Jersey Red: Celtics Not Making Any Moves & Mock Draft

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

      Wed., June 30, 1999
      RED'S WORLD: Draft day poses many questions
      By KEN 'JERSEY RED' FORD
      <snips>
      ***
      The Celtics have the 55th pick and I don't expect them to make any moves. 
      So who will they take? Pitino, ever the clever showman, is going to shock 
      the country when they take Austin Powers. He's sure to be a crowd favorite 
      and no one would boo this guy. Yeah Baby! 
      Seriously, if Kentucky guard and hometown kid Wayne Turner is there, the 
      Celtics will probably take him and they will keep him. Other than that, 
      they might "sell" the pick.
      Okay, let's have some fun at my expense because like everyone who tries to 
      pre-pick the draft I'm sure to make a food of myself.
      1. Chicago - Marylands' Steve Francis. They will regret not taking Odom.
      2. Vancouver - They might trade the pick if not it's Duke Elton Brand.
      3. Charlotte - They want Odom, but are afraid. Could steal Davis away from 
      Clippers.
      4. Clippers - All they want is Baron Davis, if not they are on tilt.
      5. Toronto - If Odom is there they must take him if not I'm hearing eith 
      Alex Radojeric or high school phenom Jonathan Bender.
      6. Minnesota - Wally Szczerbiak or UNLV's Shawn Marion. A sleeper!
      7. Washington - They love UConn's Richard Hamilton and so do I.
      8. Cleveland - (From Boston) It's a toss up. Utah's Andre Miller, 
      Szczerbiak or Bender.
      9. Phoenix - Duke's Corey Maggetti, Hamilton if they are lucky, or that 
      Bender kid again. (Everyone loves him!)
      10. Golden State - They are coveting 6-2 guard Jason Terry from Arizona.
      11. Cleveland - St. John's Ron Artest. He will be a great one and I would 
      love to see him in Celtic green. He's got game and he's the toughest, 
      meanest kid in the draft.
      12. Toronto - They also like Maggetti, also Rodojeric and sleeper Freddie 
      Weiss from France.
      13. Seattle - Kenny Thomas 6-9 from New Mexico or James Posey.
      14. Minnesota - Duke's Avery
      15. New York - Redojeric or Weiss, if not they are in trouble.
      16. Chicago - Posey or Maggetti.
      17. Atlanta - If they are smart, Chris Herren, but they might opt for a 
      trade or Andre Kurbenk from Moscow.
      18. Denver - Chris Herren if they are smart. He just might not be there 
      when they pick again at 33rd. 
      19. Utah - 6-5 Germain Jones.
      20. Atlanta - They like local Georgia kid Germain Jones.
      21. Atlanta - Tim Jones of Miami or big time shooter Chris Clack from 
      Texas, remember if Denver didn't snare Herren could be him.
      22. Houston - 6-7 Quincy Lewis from Minnesota, Calvin Booth or Michael 
      Ruffian.
      23. LA Lakers - No one knows what Jerry West will do, but he usually does 
      right.
      24. Utah - Pittsburgh's Vonteego Cummings.
      25. Miami - They have indicated they want Herren and I have no reason not 
      to believe them.
      26. Indiana - Another team that has shown a lot of interest in Herren, but 
      I'm skeptical the GM is very secretive and cunning.
      27. Atlanta (again) I'm tired of guessing with them so you make the pick.
      28. Utah - 6-11 Gron Eshmeyer of Northwestern or 7-0 Todd McCullem of 
      Washington.
      29. San Antonio - Just what the world champs need, a final round pick! I 
      don't care who they take because it's going to be hard to crack that 
      lineup.
      There you have and I spoke to a lot of people before compiling this thing 
      and they all said the same thing. 
      And that is you simply can't trust anyone at draft time. 
      ***
      Bulletin! Bulletin! I told you this thing was crazy but at deadline time 
      for my column things took a twist. I'm hearing the Jerry Krause might take 
      Odom at No. 1. Also now Stu Jackson of Vancouver spoke to Jerry 
      DiGregorio, the head coach at U.R.I., late Monday night and said he would 
      take him. Miami had its private jet fly Odom in for a workout on Tuesday 
      and might try to pull off a blockbuster of a trade to get him. 
      Odom has single-handedly turned this whole draft picture upside down, as 
      well he should. He's the best player in the draft and it's not even close.
      (Ken 'Jersey Red' Ford writes a weekly column for The Herald News.) 
     
      (c) 1999, The Herald News