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Sasser withdraws name from draft
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Here are the latest rumors and happenings surrounding the 2000 NBA draft (through June 21):
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KATZ'S FORECAST |
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|  | | Jerome Moiso has impressed scouts in his workouts. |
Top 10 foreign players:
1. Iakovos Tsakalidis, 7-2, AEK Greece
2. Olumide Oyedeji, 6-11, DJK Wurzburg (Germany)
3. Hidayet Turkoglu, 6-8, Efes Pilsen (Turkey)
4. Marko Jaric, 6-7, Fortitudo Bologna (Italy)
5. Primoz Brezec, 7-0, Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)
6. Antonis Fotsis, 6-9, Panathinaikos (Greece)
7. Igor Rakoceciv, 6-2, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)
8. Vassil Evtimov, 6-10, Dafni (Greece)
9. Matthew Nielsen, 6-9, Sydney Kings (Australia)
10. Mehmet Okur, 6-11, Tofas Buras (Turkey)
For Katz's complete mock draft, click here.
Workout buzz:
The trend is to get as many high-profile players in one spot as possible.
Orlando had Quentin Richardson going against Courtney Alexander and DerMarr
Johnson. The goal? See if Richardson's nose for the ball could get him
boards against two of the top shooting guards in the draft. Richardson held
his own and was able to rebound over Alexander and Johnson.
The point guards have worked out together quite often, so much that
Ohio State's Scoonie Penn didn't go to Chicago because he felt he was
proving he could hang with Speedy Claxton, Erick Barkley, Mateen Cleaves and
Khalid El-Amin.
Oklahoma State's Desmond Mason probably won't slip out of the first
round after he keeps getting brought back for workouts. He made two trips to
Orlando and more calls are coming in for his services. Mason didn't play as
tough in Phoenix and skipped Chicago. But the word on Mason is that he's too
athletic, too versatile and too good to let slip out of the first round. If
that's the case, St. John's Lavor Postell might drop out of the first round.
Regardless, both players are likely to get guaranteed contracts -- even if
one is in the second round.
On the rise:
No player is getting as much private pub during
workouts as UCLA sophomore Jerome Moiso. Moiso was projected as a middle
first round pick when he declared. He has since moved to near lock status for the lottery.
Scouts told ESPN.com that his skills, long arms and ability to play
either small or power forward make him intriguing. He's quick and can sky
above the rim. Cleveland could shock the draft and pick Moiso at No. 8. If
he gets by the Cavs, the Magic could snag him at No. 10.
If he's still around for Boston, the Cetlics would have a tough choice among him, Iakovos
Tsakalidis and Olumide Oyedeji. Moiso might not make it to Dallas at No. 12
and looks like he's out as a possibility for Detroit at No. 14. The Pistons
could have grabbed Moiso and made fans forget the loss of Theo Ratliff after
he moved to the Sixers a few years ago.
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1. Jumping out of the draft: SMU junior point guard Jeryl Sasser withdrew from the NBA draft, 30 minutes before Wednesday's deadline.
Had Sasser waited past 5 p.m. ET, he would have been ineligible to play as a senior at SMU and would have been fair game to be selected in
the NBA draft on June 28.
"He did a great job of maturely checking out all the information,"
SMU coach Mike Dement said. "There was trial and error in this process. He
felt he had a very good chance of being selected in the latter part of the
first round, somewhere at 20 to 29.
"But he felt if he came back and had a great year, he could improve
on that. He felt that since he was in that area, he should be able to move on."
Sasser worked out for Boston (for a possible trade down from No. 11)
last week and with the Lakers on Tuesday. He was scheduled to work out for
Sacramento on Wednesday, but Dement talked him out of it with the deadline looming. As late as Wednesday afternoon, Sasser was scheduled for
physicals in Dallas. Sasser skipped the Chicago pre-draft camp because of
an ankle injury.
The 6-foot-6 Sasser was an intriguing pick for teams because
of his ability to play the point, shooting guard and small forward. Teams
are in search of the new breed of player like Kobe Bryant and Jalen Rose,
a talent who can play three positions -- especially when one of them is the point.
But no organization could guarantee Sasser of being a first-round pick.
Sasser's size won't change next year, but his statistics have to improve for him to become a certain mid-round pick. He averaged 17.3 points per game, but shot 37.8 percent and is a career 27.8 percent 3-point shooter.
Other underclassmen to remove their names from the draft include
Providence junior center Karim Shabazz, UCLA freshman forward Jason
Kapono, Georgia sophomore guard D.A. Layne, Cincinnati freshman guard
Kenny Satterfield, Texas-Pan American junior guard Brian Merriweather and Texas A&M sophomore center Joe White. Twelve foreign players also withdrew from the draft, the most notable being potential first-rounder Antonis Fotsis of Greece.
2. Stromile staying in the draft: A report out of Canada late Tuesday night had Stromile Swift returning to LSU. No sources were cited and
it went against everything ESPN.com had been told. Swift announced, as
expected and reported, that he would stay in the draft Wednesday.
Had the Canadian report been true, the lottery would have been turned
upside down. The Grizzlies, who are likely going to tab Swift
at No. 2, would have had a tough decision to make. They could have grabbed
Chris Mihm and tried to make him a power forward, or picked Marcus Fizer,
even though he might be too close to Shareef Abdur-Rahim. They could have
looked long at Courtney Alexander if their need was more depth at shooting
guard. Or, the most likely scenario, they could have dealt the pick.
Swift showed true class throughout his decision-making process. He never
hired an agent (can you imagine the chase that will ensue now?). He was well
aware that he would reimburse the teams that paid for his trips (Vancouver
was one). He stayed in summer school to ensure he would be eligible if
he returned to college. And, he helped out at John Brady's father-son basketball camp
at LSU over the weekend. If the Grizzlies get Swift, most of America will
miss out on one of the best kept secrets in the draft.
3. Miles cocky about minutes: The word is out that Darius Miles is earning his keep during workouts. And that has only helped his self-confidence. Miles doesn't expect a serious transition period, and is convinced he'll play some major minutes. When he was talking to the media during
the Chicago pre-draft camp, the common misconception was that he said he would be happy playing seven or eight minutes a game. But what he said was
he expects to be the seventh or eighth man on the roster. That's a big difference.
"I feel confident that I can come out of high school from where I'm
from and contribute," Miles said. "The lowest I can go is fourth.Well, I'll
say five and up. My work ethic is so hard that I'll be at least the seventh
or eighth man at the most. I can help my team. I don't want to earn my money
on the bench."
Miles' strength -- and don't worry he'll tell you what it is -- is his
ability to play a number of positions. He sees himself playing everything but
center.
"A lot of people say I'll be like Kevin Garnett," Miles said. "I
hope I can develop like he developed."
Miles is a lock to go to Orlando if he's available at No. 5. The
Clippers are a possibility at No. 3, with the Bulls not out of the question
at No. 4. But for now, ESPN.com has Miles staying on the edge of his cut-off
point -- No. 5 to Orlando.
"I don't think the Clippers want me," Miles said. "They've got
Lamar Odom, and he'll play my same type of versatile game."
4. More Clippers chatter: Miles might not think the Clippers will take
him, although they could easily go for him at No. 3. But Fresno State's
Courtney Alexander is one of the more outspoken lottery picks who won't
complain if Elgin Baylor picks him with the third choice.
"The last time I checked, the Clippers were an NBA team," Alexander
said. "They pay everybody the same way as everybody else. The Clippers are a
pro team, and since I was a little boy, I wanted to play in the league. I
don't get caught up in that. I don't understand how players say they don't
want to play here or there. Maybe once you're in the league and a free
agent, but not until then. It would be insane for me to say I don't want to
play for the Clippers."
Alexander had better be careful for what he wishes for because he just might be headed to L.A. Picking Alexander wouldn't be such a bad move. The
Clippers have to re-sign Derek Anderson and Maurice Taylor. If they don't,
they'll be in need of a serious scoring punch next to Lamar Odom.
5. But where will Alexander go? The Fresno State shooter is one of the hardest
players to figure. He could go anywhere from No. 3 to 11.
"I would much rather have a narrower gap," Alexander said. "It's
frustrating. I would like to know a bit more, but this is a business. I've
realize that the last month or two. I'm not concerned with being No. 1. I
could care less about that now. If something happened and I slipped out of
the lottery, then I would be sick."
The most likely scenario has Alexander going to either Atlanta (at No. 6) or
Chicago (at No. 7). If the Hawks go with Mike Miller, Alexander
likely will go to the Bulls. If Chicago doesn't take Chris Mihm or Joel
Przybilla at No. 4 and goes with Miles instead, Alexander and Miller will
slide to either Houston, Cleveland or Boston.
Alexander has been a hit during the workouts, sizzling the nets
during shooting drills. The only poor workout wasn't really his fault -- he had a bad back when he was in Boston and couldn't go full speed.
6. Orlando keeps filing players into the Magic Kingdom: Orlando hasn't seen this much traffic in May and June since it had three picks in
1998 (No. 12, 13 and 15). The Magic, who own No. 5, 10 and 13, have hosted 31 players for a total of 39 workouts. The eight players who have made two
appearances were Oklahoma State forward Desmond Mason, Florida forward Mike
Miller, Iowa State forward Marcus Fizer, UCLA forward Jerome Moiso,
Cincinnati guard DerMarr Johnson, Michigan State point guard Mateen Cleaves,
Kentucky center Jamaal Magloire and LSU forward Stromile Swift.
The Magic are trying to get Missouri point Keyon Dooling and
Michigan point Jamal Crawford in for workouts before the draft.
Orlando is looking for an athletic swing player (Miles), a big man
(possibly Moiso) and a point guard (could be Crawford or Cleaves). But the
more likely scenario has the Magic trading the 13th pick if they don't do a
two-for-one trade -- the No. 5 and 10 for New Jersey's No. 1 or Vancouver's
No. 2. The Magic covet Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin but trading with the
Grizzlies probably won't cut it, especially with the Nets expected to pick
Martin.
7. Johnson earmarked for Atlanta, Houston or Orlando: The early buzz
on DerMarr Johnson is he's ticketed for either No. 5 (Orlando), No. 6 (Atlanta) or
No. 9 (Houston). Cleveland might not be the best fit for Johnson, but the
Cavaliers could still take him at No. 8 if he's on the board and then trade
him. Houston covets Johnson, but there's no guarantee he'll be available.
The best-case scenario for a Johnson to Houston match has Miles going to Orlando
at No. 5, Atlanta taking Miller at No. 6, Alexander going to the Bulls at
No. 7 and Przybilla to the Cavaliers at No. 8. That would leave Johnson for
the Rockets.
ESPN.com's Andy Katz will be checking in every day with the latest draft news leading up to the June 28 event.
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