Rodney McKissic of The Buffalo News: “It pays to know what you are getting when you are investing dollars and draft choices, which is why the NBA and its teams are employing detectives to check on prospective players and uncover skeletons in their closets. They want to know if they had any discipline problems in high school or college, if they had any trouble with the police, if they’re using drugs, and about their sex life. A thorough check will uncover information about drugs, drinking, illegitimate children, overdue credit-card bills, and bounced checks, among other things. The NBA has conducted background checks for years, but it became more important to the draft process following the disastrous 1986 draft that included Len Bias (second overall), Chris Washburn (third), William Bedford (sixth) and Roy Tarpley (seventh), whose careers were cut short over drug-related incidents.” (Via Indy Cornrows)
Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Rick Sund makes a good living, OK? Let’s get that out of the way. But Rick Sund is an NBA general manager, and NBA general managers have it tough, logistically speaking. They have to draft players to fit a team that might not be their team at all. The Hawks have the 19th and 49th picks in Thursday’s draft. In a perfect world, the GM would target positions of need. But the Hawks also have four key players who will become free agents July 1. One’s a backup center. One’s a starting small forward. One’s a starting point guard. One’s a backup combo guard. How can you fill so many potential holes with two picks? How can you know which potential holes will become actual holes? If Mike Bibby (starting PG) and Flip Murray (backup combo) decide to sign elsewhere, the Hawks will need guards. But, as Sund said Monday, ‘Let’s say Zaza [Pachulia] doesn’t re-sign with us and Al Horford gets hurt next year. In hindsight, I’ll be wishing I drafted a center.’ And here Sund hopped on his hobbyhorse. ‘We need to do like football [meaning the NFL] does,’ he said. ‘Have free agency before the draft.’”
Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times: “‘We may take a point guard if we feel that’s the best player available,’ Forman said. ‘We’re looking at a lot of film. We’ll look at even some guys if we’re looking to move up or back and really get to know those [12-15] guys were still kicking around, for sure. It’s going to be a very active draft because there are the top five or six guys and after that, the same guy who goes nine or 10 could go 20 or 21. We’d like a low-post scorer. But when you get that deep, I’m not sure you can pinpoint a specific need and meet it. If we can with somebody we like, then we would address it. But we do feel out of our [target] group there will be somebody at 16 that we like.’ Some mock drafts project Blair as the Bulls’ first pick and Forman sounded as if he were not scared off by the 6-6½ Blair measured with shoes at the predraft combine. Blair averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds last season. ‘He’s an intriguing guy,’ Forman said. ‘The one thing, if you study drafts over the last 15 to 20 years, rebounders rebound. That’s a stat that does translate. So I think he’s going to be a good player in the NBA.’”
Tim Buckley of the Deseret News: “Just more than a month ago, there was plenty of DeJuan Blair to share. Three hundred fifteen pounds’ worth, to be precise. Yet, as a big man with a nose for the ball, the 6-foot-6 1/2 (in shoes) sophomore forward from the University of Pittsburgh has no doubt there’s a place for him in Thursday night’s NBA Draft. ‘That’s what everybody needs is a rebounder and a guy that’s tough, and that’s me,’ said Blair, a first-round prospect — and possible pick for Utah at No. 20 overall — who worked out Monday for the Jazz. … The caution comes because Blair tore both of his anterior cruciate ligaments as a youngster, with one knee giving way before high school and the other as an underclassman in a Pennsylvania state-title tournament game. Combine that with MRIs he said show pre-arthritic symptoms, plus wide-ranging rumors about how the ACLs appear on the exams, and the ample weight he puts on his knees, and it’s understandable that certain teams may be concerned.”
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star: “The Indiana Pacers can’t be too picky in Thursday’s NBA draft. They’ve missed the playoffs three consecutive years, and their roster has multiple holes outside of All-Star Danny Granger. That’s why team president Larry Bird hasn’t pegged one position more important than another. ‘We need ‘bigs’ and we need a point guard and we need a wing player,’ he said Monday. ‘We’ll probably take the best player available.’ Welcome to the life of trying to fix a team that has grown accustomed to starting its summer vacation in the middle of the April. The Pacers have the 13th pick, and Bird said he thinks three of the four players he likes will be available. He didn’t identify the players, other than to say they were among the 42 prospects who worked out at Conseco Fieldhouse. Bird would prefer a college senior or junior. North Carolina’s Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough, Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, VCU’s Eric Maynor, former Pike High School standout Jeff Teague and Duke’s Gerald Henderson are projected to be in the mix.”
Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee: “It was silly and significant all at once, as Rubio had not worked out for any other team and clearly would not have done so in Sacramento if there wasn’t more convincing to do. But with Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie having made it clear he wanted to do more than have dinner with Rubio before deciding where to put him on his list of favorites, the talking stopped and the playing began. Rubio, who had planned on working out for the Kings last week before he became sick on the trip, took part in an individual workout that included Petrie and coach Paul Westphal and lasted approximately an hour. While the session remained secret at the request of his representatives, he told The Bee it was a necessary exercise that hardly showcased his game. ‘It’s difficult to show them what I have to do on the court, because there are no teammates and nobody there,’ Rubio said at the Sacramento airport just before leaving town. ‘I can’t show them what I do on the court. This workout is not my style. I need my teammates around me to play basketball. I was alone.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “The Suns intend to extend Steve Nash’s run in Phoenix beyond his upcoming final contract year. They maneuvered in last year’s draft and spent buyout and first-round money to land point guard Goran Dragic. So what stocks Thursday’s NBA draft the most? Point guards, naturally. But with Nash’s unsure future, Dragic struggling for most of his rookie year and point guard being a tough spot to fill, the Suns will consider drafting a third point guard. Suns General Manager Steve Kerr likes internal competition. A first-round pick and Dragic would each have two guaranteed contract years to go at it. Nine or 10 point guards could be taken in Thursday’s first round but the Suns might not tab one without a deal moving them up or a talent slipping to their pick at No. 14.”
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Nelson and general manager Larry Riley were noncommittal in a Monday gathering with the media in Oakland, but they dropped enough hints about the point-guard position – essentially leaving it in Monta Ellis’ hands – to make their priorities clear. Nelson took one look at the collection of writers – mostly columnists who detailed the disconnects and disappointments of last season – and resisted offering any insight. He didn’t want to discuss his recent face-to-face meeting with Ellis, ‘and I don’t want to talk about the draft,’ he said. ‘I hate to lie to you guys, but if you want to talk about the draft, I will.’ Riley was far more expansive, and once the interview was over, it was clear that the Warriors would love to see Hill standing alongside Andris Biedrins and Anthony Randolph on a quick, active front line focusing on defense and rebounding, with Hill ideally adding a low-post scoring presence. And if Hill isn’t available? The Warriors can only hope Ellis is OK with a point-guard selection, because that would be the fall-back plan. Count on Stephen Curry being the selection, should he fall that far, with Tyreke Evans another possibility.”
Michael Lee of the Washington Post: “About half of the teams in the league have spoken with the Wizards, according to a league source, and most of those discussions have revolved around the draft choice. Some teams, though, have also asked about the availability of the Wizards’ top players, with most focusing on Caron Butler. Multiple sources have confirmed that the Wizards engaged in conversations with the Phoenix Suns about acquiring all-star forward Amare Stoudemire last month, but the talks stalled when the Suns demanded Butler. Another league source added that Golden State and Portland have also attempted to land Butler, but Grunfeld hasn’t budged. Grunfeld’s preference is to hold on to his three all-stars in Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison but he refused to deem any player on his roster as an untouchable.”
Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press: “For Dumars, signing James is a longer shot than trying to bank in a three-pointer at the Palace from I-75. It’s not going to happen. Of the biggest potential 2010 free agents — James, Wade and Bosh — the Pistons have a realistic shot only at Bosh. And even that is uncertain. Waiting for 2010 is a risk for another reason: Everybody is doing it. If the Pistons save cap space for another year, they will plunge into a players’ market — at least 15 teams will be seeking to spend big, and the Pistons will have to overpay to compete. This is why Dumars likely will act this summer instead of next summer. You can expect him to add two significant pieces (not counting draft picks). With a lot of teams cutting costs and only a few swimming in cap space, the Pistons are in a position to grab very good players — borderline All-Stars — but probably not superstars.”
Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports: “There’s too much smoke surrounding the proposed and summarily shot-down Pistons and Celtics deal for the proposal not to be true. First off, Adrian Wojnarowski is a trusted source, a connected sort who knows his stuff. Secondly, the deal in question (Boston’s Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo for Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, and Rip Hamilton) involves too many players who, if they haven’t already been mentioned in a series of trade rumors before, should be on the block. The deal isn’t going down, it should be noted. Woj even pointed out that C’s and Pistons bosses Danny Ainge and Joe Dumars didn’t even take to the phones to discuss it. A Celtics underling called to propose it, with Ainge’s blessing, and a Pistons colleague turned it down, with Dumars’ blessing. And, bless Joe Dumars, but what the hell is he thinking?”
(AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
