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NBA
After Spurs' pick,
the jockeying will begin
By Sam Smith
TRIBUNE PRO BASKETBALL WRITER
Web posted: Wednesday, June 25, 1997
If Tim Duncan slips before the NBA draft begins at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, it will be on a bar of soap.
Duncan, Wake Forest's star center, will surely be picked No. 1 by
the San Antonio Spurs.
``Playing with David Robinson will be a great opportunity for me,''
he said.
For just about everyone else in this year's draft, there has been
more movement up and down than Doug Collins' blood-pressure
readings during a game, and more uncertainty about what will
happen, and who will be there, than a Philadelphia 76ers practice.
And the draft essentially starts there--the 76ers have the No. 2
pick. With the creative and impatient Larry Brown as coach and
general manager, there is as much uncertainty about his ability
(and willingness) to coach Derrick Coleman, Jerry Stackhouse and
Allen Iverson as there is about the Sixers' choice.
Utah's Keith Van Horn might be the No. 2 pick because he's widely
regarded as the next-best player in the draft. But he has said he
won't play for the 76ers.
``I didn't like the way we played or the attitude of some of the
guys, either,'' Brown acknowledged. ``(Chauncey) Billups' agent
didn't want him to come here because we had Iverson and Stackhouse.
(But) if we determine that Van Horn or Billups is the best choice
at No. 2, that won't stop me.''
Brown likes Billups, the Colorado guard, as does Boston's Rick
Pitino, who has the No. 3 and No. 6 picks. And Denver thinks it
could get Van Horn at No. 5.
``What I mostly hear is a lot of people asking if you want their
pick,'' Pistons personnel director Rick Sund said.
Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause has been saying yes, but there
were no takers through most of Tuesday on the Bulls' offers of Luc
Longley and No. 28 to move up in the draft or Jason Caffey for a
top 15 pick. The Magic, with No. 17, was interested in Caffey.
Then there are the various Scottie Pippen scenarios, which as of
Tuesday seemed to be down to Boston. With Dino Radja undergoing a
physical exam that was a condition of his trade to Philadelphia,
there was a possibility the Clarence Weatherspoon-Radja deal could
go through. But the 76ers were said to be reconsidering, given the
possibility of dealing Weatherspoon for the Nets' Jayson Williams
or a swap of draft picks with the Nets getting No. 2 and the 76ers
getting Williams.
The Celtics reportedly had stepped up interest in Pippen and were
said to be offering a player and the No. 3 pick, a deal the Bulls
probably would take if the player were attractive enough.
Vancouver and Denver are after point guards, and the only two rated
in the top 10 are Billups and Bowling Green's Antonio Daniels. The
Grizzlies have rebuffed the Lakers' offer of Elden Campbell for the
pick, but the Nuggets have been trying to move up by offering Ervin
Johnson and their pick so they can get Billups.
Van Horn, Billups, Daniels and Texas Tech center/forward Tony
Battie make up the next tier of the draft after Duncan. Then the
real questions begin, and again Pippen's name comes up.
``I think I played similar to Pippen this year,'' said Tim Thomas,
a Villanova freshman projected from the sixth to 10th pick. ``No
offense to Pippen, but I think I'm going to be better.''
High schooler Tracy McGrady, who has been projected from sixth
through 12th, is another obviously immature young man. ``My idol
was Penny Hardaway, but some scouts compare me more to Scottie
Pippen,'' he said.
And there's Tennessee-Chattanooga's Johnny Taylor, a lean
6-foot-8-inch forward whom NBA scouting director Marty Blake called
``the next Scottie Pippen.'' Taylor could go from 10th to 17th.
That continues to be the nature of the draft now--more younger
players are available, and because they can only sign for three
years, teams are more likely to tap the more experienced free-agent
market to stock their rosters.
It's one reason many scouts see Van Horn second instead of Battie.
Van Horn is more mature and ready to help a team now, and though
Battie might eventually prove to be better, he can leave after
three years.
The 76ers (good luck) are saying they'll give Coleman to anyone who
will take his $8 million salary. Golden State also is trying to
shed salaries and wants to deal Latrell Sprewell. The Bucks have
talked about a deal for Denver's Johnson, and the Cavaliers have
talked with Golden State about a swap of draft picks--No. 13 and
No. 16 for No. 8--with Terrell Brandon or Tyrone Hill going to the
Warriors.
All of which further muddles the draft. Some teams are offering
their picks or threatening to renounce them, as the Bulls did last
year, to avoid giving three-year guaranteed contracts to rookies
they're not high on. They also want to have money available for the
big free-agent class of 1998.
Still, there are some interesting prospects in the draft, as there
are in most years--Sprewell was picked 24th and Mark Price was a
second-round choice. All-Stars Brandon, Karl Malone, John Stockton,
Tim Hardaway and Shawn Kemp were not top 10 picks, and Eddie Jones
was selected 10th.
As NBA champs, the Bulls will go to Paris for the McDonald's
Championship in October, and for a second-round special, they've
been eyeing 6-5 Alain Digbeau of France. He's no Tim Duncan.
Neither is anyone else.
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