Steve Bulpett: Pitino Has Draft Blahs; C's Like Turner, Maglos at 55

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

However C's could deal the pick...

      Celtics hardly pumped over draft
      by Steve Bulpett 
      Tuesday, June 29, 1999
      On one hand, Rick Pitino is saying he doesn't even want the second round 
      pick (55th) he has in tomorrow's NBA draft.
      On the other hand, the Celtics have called all the teams at the top of the 
      first round and asked what they wanted for their choice.
      What's the deal? No deal actually.
      ``We always try to do our due diligence and see what's out there in the 
      market,'' said Celtic general manager Chris Wallace, explaining his phone 
      chats with Chicago, Vancouver, Charlotte, the Clippers, etc. ``We want to 
      see what may be out there for us.
      ``But basically Rick has maintained since last March that he would prefer 
      not to have another young player. I always use the term, `You never say 
      never,' but as far as us moving up I'd say at the very least that it's 
      highly unlikely at this point.''
      So unlikely that the Celts haven't been running potential draftees through 
      their new facility in Waltham. Just two have been in, and that was more 
      because they were in the area - 7-foot-3 Aleksandar Radojevic, who figures 
      to go well before the C's pick, and former Boston College center Kostas 
      Maglos. The latter has a shot to be on the board when the Celtics choose.
      ``We really haven't been bringing in guys to work out, and that should 
      tell you something right there,'' Wallace said. ``Teams always have in 
      guys who are clearly out of their range just in case they get a chance to 
      move up. We really haven't done that.''
      As if to underscore their stance, the Celtics also decided not to attend 
      Lamar Odom's open session for NBA clubs in Rhode Island yesterday.
      ``That would have been very easy for us to do,'' said Wallace, who 
      traveled to New York for a chat with Pitino. (Both will be back in Waltham 
      today.)
      As for dealing the 55th pick, don't expect anything prior to the actual 
      picking.
      ``That could happen,'' Wallace said of a trade. ``I wouldn't rule it out. 
      But that's difficult to determine in advance. When you see a second-round 
      pick traded, it's usually a deal that's done while the draft is going on. 
      Teams have a pool of players they're looking at, then they see what might 
      be available to them as the time is going by and picks are being made.''
      If the Celtics are left with the pick, it is most likely they will take 
      local kid and Kentucky product Wayne Turner if he is still available. The 
      other possibility is that the club will take a shot on some 
      7-foot-something guy from overseas who has yet to show much potential - 
      the hope being he will develop in the next few years.
      ``We'd definitely be taking a shot if we have that pick,'' said Wallace. 
      ``There have been guys taken in the 50s who make teams and contribute. But 
      considering the quality of this draft and our current roster, a guy we 
      would take at 55 would be a big underdog to make our team.
      ``Even if we take a chance on a player from Europe, we're not going to be 
      getting a top-line prospect. Some of the guys who fit that category are 
      going to go much earlier than us - especially with all the teams there 
      holding multiple picks in the first round. There will undoubtedly be 
      several Europeans going before the 50s.''