Douby and Ukrainian forward Olexsiy Pecherov.
Pecherov's agent, Steve Heumann, told me on the phone that Pecherov does not have a deal in place.
"He's flying over to the U.S. and is starting individual workouts with teams," Heumann said. As Heumann pointed out, the fact that he's working out for several teams is an indication that no deal has been made.
Heumann's partner, Marc Fleisher, said they did have a place for Pecherov. "We do have a team who drafts later in the first round who wanted to shut him down," Fleisher said. "So I think I know the team he won't get past. But we felt like he's got the potential to go much higher once teams see him work out."
Fleisher, you may remember, represented Russian Yaroslav Korolev last spring. Korolev received a promise from the Clippers in May and was drafted No. 12 by L.A., as promised.
As for Douby, the rumor is that he hired an agent after receiving a promise from the Bulls at No. 16.
If that's true, why is he still working out for teams? Douby has more workouts scheduled the next few weeks, for teams both ahead of and below the Bulls. So it looks like this "promise" is bogus too.
• In an effort to get the latest and best info out, here is an update on Marcus Williams, formerly of UConn; at his workout in Houston on Tuesday, Williams weighed in at 215 pounds.
Last week I reported that Williams had weighed in at 220 for a workout in Boston. So, in the course of a week he's already shed five pounds.
The general consensus on the workout in Houston that also featured Mardy Collins and Guillermo Diaz was that everyone played well.
The weight issue for Williams might not be an issue after all.
At UConn, Williams was listed at 205, but three NBA execs said they think that was an underestimate. According to these sources, he was probably closer to 215 in college and still very effective. So, according to two of the executives, his weight really isn't much of an issue. Furthermore, as he continues to work out, his weight will probably get closer and closer to his ideal playing weight, they said.
"Would we like his body to be better? Sure," one NBA executive said. "But the guy is the smartest player in the draft. He knows how to play basketball. That's what you want in a point guard. The conditioning will get much better once he's in an NBA system. People were worried about the same thing with Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony, and it turned into a nonissue. The kid has a chance to be special."
• We told you last week that Adam Morrison was working out for four teams. Here's his schedule: Charlotte on June 6, Portland on June 15, Chicago on June 19 and Toronto on June 21. Morrison will reserve the last week for workouts for any teams that might move up in the draft.
