NY Times article: Wizards are set to pick Kwame. Battier no longer a lock for ATL.

I have come to the conclusion that the only thing that is guaranteed about this draft is that Matt Maloney will not be the number 1 pick.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/26/sports/26NBAA.html

Wizards Close to Selecting Georgia High School Star

By MIKE WISE

On his way to New York yesterday, Arn Tellem took a detour. Tellem, the Los Angeles-based agent for the high school players Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry and the Seton Hall freshman Eddie Griffin, met with Michael Jordan, the Washington Wizards' president, and Doug Collins, their coach, said a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The meeting was informal and lasted between 30 minutes and an hour, but there was a reason behind it: Tellem wants to ensure that one of his clients is taken No. 1 by the Wizards in tomorrow's N.B.A. draft — and that player is probably going to be Brown.

Tellem, reached by telephone in Manhattan, confirmed that he was in Washington yesterday but would not say if he had met with the Wizards, who are said to be deciding between Brown and Tyson Chandler, the 7-foot California high school player.

Brown, Chandler and Curry are expected to be selected among the first five players in the draft at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. According to one Eastern Conference executive who had recently spoken to Jordan, Brown, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound power forward out of Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga., is expected to go No. 1 to the Wizards.

If Brown is taken at No. 1, the Los Angeles Clippers will pick from among Chandler, Griffin and Curry at No. 2. The Atlanta Hawks will most likely take one of the two leftover players. The Hawks have been high on the Duke all-American Shane Battier, but one prominent agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said yesterday that he would be shocked if Atlanta chose Battier. More likely, the agent said, Battier will be chosen sixth by the Grizzlies franchise, which will play in Memphis next season.

If Chandler goes to the Clippers, Curry or Griffin would most likely go No. 3 to the Hawks, Chicago would take the remaining player between those two, and Rodney White, the multitalented 6-9 freshman from North Carolina-Charlotte, would be selected fifth by Golden State.

Pete Babcock, Atlanta's general manager, would not rule out any of the top prospects — and even mentioned the 20-year-old Spanish star Pau Gasol as a possible choice. But the Hawks will most likely draft a teenager over the 23-year-old Battier, one of only six college seniors expected to be taken in the first round.

"We also have a lot of trade inquiries and ongoing conversations with different teams," Babcock said yesterday by telephone from Atlanta. "Typically, though, these things don't materialize as much as they're talked about."

Tellem's meeting with the Wizards was not a huge surprise — especially with Brown not a lock to go first.

Jordan, the Wizards' head of basketball operations who has not decided whether he will return to play next season at 38, is reportedly smitten with Brown's talent, strength and focus. Collins, hired by Jordan to coach next season, likes Brown as well. But he reportedly has an affinity for Chandler, a player whose wingspan and athleticism Collins believes could immediately help Washington.

Either way, the team is expected to make basketball history with the pick. By choosing Brown, which would be Jordan's mark on the franchise since taking over last year, the Wizards would become the first team to draft a high school player with the top pick. Brown was 9 years old when Jordan won his first title with the Chicago Bulls in 1991.

Griffin, the wiry 6-9 forward, is actually younger than Brown. He turned 19 only two weeks ago. If Brown, Griffin, Curry and Chandler are the first four picks, a player over age 20 — Commissioner David Stern's proposed minimum-age requirement to enter the draft — would not be chosen until the fifth pick at the earliest.

Battier has dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 on several executives' lists in recent days.

"I disagree that staying four years somehow hurt Shane," Babcock said. "Obviously, the counter to that is Tim Duncan, who stayed four years.

"I don't think Shane's draft status has changed at all. No matter when he would have come out, everybody picks your game apart and analyzes everything. It hasn't hurt him at all to stay. The maturity level, the confidence level — those things evolved over the four years he was at Duke. I can't imagine any of that being a detriment."



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Here's an article by ESPN that basically summarizes the NY Times article and the Washington Post article.

There's a nice little blurb about how Houston is believe to be a team moving up with their multiple picks being an enticing factor. Washington has worked out quite a few players that could potential fall in that range like Steven Hunter, Troy Murphy, and Radman.

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2001/s/2001/0625/1218755.html

Brown or Chandler could make draft history
ESPN.com news services


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While it is no secret the NBA keeps getting younger and younger, the fact remains nobody ever has drafted a high school player No. 1 overall.

That could change on Wednesday.

The Washington Post and New York Times both are reporting the Washington Wizards will draft one of the two high school big men -- Kwame Brown or Tyson Chandler -- unless they decide to trade the top pick.

The Times indicates the Wizards are leaning toward Brown, and top executives with the club met with Brown's agent, Arn Tellem, on Monday. The Wizards worked out both players for a second time on Monday.

However, a trade remains possible and the Post reports that Vancouver/Memphis, Orlando, Seattle and Houston all are interested in moving up for the pick.

A league source said Washington has held trade talks with the Chicago Bulls and the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, among other teams, the Post reports. One source discounted a report of a trade that would have sent point guard Mike Bibby to Washington, but said other Grizzlies players have been discussed.

"Having No. 1 helps the phones ring," Wizards assistant general manager Rod Higgins said Monday of the possibility of trading the pick. "I would imagine, as we get closer to the actual draft every team will be doing their due diligence to improve their individual teams."

It is believed that Orlando, Seattle and Houston also are trying to move up in the draft. Orlando and Houston have multiple picks, which could prove enticing, since Washington only has the No. 1 pick.

Golden State, with the fifth and 14th picks, is apparently interested in Chandler. The 7-foot-1 Chandler and Brown, 6-11, are enticing to a lot of teams craving size. And the Wizards' coaches and executives saw big men with skill and competitiveness, too.

"Any workout is enlightening," said Higgins, who declined to give more specifics. "This was no different. It just gave us a more in-depth view of what we've already seen."

Washington wants to bolster its front court, coach Doug Collins said last week, and Brown and Chandler are fast and athletic and may be good enough outside shooters to keep them productive while they develop physically to play inside. The Wizards also like Seton Hall small forward Eddie Griffin.

Many league officials have said it could be about three years for a high school player to establish himself in the NBA, but that is a waiting period Collins and other team officials said they could bear.

And Tellem wants to make sure they can bear it. According to the New York Times, Tellem met for almost an hour on Monday with Michael Jordan, the Wizards' president, and Collins, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The reason for the meeting?

Tellem wants to ensure that one of his clients is taken No. 1 by the Wizards -- and that player is probably going to be Brown. Tellem, reached by telephone in Manhattan, confirmed that he was in Washington but would not say if he had met with the Wizards.

If Brown is taken at No. 1, the Los Angeles Clippers will pick from among Chandler, Griffin and Eddy Curry at No. 2. The Atlanta Hawks will most likely take one of the two leftover players, the Times story said.

The Hawks have been high on Duke all-American Shane Battier, but one prominent agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Monday that he would be shocked if Atlanta chose Battier. More likely, the agent said, Battier will be chosen sixth by the Grizzlies franchise.

If Chandler goes to the Clippers, Curry or Griffin would most likely go No. 3 to the Hawks, Chicago would take the remaining player between those two, and Rodney White, the multi-talented 6-9 freshman from North Carolina-Charlotte, would be selected fifth by Golden State.

Pete Babcock, Atlanta's general manager, would not rule out any of the top prospects -- and even mentioned the 20-year-old Spanish star Pau Gasol as a possible choice. But the Hawks will most likely draft a teenager over the 23-year-old Battier, one of only six college seniors expected to be taken in the first round.

Many draft analysts believe Brown has the most promise of the five high school players projected to be taken in the first round. Brown, 19, is said to have solid ballhandling skills and, at 235 pounds, is more physically imposing than the 225-pound Chandler. Chandler, 18, has drawn comparisons to Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, who joined the NBA directly from high school and is a perennial all-star.

Brown, who initially committed to the University of Florida, averaged 20 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.8 blocked shots for Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga., his senior season. Chandler averaged 26 points, 15 rebounds and 8 blocked shots in leading Dominguez High in Compton to the California state championship.

Not all the trade talks have been for the top pick, a source said, and Washington could broker a deal involving a player or future considerations for a later first-round or second-round pick.

In case they trade down, the Wizards also worked out forwards Troy Murphy of Notre Dame and Yugoslavian forward Vladimir Radmanovic Monday with Brown and Chandler, the Post reported. It also was their second workout for Washington and it was their second strong showing, a source said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45231-2001Jun25.html




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[This message has been edited by Da Man (edited June 26, 2001).]