18th pick should be knowm within 48 Hours?

Here is an article, orginally posted by Cat5, from the Vancouver Sun Sports, stating that they have to satisfy Detroit by June 1st. HOPE WE HEAR SOME GOOD NEWS TODAY!!!!

If the Grizzlies can't give Detroit a pick in the top 18 this season, the Pistons will get the Grizzlies own pick in 2002, provided it is not in the top five, or 2003, provided it is not first overall.

Ironically, Houston is in a position to get this year's No. 18 pick - via Orlando, Phoenix and New York in a deal too complicated to lay out - and owes the Grizzlies a first-round pick sometime in the next three years as part of the Steve Francis deal. That pick is supposed to be within two of the Rockets' own selection - No. 13 this year - but the Grizzlies would willingly amend that requirement if they could get their hands on No. 18.

"You can mark it down in cement," said Grizzlies' GM Billy Knight. "If the Rockets give us that pick, rest assured, we're flipping it to Detroit."
He said the prospect of losing a high pick in 2002 because of an inability to satisfy the trade debt of the past management regime is "a brutal situation to have your organization under," said Knight.

Complicating the situation is that the Grizzlies' ................DEADLINE FOR SATISFYING THE PISTONS THIS SEASON................ is June 1, a few days before the deadline for Orlando to decide if it will take the pick from Phoenix. If Orlando does that, the pick automatically goes to Houston.
Knight said the Grizzlies are involved in discussions with the Magic and the Rockets to "make it conducive" for an early decision. The team is also looking at other potential trade scenarios to satisfy the Pistons.

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Here is a clipping from DETROIT TODAY about the 18th pick. It states that Houston, if they get the pick, are telling Vancouver that they still plan to keep it. With Vancouver hosting the NBA Draft next year, they are desparate to have a pick in their new City of Memphis. I bet CD, if he gets the pick, will wait for the 12th hour to get something good for the Rockets.

Thanks to clever maneuvering by executive vice-president Rick Sund in 1997, the Pistons have the Vancouver Grizzlies over a barrel today.
   The Grizzlies have until Friday to decide if they want to send a first-round pick (No. 18 or better) in this year's draft to the Pistons to complete the 1997 trade that sent power forward Otis Thorpe to the Grizzlies.
   The Grizzlies own the No. 6 pick and do not want to part with that. They have been trying frantically to work a deal to acquire another draft pick to give to the Pistons.
   If the Grizzlies don't send a pick this year, they would have to give up their first-round pick (provided it's between 6-18) next season.
   That is not a scenario the Grizzlies can afford because, in all likelihood, they will play host to the 2002 draft in their new hometown -- Memphis. It would be bad business, indeed, to stage the draft and not have a pick.
   "If there is a deal to be done, we will do it," Grizzlies General Manager Billy Knight said. "But we don't feel like we are forced to make a deal. We are not going to make a bad deal. Clearly, though, this is not the best situation to be in right now."
   That brings us back to Sund and the deal he wrote in 1997. In it, he wisely deemed June 1 to be the annual deadline for the Grizzlies to inform the Pistons if they would be sending on a pick.
   "It's terribly unreasonable to have a June 1 deadline," said Knight, who was not involved in the original deal -- former Grizzlies general manager Stu Jackson was. "No one has had the opportunity to evaluate the talent in the draft yet."
   Which is precisely why Sund chose the date. He knew a June 1 deadline would make it difficult for the Grizzlies to pick up a late first-round pick at the last minute.
   The Boston Celtics, who pick No. 10 and No. 11, might have been willing to trade one or both picks to move up to No. 6. But without time to evaluate the talent, such a deal would be too risky.
   This is the obstacle the Grizzlies are finding at every turn. Teams are reluctant to trade up or out of the draft without time to test the talent pool.
   The Grizzlies are holding out hope that they will end up with the 18th pick, from New York through Phoenix, Orlando and Houston. But Houston has informed the Grizzlies that, as of this week, it plans to keep the pick.
   Knight admitted that he was exploring all options, including perhaps making a deal with Detroit to get the pick back.
   "This is a pretty good position to be in," said Pistons President Joe Dumars, who already has the ninth pick in the June 27 draft. "Hopefully, we'll be getting a good pick from Vancouver at some point between now and next year."
   Knight said he planned to talk with Dumars on Friday morning.


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