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[Philadelphia Online] THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS Sports
Wednesday, June 18, 1997
Sixers try to avoid second-guessing
[INLINE]
by Phil Jasner
Daily News Sports Writer
There is an NBA draft June 25, in which the San Antonio Spurs will
take Wake Forest's Tim Duncan.
One pick.
Done.
Then there is a draft in which teams will jockey for Texas Tech's Tony
Battie, Kentucky's Ron Mercer, Utah's Keith Van Horn, Mount Zion
(N.C.) Christian Academy's Tracy McGrady, Colgate's Adonal Foyle and
perhaps Colorado's Chauncey Billups.
And then there's everybody else.
The 76ers, you might have noticed, are in the middle group, in the
enviable -- or it it unenviable? -- position of holding the No. 2
pick.
Between now and the draft, the Sixers' new administration -- they seem
to have one just about every season -- will have interviewed and/ or
worked out all of the above players, plus several others. But it's
more than fair to say no one has jumped off the board at No. 2 as
Duncan has at No. 1.
``If one really jumped out at us, we wouldn't have had all these kids
in,'' said Billy King, the Sixers' vice president of basketball
administration.
``We're in a position where we don't need one piece, something like
Boston, but that allows us to evaluate a lot of players, make an
informed decision.''
They're also in a position where Derrick Coleman, one of their best
players, wants desperately to leave. But teams aren't hurrying to make
a deal, and the Sixers are refusing to simply give him away. But
that's a complication for another day.
``No. 1 is simple, but No. 2 is different,'' King said. ``You have to
look for potential, who he is as a person, as a player, how he fits
in. We always go back to Portland [ in 1984 ] using No. 2 to take Sam
Bowie, passing on Michael Jordan.
``I can't look back and fault Portland, because at the time they
needed size. But at the same time, we don't want to pass on a
potentially great one.
``In a way, it's like a guy being put in a room with a lot of pretty
girls. They're all pretty, but who's really the best girl? It can be
hard to decide.''
And who's No. 2? The Sixers, coming off a drab, 22-victory season,
with no more than 26 victories in any of the last five seasons, can't
afford to take a Sam Bowie, or even a Shawn Bradley. They need
immediate help and lots of it, and with a payroll for next season
already above the league salary cap, their only resources, barring a
trade, are the No. 2 pick, their $1 million exception and a
minimum-salary slot.
(They also have three second-round picks, but they had three last
year, too. Those picks turned into Mark Hendrickson, who barely
played; Ryan Minor, who was waived, then joined the Baltimore Orioles
as an infielder; and Jamie Feick, a raw-boned banger who ended up
coming off the bench for the depleted Spurs.)
``We're looking for the best player to help the franchise,'' said
King, who spent the last four seasons as an assistant to new Sixers
coach Larry Brown with the Indiana Pacers.
``We're not saying we have to have a center, we have to have a power
forward, we have to have a shooting guard. We're just trying to
educate ourselves.''
Again, at the same time, they're trying to delicately balance what
they have seen of players over their college or high school careers
against what they see in predraft workouts.
``When you watch guys play for their respective teams, you see them in
that team's system, having plays run for them, doing what that team
needs,'' King said. ``Here, we see them the way Larry wants to use
them. We see whether they can handle the ball, run, jump, whether
they're willing to drive themselves, push themselves. The
psychological testing we do gives us a foundation of their
personality. After that, it's up to us.''
During the last couple of weeks, people around the league seemed to
think Battie, the 6-9_1/2 junior forward-center from Texas Tech, might
be the favorite at No. 2. Battie is spending all summer in the city,
training with his brother Derrick, a former Temple forward, under the
guidance of Baker League coach John Hardnett. Tony seems to have the
work ethic, but at 230 pounds, not the necessary weight or strength.
Those same people, though, believed 6-10 Utah senior forward Keith Van
Horn might be the most prepared, by virtue of his experience. But Van
Horn has resisted coming to Philadelphia for a visit.
Battie? Van Horn? Does Villanova's Tim Thomas have the brightest
upside? Does Mercer, coming from a powerful Kentucky program, bring
the necessary attitude and athleticism? Is McGrady a better schoolboy
prospect than Lower Merion's Kobe Bryant was last year? Is Billups the
perfect partner to pair with electric point guard Allen Iverson? Is
Foyle, the rapidly developing kid from the Caribbean, the dark horse?
Just remember, Brown's history is that he alternately loves, hates and
loves his players, that as Pacers coach he tried to trade Rik Smits
for Coleman, only to be headed off by Pacers president Donnie Walsh.
If Brown could pull off that trade now, Sixers president Pat Croce
would tear down the ``Rocky'' statue and replace it with a bust of
Prof. Brown.
But enough musing. Who's No. 2? King wasn't ready to place the
prospects in any order, but he was willing to offer snippets on each:
Van Horn: ``I've heard people say he's the next Larry Bird. To me,
he's a good player who shoots well, is smart, heady.''
Billups: ``He can play both guard positions, is a good shooter,
physically strong, a good defender.''
Thomas: ``He's very athletic, has a good handle, can shoot from 17, 18
feet, with small forward skills, the potential to be one of the best
in the draft. This is a guy who was skilled coming out of high
school.''
Mercer: ``He played mostly small forward in college, would probably
have to play more off guard here. What you can't write off is that he
wants to win.''
Foyle: ``This is a very hard worker, a rebounder, an athletic guy. His
shooting touch could be better, but he finds a way to contribute.
There's a belief that there's always one kid from a small school who
ends up making it. He reminds me of [ Sacramento's ] Brian Grant and
Michael Smith in how hard he works.''
Battie: ``Very athletic, with long arms. He blocks shots, but needs to
bulk up.''
McGrady: ``If you're looking at a high school kid, you need to look at
his level of maturity as a person. I think that's what people saw in
Bryant and Kevin Garnett. You have to ask, at their age, if they have
a lot of free time, what will they do with it? You'd want someone who
has the qualities of a leader, who's not afraid to go his own way.''
The moment of decision is still a week away, the equivalent of a
lifetime for NBA coaches, scouts and personnel specialists. The
Sixers, at this point, might not know who the No. 2 pick is, but they
know they have to show improvement quickly, give the fans a reason to
hope.
They say it, sadly, every spring.
``The difference this time is, Larry's a great coach,'' King said. ``I
can't tell you who we're going to draft, but I can tell you we'll play
hard, be better. Miami won 61 games this season, and a lot of those
wins came because they played hard.''
They also say something like that every spring. The right No. 2 pick,
or the right trade, or both, would make a major difference.
Oh, you've heard that before, too?
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Copyright Wednesday, June 18, 1997