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Re: Sam Smith: Mercer To Bulls For The 5th Pick In 3-Way Trade
There won't be any GREAT offers for Mercer.
At 10:22 AM 6/2/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Smith says the C's aren't receiving any great offers for Mercer,
>so they may deal him in a three way trade between Boston, Toronto,
>and the Bulls, where the C's receive Toronto's number 5 pick,
>the Raptors the No. 1 choice, and the Bulls - Mercer and McGrady.
>
>Can you say Andre Miller or Radojovic? And it's funny they just had
>Radojevic in for a workout, but of course they have no interest
>in moving up for him? Warning lights should have gone on, after that
>statement was made...
>
>
>
> Chicago Tribune | Sports
>
>
> Sam Smith: Bulls may pick Eschmeyer
>
> Column
> Don't be surprised if Bulls pick Eschmeyer
>
> By Sam Smith
> Tribune Pro Basketball Writer
> June 2, 1999
> With the first pick in the 1999 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls . . .
> Will keep everyone guessing until June 30.
> But here's something to file until then.
> Just before the 1997 draft, the Bulls were close to trading Scottie
> Pippen. They were thinking it might be the only way to avoid the
kind of
> season they just endured.
> A deal was close: The Bulls would deal Pippen to the Boston Celtics
for
> two first-round draft choices, and there was a subsequent deal with
Denver
> that would have landed the Bulls another first-rounder. That would
have
> given the Bulls the fifth, sixth and 10th picks in the first round.
> The Bulls intended to use the top two picks for Ron Mercer, who went
to
> Boston at No. 6, and Tracy McGrady, who went to Toronto at No. 9.
> The Bulls eventually opted to retain Pippen and go for a sixth
> championship.
> But now here they are at No. 1 in the draft. And Toronto, which has
the
> No. 5 and No. 12 picks in this draft, is desperate to get Maryland
guard
> Steve Francis, who should go first or second.
> And Boston, according to league general managers, is holding
something of
> an auction for Mercer, who isn't expected to re-sign with the Celtics
> after next season.
> So don't dismiss this scenario: The Bulls deal No. 1 to Toronto for
> McGrady and No. 5, perhaps also No. 12. Then they ship No. 5 to
Boston,
> which is not getting great offers, for Mercer.
> None of the players at the top of this draft is enough to build
around.
> Figure Toronto and Boston to jump at such offers, and the Bulls to
walk
> away with the two players they wanted to begin their rebuilding two
years
> ago.
> Remember, when Jerry Krause couldn't get Brent Barry out of the
previous
> draft, he signed him as a free agent three years later. His
fixations have
> staying power.
> And with the No. 16 pick in the draft, the Bulls could select . . .
> Evan Eschmeyer.
> "Chicago would be a great situation," said the Northwestern center,
who
> worked out for the Bulls this weekend. "They've proved they'll do
what it
> takes to create winning teams. It would be a chance to go somewhere
and
> prove myself early on."
> And why not Eschmeyer? He seems to have been around Chicago basketball
> longer than Johnny Kerr.
> Talk about mature. The guy is 23, already has an education degree
and has
> finished his pre-med requirements.
> "But I'm ready to focus on basketball now," Eschmeyer says. "I want to
> give it time and prove myself."
> Scouts project the 6-foot-11-inch, 260-pound Eschmeyer as a Will
> Perdue/Luc Longley type. He sees himself as a Brian Grant-type role
> player. They share the same agent, Chicago attorney Mark
Bartelstein, who
> has a reputation for working with lesser-known but high-quality role
> players such as Grant and former Bull Jud Buechler. In this draft
> Bartelstein has four potential first-rounders: Eschmeyer, Arizona's
A.J.
> Bramlett, Boise State's Roberto Bergersen and Xavier's James Posey,
who
> impressed at the pre-draft camps, as fellow Xavier alum Grant did to
move
> in to the lottery in 1994.
> "I feel I'm known for doing the little things, not backing down,"
> Eschmeyer says.
> The Bulls have a desperate need for a center, and it would be
refreshing
> if they were to bring in a player who isn't still learning how to play
> basketball.
> Eschmeyer was a basketball prodigy coming out of Ohio in 1993. He
averaged
> 30.2 points and 14.5 rebounds as a high school senior, won
everything in
> the state and a gold medal in the Olympic festival.
> "I thought for sure I'd be in the NBA in a few years," he says. "I
felt I
> knew what it took. I was very arrogant."
> A couple of years on the sideline watching will humble anyone.
> Eschmeyer had severe foot problems that required two surgeries and
caused
> him to miss the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons.
> "I always felt I'd be all right," he says. "I knew it was a matter of
> working hard and doing the right things. It took a while longer than I
> thought it would, but it came back stronger than ever."
> By his second season, Eschmeyer was a dominant player on a poor team.
> He was first-team All-Big Ten three straight seasons, averaging 21.7
> points and 10.7 rebounds as a junior and 19.6 points and 10.1
rebounds as
> a senior despite constant double- and triple-teaming.
> He's not the quickest center and won't be the most dominant, but he
can be
> a useful player for many years.
> Atlanta, Cleveland, Sacramento, Golden State, Toronto and Minnesota
have
> him lined up for workouts.
> "I feel I've had a chance to develop as a player," Eschmeyer says.
"Nobody
> is going to have to baby-sit me. I feel I'm kind of a throwback
player, a
> banger who likes to rebound. I'm not afraid of getting hit in the head
> going for a rebound. That's sometimes hard to teach."
> Perhaps that's what they mean about Northwestern players using their
> heads.
>
>
>
>
>