draft reports

[Ellie Cutler <ellie@oreilly.com>]

a few draft reports:
Tuesday, June 29, 1999

           MARY SCHMITT BOYER
           CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER REPORTER 

           Agent David Falk is telling people his client, Duke's
           Elton Brand, will go No. 1 in the draft. Bulls Vice
           President of Basketball Operations Jerry Krause said
           Chicago won't decide until tomorrow afternoon whom
           - if anyone - it will take with the No. 1 pick. 

           If the Bulls take Brand at No. 1, the Raptors could
           work out a deal with Vancouver - possibly a
           sign-and-trade after the draft for Charles Oakley or
           Doug Christie. However, Oakley would have to agree,
           which would seem unlikely at this stage of his career.

           Toronto's Tracy McGrady is buying a house next door
           to Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway in Orlando, Fla.,
           fueling speculation the Raptors are intent on
           acquiring Hardaway as a free agent and extending
           McGrady's contract. 

           Houston has gotten calls about Scottie Pippen, but
           Rockets officials said most teams have been trying to
           steal him, hoping the frustration with him is great
           enough to get him cheap. The Rockets insist they
           never considered a deal for Glen Rice. 

           Phoenix has looked into the possibility of acquiring
           the Philadelphia 76ers' Theo Ratliff. The Suns are
           really interested in Hardaway, but aren't willing to
           part with Tom Gugliotta. They apparently were
           offering their No. 1 pick (No. 9 overall) plus Danny

           Manning and possibly Pat Garrity. 

           Rumor Mill from June 28
           Lots of rumors involve the Cavaliers. One has them
           trading Brevin Knight and the No. 8 pick to the
           Toronto Raptors for the No. 5 pick, presumably to
           take Wally Szczerbiak, if he's still around. And there's
           an old rumor that's gone around for months that has
           the Cavs trading Bob Sura to Golden State for
           Donyell Marshall.

           Or how about Chicago trading the No. 1 pick to
           Toronto to trade down to No. 5 so it can take
           Szczerbiak? Boston apparently will at least listen to
           offers for Ron Mercer, which prompted rumors of this
           possible scenario: Chicago gets Toronto's Tracy
           McGrady and Mercer, Toronto gets the No. 1 pick
           and Celtics get the No. 5 choice. 

           The Raptors are very interested in signing Spurs free
           agent Will Perdue. 

           Detroit is listening to offers for Bison Dele. Utah
           offered Greg Ostertag. Miami offered Duane
           Causewell and Jamal Mashburn. Philadelphia offered
           Tyrone Hill. Indiana and Milwaukee were also
           interested. 

           How about this whopper? Miami will trade P.J. Brown
           to Vancouver for the No. 2 pick and then trade the
           No. 2 pick for a veteran like Glen Rice. 

           After watching Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson get
           injured, the Knicks are likely to use the No. 15 pick
           for a backup center who can score instead of a point
           guard, which fans are screaming for after watching
           Charlie Ward and Chris Childs. Although, if Andre
           Miller slides, the Knicks will grab him. If they go for a
           big guy, they like Frederic Weis or Aleksandar
           Radojevic more than Evan Eschmeyer or Todd
           MacCulloch.

           Free agent Charles Oakley is headed to the L.A.
           Lakers, and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway is headed to
           Toronto. 

and from the Miami Herald:
Three-way trade for Rice unlikely

By BARRY JACKSON
Herald Sports Writer 

A three-way trade that would send the Lakers' Glen Rice
to Miami and Heat forward P.J. Brown to Vancouver is
unlikely to happen, Lakers executive vice president Jerry
West indicated Monday. 

Under that three-team scenario -- which has been under
discussion for weeks -- Vancouver would have shipped
the No. 2 draft choice to the Lakers, who would select UCLA 
point guard Baron Davis. West is said to covet Davis, but new 
Lakers coach Phil Jackson apparently does not want a rookie 
point guard.