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Another point guard possibility (from Insider)
There's a lot of interesting stuff here, most notably the stuff about
6-foot-7 Croatian point guard Zoran Planinic. Apparently he's really zooming
up the draft board and may be a guy falling in the Celts' range. Also, Kirk
Hinrich is solidifying himself as the second point guard to be picked (I
must be blind-he does nothing for me), and Luke Ridnour is sliding. Other
sliders-David West, Boris Diaw. Illinois power forward Brian Cook apparently
is more highly regarded than recent mock drafts have suggested (no surprise;
he has a great NBA body and a versatile game-the questions are his work
ethic and toughness).
Sight unseen, of course, I prefer Planinic to any of the other point guards
we've heard bandied about for the Celts. Ridnour, Gaines-no thanks. Banks?
Barbosa? Who knows?
Mark
NBA Draft stock watch
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
<http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/writeback?name=Chad+Ford> Wednesday,
June 11
Updated: June 11
9:33 AM ET
We all should really take more time mocking mock drafts.
At this stage of the game, mocks are little more than educated guesses --
strategic placement based on whispers, innuendo and a whole lot of rock,
paper, scissors.
NBA teams are fickle. The guy a GM can't live without one day is kicked to
the curb the next.
Draft stock rises and falls like the volatile NASDAQ. One day you're
shopping for an Escalade. The next you're cruising around in a Ford Focus.
Remember, last year at this time we had Qyntel Woods
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3619> in the lottery
and Fred Jones <http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3612>
pan-handling for change in the second round.
Our Monday mock draft <http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=1565202>
drew a lot of response from NBA GMs and scouts over the last two days. Based
on the volume of feedback, here's a look at the guys we might have slotted
too low and few guys riding a little too high.
Thursday we'll unveil our new top 15s at each position.
HIgh risers
* For those of you who believe we're getting carried away with the whole
"foreign invasion" thing, you might want to skip the next four paragraphs.
It appears that a 13th international player could be on the verge of
cracking the first round. Croatian point guard Zoran Planinic
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18564> is
playing to enthusiastic reviews wherever he goes. Planinic, a 21-year-old,
6-foot-8 (he recently measured 6-foot-7 in bare feet) point guard has wowed
teams like the Nets, Spurs, Sonics and Bucks of late.
What gives? Planinic was considered a potential lottery pick early in the
season, but a car accident wrecked most of his season. When NBA teams came
calling this winter, Planinic was out of synch, spending lots of time on the
bench and struggling when he did get on the court. His stock dropped into
the second round. However, a string of impressive performances the last
month in Croatia, where he averaged nearly a triple-double, put him back on
the scene.
But it has been his workouts that have impressed teams. His surprising
athleticism, lethal outside shot and knack for finding the open man have
teams scrambling to get him in for a closer look. When you're 6-foot-8 and
considered a "pure" point guard, teams are going to notice.
Wednesday, Planinic replaced Marcus Moore
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18512> in
the Bucks' big point guard workout and wowed the team with his athleticism
and handle. One Bucks source claims that, based on that workout, Planinic
ranks ahead of both Reece Gaines
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18451> and
Luke Ridnour
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18434> .
It's not inconceivable Planinic could work his way up to No. 14 to the
Sonics, but it's more likely that, with more strong performances, he'll end
up at No. 22 to the Nets or No. 28 to the Spurs.
* Speaking of international phenoms, Greece's "Baby Shaq", Sofaklis
Schortsanitis, is begging to impress a few folks in workouts. The good news
is that "Baby Shaq" is measuring in at 6-foot-10 with shoes (6-8> without)
and a 7-2 wingspan. That official measurement in Memphis should be enough to
quell all the naysayers who claimed he was much shorter. The bad news is
that his weight, 314 pounds in Memphis, is raising a few eyebrows. While
teams that have seen him claim it appears to be mostly muscle (wow!), they
still wonder if he'll have weight issues down the road.
* Where will Big Ten Player of the Year Brian Cook
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18450> go
in the draft? The initial feedback I got in Chicago over the weekend was
that he was in the 23-to-35 range. It wasn't easy to find a team that was
convinced he was a mid-first-rounder. Most wouldn't even claim he was a lock
for the late first round. However, I talked to several NBA teams on Tuesday
that claim they have him ranked higher than Nick Collison
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18443> ,
David West
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18446> and
Schortsanitis.
"I'm not sure how concerned we are with the 'head' issue anymore," one team
told Insider. "Two months ago it was the biggest issue on the board. But as
we've gone back and looked at the film, plus with our own evaluations of
him, it's no longer what I'd call a red flag."
Sources inside the three teams that have already worked him out -- Phoenix,
Miami and Utah -- believe he'll go anywhere from 14 to 24. Over the next two
weeks, Cook is scheduled to work out in Memphis, Boston, Milwaukee, Golden
State, Seattle and Phoenix.
* KU point guard Kirk Hinrich
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18442> is
pulling away from the competition as the second-best point guard in the
draft. Hinrich's workout reviews have been solid to stellar everywhere he's
gone. A source inside the Bucks claims that Hinrich worked out better than
any other point guard they've had in. If the Bucks pick a point guard at No.
8, and T.J. Ford already is off the board, it looks like Hinrich is the guy.
Hinrich's competition -- Luke Ridnour, Reece Gaines and Leandrinho Barbosa
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18545> --
have all gotten mixed reviews. Of the three after Hinrich, Gaines seems to
have the buzz right now, followed by Barbosa.
* The rumors that Phoenix is already in bed with Yugoslavian forward Zarko
Cabarkapa
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18463> at
pick No. 17 won't go away. Insider first reported the talk last week with a
rather big caveat -- the rumor got started when Cabarkapa left the U.S.
after only two workouts (the Suns and Lakers) and headed back to Yugoslavia.
His representatives claimed a family medical emergency forced him to return
and that he'd be back and working out again soon. While all that is checking
out, two more independent sources are claiming Phoenix has told Cabarkapa he
won't slip past 17, and the Lakers have told him he won't slip past 24.
These type of things are impossible to nail down. Phoenix is denying it.
Cabarkapa's agents are denying it. But there is an unusual amount of buzz
coming from this one. Let's watch who Cabarkapa works out with when he
returns. If it is only teams above 17, his draft stock is well on the rise.
And by the way, assuming Planinic and Cabarkapa don't push out any
international players, that's now 14 who could go in round one.
* Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18556> was
medically cleared to play after a physical during the Chicago pre-draft
camp. Obviously there are still major question marks about his health,
conditioning (he weighed 334 pounds in Chicago) and long-term future, but
it's probably a given that someone will take a chance on him now in the
second round.
Nose divers
* Oregon's Luke Ridnour has gotten some pretty mixed reviews over the past
week. While teams like his shooting touch and his innate feel for the game,
concerns about his quickness, toughness and ability to play defense in the
NBA are lowering his stock a bit. Two teams that have worked him out claim
they like him, but don't project him to be much more than a back-up point in
the NBA -- especially for the first two or three years. Of course, that's
what they said about Steve Nash
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3103> in 1996.
* You would have thought David West's stock would go through the roof after
he measured 6-9> with a 7-foot-4= wingspan in Chicago. However, several
teams claim they haven't been impressed with his workouts. He's shot the
ball poorly and just hasn't worked out as well as some of the other top
power forwards in the draft. Will he slip into the second round? Right now I
think there's a good chance of that.
* France's Boris Diaw
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18465> is
also struggling to maintain all the goodwill he earned earlier in the year.
Diaw was recently named the French League MVP. Several teams are struggling
to figure out whether Diaw is just soft or whether he's just playing in the
wrong system. The NBA likes big point guards, but many feel that at
6-foot-9, Diaw may be a little too big. The Warriors and Wizards were over
there recently, but they went to see Mickael Pietrus
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18464> , not
Diaw. The Bulls will be there this weekend, but again, they aren't going to
see Diaw. That's his biggest problem. Diaw's game doesn't jump up and grab
you like Pietrus' does. You have to be watching him closely to pick up on
all of the little things he does. The other night he had nine points, seven
rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in a Pau Orthez victory. That's a
nice stat line, but not one that immediately jumps up and grabs you. It's
not unheard of to think that Diaw ends up slipping down to the mid-to-late
20s.
Workout news
Grizzlies: Pavel Podkolzine worked out against San Diego's Jason Keep
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18519> and
Louisville's Marvin Stone
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18485> on
Tuesday. Grizz assistant coach Tony Barone said it was important to get
Pavel in to see how he worked out with other people. "It was just shooting
drills," Barone said of Podkolzine's Chicago showcase. "So you don't see
anything. We wanted to see him against big bodies. ... All of these guys
were physical, and they banged each other. That's what we wanted to see."
Sofoklis Schortsanitis also worked out in an earlier session. Brian Cook
will be in Memphis today.
Bucks: The team worked out Kirk Hinrich, Zoran Planinic, Reece Gaines and
Luke Ridnour on Tuesday. According to a source with knowledge of the
workout, Hinrich had the best performance of the day, followed by Planinic.
Gaines also worked out OK; Ridnour struggled. The Bucks will have another
interesting workout today when Podkolzine works out against 7-7 Slavko
Vranes
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18483> and
7-footer Maciej Lampe
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18461> .
T-Wolves: Rick Rickert
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18454> ,
Jerome Beasley
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18475> ,
Tommy Smith
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18490> ,
Marquis Estill
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18503> ,
Chris Thomas
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18453> and
Mo Williams worked out for the team on Tuesday. What was the T-Wolves' take
on hometown boy Rickert? "He's just not quick enough to defend small
forwards in our league," Rob Babcock, the Wolves' vice president of player
personnel, told the Pioneer Press. "The big question you ask is, 'What
position is this player going to defend in the NBA?' When you ask that
question you say, 'He's got to defend the power forward.' " The Wolves will
have Mario Austin
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18452> ,
Matt Bonner
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18491> , Ron
Slay <http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18522>
and James Lang
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18428> in
today.
Bulls: The team worked out Nick Collison, Maciej Lampe, David West and Luke
Walton
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18426> on
Tuesday. Collison and Lampe reportedly both worked out well. The team will
bring in Keith Bogans
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18504> and
Mo Williams today; Dwyane Wade
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18440> and
Luke Ridnour on Thursday; T.J. Ford on Friday and Kirk Hinrich on Saturday.
Great, just what the Bulls need -- another point guard.
Celtics: Russian forward Viktor Khryapa, Matt Bonner and Brandon Hunter
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18550> were
in Boston on Tuesday. Brian Cook will be in town on Thursday.
Pistons: Brazilian point guard Leandrinho Barbosa and University of Detroit
guard Willie Green
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18543> are
working out today.
Nets: Croatian point guard Zoran Planinic will be in New Jersey today.
Lakers: Yugoslavian two guard Alexsandar Pavlovic worked out in L.A. on
Tuesday.
Knicks: Pavel Podkolzine and Maciej Lampe will work out with the Knicks on
Thursday.
Nuggets: Marquette's Dwyane Wade is scheduled to work out for the Nuggets on
Saturday in Denver. Carmelo Anthony
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18433> will
visit the Nuggets on Saturday and work out Sunday. Darko Milicic
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/tracker/player?playerId=18423> is
tentatively scheduled to visit June 18-19.