Feigen on Pick 15

Second helping
After selecting first overall, Rockets are likely to find another keeper with the 15th pick
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

The idea always was to pick somewhere around No. 15. The Rockets never planned to be back in the lottery again, much less to win it. They sure never thought they would spend spring in Shanghai and Beijing to prepare for the NBA draft.

The Rockets planned to be in the playoffs this season and to draft somewhere in the middle of the first round. Half has come true.

Once the Rockets get done with the first pick of the draft and their expected selection of Yao Ming, they will be back where they thought they'd be, choosing 15th in the first round.

The pick, however, could prove much more valuable than anyone could have guessed. Acquired in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Hakeem Olajuwon to Toronto, the Rockets' second first-round pick could go nearly as far toward filling a need as the first.

"You can tell 15 is a great pick to have by how many people call and ask for it," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said, declining to list the frequent callers or their offers. "That's a good gauge right there. It indicates there's a bunch of guys that not only us, but the rest of the league thinks can play in the league or they wouldn't be calling.

"They all have different needs. So that shows it's a pretty good draft."

The Rockets' two biggest needs are a center and a small forward. Yao should handle the first need. But the Rockets have not drafted and kept a true small forward since Robert Horry in 1992.

This season's draft is considered especially deep at small forward, but a run at the position could give the Rockets a difficult choice. Ideally, barring surprises in the first 14 picks, the Rockets could find Bostjan Nachbar available. A slick, multitalented scorer from Slovenia whom the Rockets are scheduled to work out today, Nachbar played for Benetton Treviso, and Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich traveled to Italy to watch him on a scouting trip.

But there have been signs that DeJuan Wagner, Amare Stoudemire and even Qyntel Woods could be slipping. If they do, Nachbar could be a candidate to move up. The Rockets likely would also be happy with Tayshaun Prince, the smooth-shooting forward from Kentucky, or Jiri Welsch, a smooth, well-rounded guard who at 6-7 could fill a need at small forward.

Fresno State power forward/center Melvin Ely and small forward Chris Jefferies, Tennessee power forward Marcus Haislip and Missouri shooting guard Kareem Rush are candidates to be chosen in the middle of the first round but might not fit as easily as Nachbar, Welsch or Prince.

The decision could be even tougher if Woods or Stoudemire is still on the board.

"We're slotting three or four guys," Dawson said. "We're using the next week. We're still making up our minds. We're kind of confident we'll get one. We don't know which one.

"When you just have one pick, normally you go for need if it's there. If it's not, you go for the best athlete. If you have multiple picks like we've been fortunate to have over a couple of the last few years, it gives you more options. If you don't want to go for need, you can trade like we did last year and come up with Eddie Griffin. It gives you more flexibility.

"It's never that absolute. It's not like you have that much control of the draft. I wish we did. You try. This year there are some threes (small forwards) and fives (centers), things we're looking at in the draft. We have a pretty good chance of coming up with a couple of players that can play for the Rockets for a while."

The Rockets never expected that. But for all the good fortune that followed the bad to land them the first pick, they also might have lucked into the right year to pick 15th.

 

Globetrotting Rockets eye Italian import
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Before he became the toast of Shanghai and before he hung around Beijing with Yao Ming, Rudy Tomjanovich had his passport stamped in Italy.

At the time, the Rockets had almost no shot at Yao. They held the fifth pick of the draft and a lottery chance. Their idea of an exotic scouting trip was to check out the ins and outs, to say nothing of the forwards, of Benetton Treviso.

The idea at the time was for Tomjanovich to get a good look at Nikoloz Tskitishvili, the barely 19-year-old 7-footer in his first season in Italy. But he also checked out small forward Bostjan Nachbar, a smooth, versatile scorer who will work out for the Rockets today and might be the favorite to be selected with their second first-round pick, the 15th selection overall.

"You can't say this is not very good basketball, because it is, and it applies to our game," Tomjanovich said. "You look at (Hedo) Turkoglu. You look at (Dirk) Nowitzki and (Peja) Stojakovic.

"Scouting there is so important now. There's a payoff. But there's a puzzler there, too. Point guards that would maybe be second point guards here, but probably third, play a lot for those teams. You think, `What could the level be here? This kid has a hard time making it in our league.'

"But forwards who don't play 35 minutes, especially the young ones, have the talent that translates over here. The Italian players are very surprised at the level of success of a (Pau) Gasol and a (Vladimir) Radmanovich because they were so young in their system. The guy we went to see, a young kid (Tskitishvili), does not play. We were lucky to watch him practice."

Tomjanovich never did offer a scouting report on Tskitishvili or Nachbar and is not about to show his hand now. But so much of scouting is a what-if proposition. The lesson of Tomjanovich's Italian adventure, besides that there is loads of talent there and that Treviso has a remarkable program, is that firsthand scouting in Europe could be even more valuable than in the United States.

As difficult as it might be to assess how underage collegiate talent might translate to the NBA, in Europe the most talented young players don't even play until they have paid their dues on the bench and in practice. Tapes are useless. But by now, it is clear the best Europeans can have a huge impact in the NBA and will be all over the draft as a rule -- including Wednesday -- rather than exception.

"It's not like they stand out there, and you take the best player from this team," Tomjanovich said. "It's not like that at all. You have to have contacts. You have to watch them practice.

"I don't know which is the most difficult. As you watch in college, some of the problems we don't even know right now are solved. How much they're gaining each year, their work ethic, how much they're picking up each year about the game -- you can see all that in the process. Right now, you have to kind of guess at it. You really don't know. You don't have that measuring stick to go by that we had in the past. There was more known.

"What you do now ... involves more guesswork. We're trying to work harder to get more information and to cut down the guessing as much as you can. More work, longer hours, more trips, more tape, more everything."

As with his trip to Beijing, Tomjanovich returned raving about the way he was treated. He was given tours of facilities and access to practices. He was treated as if the Italian power hoped to have its players taken. But the first thing he talked about was the talent he encountered.

A coach and former scout who loves shooters, Tomjanovich has found himself with too few players who can shoot. But in Europe, he saw plenty, and he might see another today at Westside.

"The first thing he told me when he got back is it's really strange how surprised they are at some of the success some of the guys have had who were mediocre players over there," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. "They were even surprised with Nowitzki, even Peja. They were saying there's a lot of shooters over there that can shoot like him."

Around the league

Lover, not fighter
-- Jay Williams has raised red flags throughout the league. His game seems fine. And no one seems terribly concerned that he measured just a touch taller than six feet.

But the guy alarmingly seems to like Jerry Krause.

"A lot of people say, `Well, he messed things up,' " Williams said of the Bulls' much-maligned general manager. "But my parents taught me not to form an opinion about anybody until you meet them in person. He just wants to win and is really energized. I like that about him. If there's anybody whose back I would have when I come here, I would have his."

Williams spent two days in Chicago saying all the right things. He spoke about how wonderful it would be to play with Jalen Rose, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and even Jamal Crawford, who will become his backup, calling them "athletic guys who are smart." He also made sure to praise coach Bill Cartwright.

Williams did nothing, however, to tempt the Rockets, even before canceling his admittedly needless Westside workout.

"Of course going No. 1 is something that everybody wants to do," said Williams. "But I'd rather be happy. I don't know if I'd be happy at Houston. I know this (Chicago) is a place I'd be really happy at."

No ego problems here
-- Qyntel Woods knows it will take time to adjust to the NBA. He played just two seasons of community college basketball, so he is ready to be patient.

"I think it will take awhile to get used to the physical play in the NBA," he said. "But after a while, I will be ready. Maybe a couple of months, half a season."

As long as he is willing to give it a couple of months.

Woods was once pegged as a top-five pick. He could slip all the way to the Rockets at No. 15 -- and keep on slipping.

Holding on to Odom
-- There's almost no chance Lamar Odom will be dealt any time soon. The Clippers are anything but proactive and unlikely to act now because of salary issues a year from now. Elgin Baylor drafted him, still loves him and still thinks Odom could play point guard.

The Clippers are talking to Cleveland about Andre Miller, meaning Jeff McInnis is as good as gone. If they don't steal Miller, they plan to play Keyon Dooling, Odom and 2000 draft pick Marko Jaric at the point.

No ego problems, part II
-- Connecticut forward Caron Butler might not need an agent. He continued this week to argue without outside help that Yao Ming and Jay Williams aren't in his league as top picks.

"I'm versatile," Butler said. "I bring a lot of energy. And W's. I'm very mature. A lot of scouts are impressed by that. I'm a real person off the court and on the court. I should be (No. 1).

"I should have jumped (in the order) sooner. It has been a long haul for me since the start of last season. I proved myself to be one of the best players in the country, but I wasn't known and didn't get the respect that I deserved. The (NCAA) Tournament especially solidified my spot among the elite players."

Anxious in Portland
-- The Trail Blazers might be working the phones hardest to move up in the draft in the hopes of adding "a young Shawn Kemp" to the old Shawn Kemp.

Portland is said to be enamored with 6-9, 230-pound high school star Amare Stoudemire. They also love 7-foot forward Nikoloz Tskitschvili, who is unlikely to slide past Denver with the fifth pick of the draft. But the Trail Blazers would also make a move for 6-11 Stanford center Curtis Borchardt and Brazilian big man Maybiner "Nene" Hilario.

The Blazers are offering Zach Randolph, cash and picks to move up.

In a bind
-- While teams are going nuts trying to move into the top half of the first round, the Bucks are willing to move their pick, the 13th of the draft.

But despite that combination, it might not be easy to make a move. The Bucks are looking for a veteran defensive presence, a Brian Grant or P.J. Brown type. The Hornets backed off a deal for Brown at the trade deadline, correctly deciding Glenn Robinson basically duplicates Jamal Mashburn. Grant is movable but has a huge contract, bringing up the Bucks' other problem in making deals.

No one wants Anthony Mason, and Tim Thomas is a 6-10 forward who has become little more than a 3-point shooter making $11 million a year.

The Bucks have a pick others want. But if a team has to take on those contracts to get it, the Bucks better take a rookie and not look back.

Another Stockton?
-- Guard Dan Dickau of Gonzaga might have made the best move up the draft board. Dickau has been outstanding in workouts and could be one of the top point guards taken.

Unless a forward who excites the 76ers slips, Philadelphia could grab Dickau with the No. 16 pick to send him to Golden State, in desperate need of a point guard. Philadelphia owes the Warriors a first-round pick.

Pierce endorsed
-- Celtics forward Paul Pierce copyrighted "The Truth," the nickname given him last year by Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal will be expecting a cut of the profits.

"He should copyright that name," O'Neal said. "It's him. Paul Pierce is the (expletive) Truth.

"He should have been ... in the Finals, but he wasn't because Boston went back to that Rick Pitino (expletive) defense. You saw how we just stayed back and made the Nets shoot jump shots. That's what the Celtics should have done. But they didn't. That's why we played the Nets."