Hornets have a long day ahead

[bocelts@scsn.net (R. Bentz Kirby)]

This article was in the Colubia, SC State today.  Maybe we could trade
Radja for Muggsy Bogues?  If we throw in #3.  That would be better than
3 and 6 for Pippen.

Peace,
Hornets dodge NBA draft


                   By DAVID NEWTON 
                   Senior Writer 

                   CHARLOTTE -- Names of the top prospects are on a
board in the
                   Charlotte Hornets war room. Wake Forest center Tim
Duncan is No. 1,
                   followed by 27 other players expected to go in the
first round of today's NBA
                   draft at Charlotte Coliseum. The phone lines are
ready in case there are any
                   last-minute calls for a deal. The chairs are neatly
arranged. Food has been
                   ordered.

                   Only one thing is missing.

                   A pick.

                   The host of the draft doesn't have a pick in the
two-round process, meaning
                   general manager Bob Bass and coach Dave Cowens will
have a lot of idle
                   time.

                   "It will be like a mortuary rather than a war room,"
Bass said jokingly. 

                   The draft begins at 7 p.m. on TNT. Bass said the
network wanted to come
                   into the Hornets' war room during the telecast, but
he said no.

                   "We're going to be sitting there throwing darts on
the board," he said. "They're
                   going to make fun of us if they do that." 

                   Throwing darts might not be a bad idea after Duncan
goes to San Antonio
                   with the first pick, giving the Spurs the NBA's
newest version of twin towers
                   in 7-foot-1 David Robinson and the 6-11 Duncan.
That's because after the
                   Demon Deacons' center there is no consensus No. 2
pick.

                   Philadelphia, which has the No. 2 pick, has gone from
favoring Texas Tech
                   center Tony Battie to Colorado point guard Chauncey
Billups to trading
                   down. Philadelphia, Boston, Vancouver and New Jersey,
which have six of
                   the next seven picks after San Antonio, reportedly
have had heavy trade
                   discussions the past few days.

                   Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale
believes the 76ers
                   will take Billups and move Allen Iverson to shooting
guard. Boston coach
                   Rick Pitino, who has the Nos. 3 and 6 picks, isn't so
sure and will take three
                   scenarios into the draft. Depending on what the 76ers
do, he'll take Billups,
                   Utah forward Keith Van Horn or Battie at No. 3.

                   Pitino said Tuesday he would consider taking
Villanova forward Tim Thomas
                   at No. 6, although most of the speculation has him
re-uniting with Kentucky
                   guard Ron Mercer.

                   "It will all be predicated on what Philadelphia
does," Pitino said.

                   Not even Bass, who has no reason to lie about his
opinion as he normally
                   might with a pick, has no grasp on what will happen
at No.2.

                   But No. 1 is a slam dunk.

                   Or in this case, a slam Duncan.

                   "This guy can run, he can rebound, he can block
shots, he can shoot from
                   inside and outside, he can pass the ball and put it
on the floor," said Marty
                   Blake, the NBA's director of scouting. "He's the most
versatile center I've
                   seen in a decade." 

                   A good example of how this is the
Duncan-and-everybody-else draft could be
                   seen during Tuesday's interview session with several
top players. Duncan was
                   surrounded by eight television cameras and more than
20 reporters when he
                   sat down for the 30-minute session. San Jose State
forward-guard Olivier
                   Saint-Jean, less than 20 feet away, sat alone at his
table.

                   "That's fine," said Saint-Jean, whose stock has risen
quickly over the past
                   month. "The guy is the No. 1 pick. You have to
understand how the system
                   works. To me, it's good I don't have to be making any
noise. The noise you
                   most want to make is during the season." 

                   But to say this is a one-player draft is unfair,
according to McHale and several
                   of the players in it.

                   "A few years ago they labeled it a poor person's
draft," McHale said. "We
                   drafted fifth and got Kevin Garnett. I think we got
the best player in the draft.

                   "Every year they deem it a one-person draft, a
two-person draft, a
                   three-person draft. There are going to be players who
are going to be better
                   players taken eight through 16 than there are one
through eight." 

                   Duncan agreed. He seemed uncomfortable with the
premise that he was the
                   only true superstar in the draft.

                   Bowling Green's Antonio Daniels, the second-rated
point guard behind
                   Billups, hopes the rest of the draft is just as
interesting after Duncan.

                   "There's a lot of talent," said Daniels, who roomed
with Duncan at the
                   Chicago pre-draft camp. "Every player will tell you
the same thing because
                   they don't want to be known as going in a soft
draft." 

                   Soft or otherwise, all Bass can do is see how well he
evaluated a group of
                   college players he can't draft.

                   "We've got them rated by position," Bass said. "We'll
have it all up there. All
                   we'll do is when a guy is drafted we'll scratch him
out." 

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