Peter May - on Banks, Diaw, and the boys from Buducnost

[Eggcentric@xxxxxxx]

< More than a few general managers around the league are convinced the 
Celtics have made some sort of promise to UNLV's Marcus Banks to select 
the 6-2 guard at either 16 or 20. The other pick could be for one of the 
Buducnost boys. But who really knows?  ''There's a lot of misinformation 
coming out of Boston,'' one general manager quipped via e-mail. No more 
than anywhere else, however. ''I've been reading that we have a deal with 
Banks, too,'' said Celtics hoop boss Danny Ainge. ''I just love the fact that 
other people are so concerned with what we're doing.'' > - May

< Boris Diaw is a guy I'm planning on going to watch.'> - Ainge

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These three happy they're pointed to NBA 

By Peter May, Globe Staff, 6/22/2003  

We'll call them the Boys from Buducnost. There are three of them in this 
year's NBA draft. Two of them could go in the first round, and one of them 
could come to Boston. All of them will be happy to leave their current 
situation. The three are 6-foot-11-inch forward Zarko Cabarkapa; 6-7 
forward Aleksandar Pavlovic; and 7-4 center Slavko Vranes. Their team, 
Buducnost, in the former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, is, to be blunt, 
a mess. You won't hear any of these three saying they hope they can stay 
where they are to hone their skills for another year. 

''It was bad. Real bad. It's a tough situation, a tough team,'' said agent 
Marc 
Cornstein, who represents Vranes and Pavlovic. ''They had a crazy coach. 
They didn't get paid. Here you have a team with three potential first-round 
picks in the NBA and they didn't do well at all. That should tell you 
something.'' 

Buducnost was 16-6 in the Yugoslavian league, but in the Euroleague, 
where the competition is much tougher, it was 2-12. Cornstein said his 
two clients went without pay for several months, but they had no leverage. 
The team did pay for the apartment in which they lived. 

''It's a corrupt and poorly run organization,'' Cornstein said. ''And I'm 
being 
diplomatic.'' 

Agent Bill Duffy represents Cabarkapa, who was a bench-warmer on the 
Yugoslavian world championship team last fall. He said he had settled 
''the pay issue'' with the team, but agreed with Cornstein that the 
situation is difficult for the players. 

''I would say it was extremely volatile, very unstable,'' Duffy said. 

Celtics general manager Chris Wallace saw the team play this past spring 
and called the situation ''chaotic for the whole team.'' He said it was easy 
to tell how dispirited the players were amid coaching changes and a 
string of losses. 

The team's cash shortage should alleviate one potential headache: agreeing 
to a buyout, should one be necessary. However, Cornstein said any buyout 
clauses should be disregarded because the team breached its contract by 
not paying the players. That very issue is now being discussed regarding 
Pavlovic's deal, although, Cornstein added, ''It's unfortunate in that we're 
not always dealing with rational people.'' The most an over-the-cap NBA 
team can pay in a buyout situation like this is $350,000. 

''You could see how three times that amount would appeal to them,'' 
said Cornstein, referring to Buducnost. 

As for the players themselves, the Celtics worked out Pavlovic and liked 
what they saw, although he didn't always start for Buducnost. They have 
been unable to get Cabarkapa in; he worked out for Phoenix and then 
returned home because, according to Duffy, his mother was ill. There were 
more than a few raised eyebrows about that one; cynics suspected the 
Suns had cut a deal for him. But late last week, it was learned Cabarkapa 
was planning to return to the United States for predraft workouts with 
Milwaukee and New York. 

Vranes is more of a project; he saw limited action this season. In the 
game Wallace saw, Vranes played 93 seconds. He probably will go in the 
second round. Pavlovic and Cabarkapa appear to be NBA-ready. 

In some cases, teams will draft foreign players and encourage them to 
stay overseas. That way, the salary of the player does not count against 
the team's cap, although the team maintains his rights. Given what the 
Buducnost boys have been through, if they do have to go back across the 
pond, you can only hope for their sake that it's somewhere other than 
where they were. 

Money in Banks? More than a few general managers around the league are 
convinced the Celtics have made some sort of promise to UNLV's Marcus 
Banks to select the 6-2 guard at either 16 or 20. The other pick could be 
for one of the Buducnost boys. But who really knows? ''There's a lot of 
misinformation coming out of Boston,'' one general manager quipped 
via e-mail. No more than anywhere else, however. ''I've been reading that 
we have a deal with Banks, too,'' said Celtics hoop boss Danny Ainge. 
''I just love the fact that other people are so concerned with what we're 
doing.'' Veteran agent Michael Higgins, who also happens to represent 
Celtics forwards Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty, represents Banks. 
Higgins, normally a chatty sort, did not respond to two days of phone 
messages concerning Banks. There also was talk back at the predraft 
camp in Chicago that the Celtics had zeroed in on Banks and, adding to 
the drama, Banks ''came down with an injury'' at the time at least one 
team -- Utah -- was hoping to have him in for a workout. Ainge 
downplayed his geographical advantage (before coming to Boston, he 
lived outside Phoenix, and his son is at BYU, which, like UNLV, is in 
the Mountain West Conference). ''I would think Danny would have a better 
handle on our conference than a lot of people,'' said UNLV coach Charlie 
Spoonhour. ''I think what might have hurt Marcus is that a lot of our 
games start when people back East are going to bed.'' We'll see. The 
Sonics also are looking at Banks; they draft 12th and 14th and need a 
point guard. There's also a possibility that Oregon's Luke Ridnour will 
slide, possibly to where the Celtics will be picking. A week ago, that 
seemed inconceivable. But that's the way these things go. Remember, 
Vitaly Potapenko and Todd Fuller went ahead of Kobe Bryant in 1996 . . . 
There were a couple of major stunners Thursday with the release of 
the list of players who withdrew from the draft. Usually, players do this
 because they've been made aware that they either won't get picked very 
high or won't get selected at all. But how do we explain the decision of 
the so-called Siberian Sensation, 7-5 Pavel Podkolzine? Two weeks ago, 
he supposedly had this eye-popping workout (we touched on the ''rigors'' 
of that workout last Sunday) that had anonymous general managers 
drooling and comparing him to Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming. Orlando's 
Doc Rivers said he'd take Podkolzine at 15 but didn't expect him to last 
that long. It's hard to recall when a likely lottery pick withdrew his name 
from the draft, even one like Podkolzine, who did not have a lengthy 
playing resume. But everything seemed to slide for Podkolzine when it 
was reported that he had a thyroid/pituitary condition (alas, memories 
of Gheorghe Muresan). If he can get that under control, he could be back 
next year as one of the top picks. Another somewhat surprising withdrawal 
was that of Russian Viktor Khryapa, whom the Celtics worked out in New 
Jersey during the NBA Finals. ''There were a number of teams that were 
interested in him who wanted him to play right away,'' said Khryapa's 
agent, Marc Fleisher. ''And he didn't have an out. So the whole thing was 
up in the air. A couple of teams that would have taken him were not his 
favorites. He got over here late because of visa issues and he didn't have 
many workouts. But this could be the best thing for him because I think 
he could be a lottery pick next year.'' Khryapa turns 21 in August. Ainge 
said, ''I think he made a good move,'' adding that he did not see the 6-9 
Russian as a first-rounder. Another Fleisher client, Misan Nikagbatse, 
also withdrew, but he did so because of an injury that prevented him 
from working out. We first came across Nikagbatse at the World 
Championships last summer, when he played for Germany. He's a bull-like 
6-5 guard who is learning to play the point in Europe. He could be a real 
gem next year. 

Pass to Athens Both Vlade Divac and Vladimir Radmanovic are said to 
be skipping this summer's European championships in Sweden. By virtue 
of winning the Worlds last fall, Yugoslavia already has qualified for the 
2004 Athens Olympics, so not having Divac or Radmanovic wouldn't be 
disastrous. Plus, it would give the coach a chance to look at some of 
the new Yugos coming through the system like Cabarkapa and Pavlovic. 
Radmanovic, you may recall, got into it with his coach at the Worlds 
and rarely played. In the championship game against Argentina, he sat 
in the stands, adjacent to the media section, still wearing his warmups 
and uniform . . . As for the US replacing Kobe (shoulder surgery) on its 
team this summer, don't look for a stud to be named. The US team as 
constituted, with Tim Duncan leading the way, has more than enough 
firepower to get through the August qualifying tournament in Puerto 
Rico, where the top three teams will qualify for Athens. Kobe then 
would be healthy to play in the Olympics in 2004 . . . The Warriors made 
a recent trip to France to scout Mickael Pietrus, the French (Pau Orthez) 
shooting guard who is now seen as a legitimate top 10 pick. Golden 
State picks 11th, and many feel the Warriors will take a point guard to 
protect themselves against the loss of Gilbert Arenas in free agency. 
But there also is talk that the Warriors-Arenas relationship is on the 
upswing, which may mean the team looks elsewhere in the draft. Still, 
a point guard at that spot makes the most sense, given that the Warriors 
are fairly set at the other four positions . . . Ainge may take a last-minute 
trip to France this week to scout Boris Diaw-Riffiod, who also plays for 
Pau Orthez. The trip also would allow Ainge an opportunity to see Pietrus. 
Ainge planned to visit Europe last week, but postponed his trip because of 
scheduling difficulties. ''There's still a chance I might go to Europe to 
watch Boris Diaw play this week,'' said Ainge. ''You get all planned and 
ready to go and then the team wins a game and there's no Game 3 in the 
championship. So, then you wait for the next series to start. Boris Diaw 
is a guy I'm planning on going to watch.'' He is projected in some mock 
drafts as a mid- to late-first-round pick. The general scouting report 
praises the 6-foot-8-inch forward's athleticism, particularly his quickness. 
He is said to be an aggressive offensive rebounder. He certainly has athletic 
genes. His mother, Elisabeth Riffiod, has been called the best center in the 
history of French women's basketball. His father was a high jump champion 
in Senegal . . . It's always a bit risky to bring in a coach before you have 
a 
general manager. But the Wizards decided having Nets assistant Eddie 
Jordan on board was more important and signed him to replace Doug Collins. 
Washington still has no general manager/hoop boss because Wes Unseld is 
leaving after the draft. The loss of Jordan could really hurt the Nets 
because 
he was seen by many to be one of the real engines that drove the New Jersey 
train. In addition, he is very tight with Jason Kidd . . . The Spurs wrapped 
up 
the NBA title a week ago tonight. Lost amid all the Duncan hoopla (well 
deserved, nonetheless) was the coaching of Gregg Popovich. He continually 
flustered the Nets with a zone and then allowed Speedy Claxton to finish 
the deciding game (which he should have done in Game 5, too) instead of the 
out-of-it Tony Parker. Popovich wasn't named Coach of the Year for no 
reason. He learned from the likes of Larry Brown and Don Nelson, and his 
to-the-point style fits well with the non-MTV Spurs. But the Spurs players 
got a bit of chuckle when Popovich was presented with the Coach of the 
Year award prior to a playoff game. ''He hated it,'' said Steve Kerr. ''He 
hated 
walking out on the floor that night to get the award. Danny [Ferry] and I 
were joking that maybe he was laying it out a little too thick. You know, he 
had his head down, he was walking too slow. It was like, `All right, give me 
the stupid award.' But I hope he enjoys it because he deserved it.'' Added 
Bruce Bowen, ''It says a lot about the man. He's not a guy who's all about 
fashion. Or show. Especially fashion.'' . . . The fans in Milwaukee may soon 
be getting Michael Jordan -- off the court. Let's hope there's not the 
ridiculous hysteria that greeted Jordan's front-office appointment in 
Washington. MJ has yet to prove he's even the Brad Sellers of general 
managers; his decisions in Washington were puzzling at best, and the team 
could not make the playoffs, even in the Eastern Conference. If Jordan does 
take over in Milwaukee, that presumably would enable GM Ernie Grunfeld 
to leave if he so desired. Charlotte is interested in Grunfeld, as are 
Washington and Portland . . . Best of luck to one of the best: Longtime 
Cleveland Cavaliers communications director Bob Price is leaving the 
organization to -- are you ready? -- teach middle school math. Price 
spent 20 years with the Cavs, which means he saw a lot of the good, bad, 
and ugly. He's also leaving right as LeBron James is arriving, but he hopes 
he still has an in with the ticket folks if things turn around. 
We wish him well.