An interesting read on the upcoming draft.

["Shailendra K Mishra" <smishra@ix.netcom.com>]

I was reading Mitch Lawrence's column on ESPN and he recounts some pretty
interesting comments made by NBA scouts on the upcoming crop of players.
Here is a summary of what the scouts said:

Jamison. Nobody says he hasn't been a dominant college player. On the pro
level, well, that's open to debate."He has no true position in the NBA,''
said one team vice president. "And the biggest reason why some lottery picks
fail is that they don't have one position where you know they will
succeed.''

The fear is that Jamison is not big or strong enough to play power
forward -- even though he reportedly is close to 6-9 -- and doesn't have the
shooting skills or range to be a small forward.

"No one knows if he can even shoot from the elbow,'' one scout said. "That's
the big question.''

Other scouts think Jamison's game will blossom in the pros, where he won't
have to fight all the congestion created by college zones.

"A lot of guys catch the ball and then read the defense,'' one scout said.
"This kid makes his move as soon as he gets the ball. He's got the quickest
moves to the hole you'll ever see. You can't double him fast enough.''

*** To me Jamison appears to be the perfect fit in Pitino system. He
rebounds well, has great quickness, can take the ball to the hole and is
very good defensively. Sounds like a great fit in an end-to-end running
game.

LaFrentz. Shaping up as a poor man's Christian Laettner. For one thing, he
doesn't have Laettner's shooting range. "But he'll rebound better than
Laettner because he's a great jumper, he'll bang and go inside,'' predicted
one scout. "People questioned whether Laettner could dominate on our level,
and he certainly hasn't. This kid won't, either.''

*** Pitino was very high on LaFrentz last year and who knows maybe he was
blowing smoke but LaFrentz can rebound, block shots and score so I don't
understand the pessimism by the pro-scouts.

Pierce. While some scouts rate him a notch below the Celtics' Ron Mercer, at
least one has already tabbed him No. 1 for the draft -- if he chooses to
leave the Jayhawks.
"He's got the NBA style and he's a legit 6-6,'' the scout said. "He can
break down a defense, shoot the leaner, take a bump and make a shot, and he
can dunk. The best thing about him is that some small forwards are just
shooters, like Dennis Scott. And some are just scorers, like Cedric
Ceballos. Pierce is gonna be both.''

*** From the comments it appears Pierce is destined to be a SG at the next
level.

Bibby. He knows how to play, gets the ball to the right people and has a
decent shot. But is he just another Bobby Hurley -- a great college player
who will be too small to survive the pro wars?
"He'll be very good in the open court like Hurley was before his car
accident,'' a scout said. "But he's not as strong or as tough as Damon
Stoudamire. So you have to wonder if he can get into the middle against
bigger and stronger NBA players.''

*** I don't agree with the scout's here..I have watched Bibby a lot, he is
agreat passer has a good jump shot, can nail down the three. At 6'1" he is
no smaller than the average NBA PG..my feel is he should be the #1 pick.

Olowokandi. Get used to the name. This native of Nigeria didn't make the Big
Dance, but he could go as high as No. 5. One scout has compared his body to
Alton Lister's. "Not as athletic as you'd like," that scout said. "But he's
played only a short time and is surprisingly very skilled. Tremendous
upside.''

*** I would rather trade the 5th pick then waste it on Olowokandi because
similiar things were said about Adonan Foyle and he hasn't done much.
Olowokandi likewise will take much longer to develop so  I will let some one
else invest the time.

Traylor. Gilbert Brown, move over. Exceptional hands have been compared to
Mark Aguirre's legendary mitts. Explosive player. Amazingly nimble on his
feet and has a quick jumper. "Quickest fat man in America,'' one scout said.

*** So far from what I have seen he has been impressive but so was Danny
Fortson.

*** From the way the celts are playing it appears that they will be in the
lottery and I would package the pick with Knight & Minor for either salary
cap room or for a playert like Lorenzen Wright. If that's not the case then
I hope the Celts take a close look at Lamar Odom..who was one of the most
talented player coming out of high school <in fact he was rated higher than
Tracy McGrady>. Let me know what you guys think. - Mishra