Chris Ford's Draft Buzz

[BDodgers at aol.com]

Orlando update and false promises

posted: Friday, June 2, 2006  |  _Feedback_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/writeback?name=Chad+Ford) 

GMs are already grumbling about  the quality of this year's Orlando camp. 
Official invites went out late last  week, but a surprising number of bubble 
first-rounders are choosing not to  participate this year.  
While prospects still have a week to change their minds, at the moment it  
appears that _Shannon Brown_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18893) , _Paul Davis_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18873) , _Guillermo 
Diaz_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18851) , _Alexander Johnson_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18973) , _Quincy Douby_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18971) , 
_Richard Roby_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18887) , _Dee Brown_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18864)  and _Mike Gansey_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=1896
8)  are all skipping the camp. 
The feedback Shannon Brown has been getting from teams puts him solidly in  
the first round. He could go as high as No. 14 to the Jazz and is unlikely to  
slip past No. 26 to the Lakers. The Pacers at No. 17, the Kings at No. 19 and  
the Knicks at No. 20 are also possibilities. 
Speaking of the Knicks and Brown, it appears that my source in New York may  
have fed me a bit of misinformation about him. Another source claims that 
Brown  played very well in the workout -- so well that the Knicks decided to leak 
a  little bad info. Too bad for Shannon -- as I said Thursday, the Knicks are 
not a  great fit. 
Johnson also has gotten strong feedback from his workouts, and it looks like  
he's got a great shot at going in Round 1. He's worked out well for the Nets, 
 Bulls, Nuggets and Sonics. He's a legit possibility at No. 16 to Chicago and 
at  No. 22 or No. 23 to the Nets. 
Douby has the talent of a first-rounder and has been doing a lot of workouts  
to generally positive reviews. There are rumors he already has a first-round  
promise (see the next item below), but I have my doubts. 
Diaz has been impressive in workouts, and there are a few teams that might  
draft him (starting with the Kings at No. 19 and the Lakers at No. 26). 
However,  if a few things don't go his way, he could slip. 
Dee Brown isn't a likely first-rounder at this point. However, given the  
serious injury he suffered at the camp last year, you can understand why he  
wouldn't want to risk injury again. 
It seems that Davis, Roby and Gansey could help their stock by playing, which 
 makes their decisions to skip the camp a little more puzzling. 
Davis is the type of player who looks much better in a five-on-five game than 
 he does in a workout. Roby and Gansey are just bubble guys at the moment. 
So who is going to be there? There is no official list yet, but after talking 
 to agents for a number of players, here's a look at who could be in: 
_James Augustine_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18932) , _Will Blalock_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18964) , _Curtis Stinson_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerI
d=18879) , _Bobby Brown_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18942) , _Allan Ray_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18928) , _Denham Brown_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playe
rId=18919) , _Arron Afflalo_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22163) , _Steve Novak_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18965)  and _Brad Newley_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18977) . 
Two other underclassmen who have not hired agents, UCLA's _Jordan Farmar_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=
18858)  and UConn's _Josh Boone_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18848) , are still considering their 
options. I have  my doubts that either will play. 
Farmar is solidly in the first round. Boone may have been disappointing in a  
group workout in Chicago but seems to have found a team, the Knicks, willing 
to  draft him in the first round. Multiple sources claim that both New York 
and New  Jersey are seriously looking at taking him in the early 20s. If that's 
true, you  can bet he'll skip Orlando and use a strained shoulder as the 
excuse. 
• It's about this time of year that we start hearing rumors about  promises 
or draft guarantees. Every year one or two of them turn out to be real.  Most 
are bogus.  
The first two players to get mentioned as possibly having guarantees are  
Rutgers guard Quincy Douby and Ukrainian forward _Olexsiy Pecherov_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18910) . 
Pecherov's agent, Steve Heumann, told me on the phone that Pecherov does not  
have a deal in place. 
"He's flying over to the U.S. and is starting individual workouts with  
teams," Heumann said. As Heumann pointed out, the fact that he's working out for  
several teams is an indication that no deal has been made. 
Heumann's partner, Marc Fleisher, said they did have a place for Pecherov.  
"We do have a team who drafts later in the first round who wanted to shut him  
down," Fleisher said. "So I think I know the team he won't get past. But we 
felt  like he's got the potential to go much higher once teams see him work 
out." 
Fleisher, you may remember, represented Russian _Yaroslav Korolev_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18770) 
 last spring. Korolev received a  promise from the Clippers in May and was 
drafted No. 12 by L.A., as  promised. 
As for Douby, the rumor is that he hired an agent after receiving a promise  
from the Bulls at No. 16.  
If that's true, why is he still working out for teams? Douby has more  
workouts scheduled the next few weeks, for teams both ahead of and below the  Bulls. 
So it looks like this "promise" is bogus too. 
• In an effort to get the latest and best info out, here is an update on  
Marcus Williams, formerly of UConn; at his workout in Houston on Tuesday,  
Williams weighed in at 215 pounds.  
Last week I reported that Williams had weighed in at 220 for a workout in  
Boston. So, in the course of a week he's already shed five pounds. 
The general consensus on the workout in Houston that also featured _Mardy 
Collins_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18850)  and _Guillermo Diaz_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15434)  was that everyone played well.  
The weight issue for Williams might not be an issue after all.  
At UConn, Williams was listed at 205, but three NBA execs said they think  
that was an underestimate. According to these sources, he was probably closer to 
 215 in college and still very effective. So, according to two of the 
executives,  his weight really isn't much of an issue. Furthermore, as he continues 
to work  out, his weight will probably get closer and closer to his ideal 
playing weight,  they said. 
"Would we like his body to be better? Sure," one NBA executive said. "But the 
 guy is the smartest player in the draft. He knows how to play basketball. 
That's  what you want in a point guard. The conditioning will get much better 
once he's  in an NBA system. People were worried about the same thing with Deron 
Williams  and Carmelo Anthony, and it turned into a nonissue. The kid has a 
chance to be  special." 
• We told you last week that _Adam Morrison_ 
(http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2006&playerId=18840)  was working out for 
four teams. Here's  his schedule: Charlotte on June 6, Portland on June 15, 
Chicago on June 19 and  Toronto on June 21. Morrison will reserve the last week 
for workouts for any  teams that might move up in the draft.