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Daily draft dose: Crawford climbing
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Here are the latest rumors and happenings surrounding the 2000 NBA draft (through June 22):
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KATZ'S FORECAST |
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|  | | Khalid El-Amin might not get the call in the first round. |
Top 10 underclassmen:
1. Stromile Swift, 6-9, So., LSU
2. Marcus Fizer, 6-8, Jr., Iowa State
3. Chris Mihm, 7-0, Jr., Texas
4. Darius Miles, 6-9, HS, East St. Louis (Ill.)
5. Mike Miller, 6-8, So., Florida
6. Joel Przybilla, 7-0, So., Minnesota
7. DerMarr Johnson, 6-9, Fr., Cincinnati
8. Jerome Moiso, 6-10, So., UCLA
9. Quentin Richardson, 6-6, So., DePaul
10. Jamal Crawford, 6-6, Fr., Michigan
For Katz's complete mock draft, click here.
Workout buzz:
Even though the reports are coming in strong that Connecticut junior point guard Khalid El-Amin, Ohio State senior point guard Scoonie Penn, Ohio State junior guard Michael Redd, St. John's senior guard Lavor Postell, Stanford senior forward Mark Madsen, Slovenian center Primoz Brezec, Greek forward Antonsis Fotsis and Italian forward Marko Jaric are all playing well in workouts, there might not be enough room for them in the first round.
Remember, plenty of the first-round teams that these guys are working out for have high second-round picks (Chicago has Nos. 32-34). There are going to be name guys going in the first 10 picks of the second round who might end up being in the league for a decade. But most of them will be discouraged on draft night when their names aren't called in the first 29 picks.
But the importance of Chicago continues to rise each year. Three players who played well in Chicago's pre-draft camp have locked up first-round picks: Michigan's Jamal Crawford, Florida's Donnell Harvey and Hofstra's Speedy Claxton.
On the rise:
Hidayet Turkoglu has worked out for New York, Detroit and Philadelphia and is quietly becoming the hot foreign name. He's a shooting forward, who might not play hard enough to earn a pick from the Knicks, but he does have the skills to stay in the first round.
The book on Turkoglu describes him as a creative offensive player with the moves to go past a defender one-on-one. Like most first-time imports, he needs to improve on his strength and stamina. His 3-point shooting needs to improve after making only 33.3 percent last season in the EuroLeague. But his shooting percentage continued to climb at 62.6 percent. He improved his rebounding numbers considerably (by 41 in five more games), and his scoring average rose from 5.6 to 13.6 points per game.
If Turkoglu gets by Philadelphia at No. 20, a team like Utah or the Lakers could take a long look at him. If not, he'll go high in the second. Turkoglu has to go to a team that has a specific need for a shooting small forward. Don't be shocked to see the Sixers pick and trade him, especially if Toni Kukoc is coming back next season.
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1. Crawford's climb to the top: All it took was 19 games for Jamal Crawford to be a lock for the first round, and possibly the lottery.
That's 17 games in a Michigan uniform last season and two at the Chicago pre-draft camp. Few players have been able to make that meteoric climb in the NBA draft.
What's Crawford's secret? His size at 6-foot-5, his court sense with the ball at the point, his long arms (6-10 reach) defensively and his age (only 19).
"It's amazing what has happened," Crawford said. "I just always believed in myself, even though not everyone else did. The odds were against me but it has worked out. But it's not over. I won't be satisfied with just being drafted."
Crawford's name was mud for a week or two during an NCAA investigation into his living arrangement with a Seattle-area businessman, Barry Henthorn. The Michigan freshman had to sit out games while the NCAA and Michigan looked into his past. Finally, his suspension was settled, and he didn't play the final third of the regular season. Had he returned to Michigan, he would have still had to sit two more games and paid restitution for funds that he received prior to college from Henthorn.
But that issue is dead now that Crawford has been a hit in the spring draft process. Teams are salivating over Crawford because of his big guard status. The success of Jalen Rose and Kobe Bryant has teams looking for players who can play two or three positions, but especially with the talent of ball-handling.
"That seems to be the trend," Crawford said. "There's no question it helps to be big and a point."
A week ago, Crawford went to watch St. John's Erick Barkley, Missouri's Keyon Dooling and Hofstra's Speedy Claxton work out with the Sonics. While the two of them waited to see if their invitations had arrived for the draft, Crawford innocently told them he had already received his in the mail.
Getting an invitation to sit in the Green Room at the draft is usually a sign that a player is a lock for lottery status, or at least the middle of the first round (unless you're Rashard Lewis).
"I guess Chicago really helped me," Crawford said. "But I hope Mateen, Speedy, Erick and Keyon are all there. We're all hoping each one does well. This should be a great night and great moment for all of us."
Crawford has had limited workouts since Chicago. In fact, a sore groin has prevented him from actually working out. But he's making appearances. He was in Milwaukee on Wednesday. He'll be in Chicago on Thursday and Orlando on Friday. But the teams that he might ultimately play for, like Philadelphia or Portland, have seen enough of him in Chicago.
Crawford said that his mentor, Portland assistant Tim Grgurich, has already told him that he wouldn't be surprised if he were traded on draft day. Even if he doesn't land with the Blazers, he plans on working out with Grgurich, Gary Payton, Damon Stoudamire and a few others in Las Vegas after the draft.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up in Portland," said Crawford, who knew Grgurich when he was in Seattle.
2. Tsakalidis' contract to be decided within days: The word out of Iakovos Tsakalidis' camp is that the NBA will know his contract status within two days. The most recent buzz has AEK Greece simply wanting money in trade for freeing up Tsakalidis instead of demanding that he return to fulfill his contract.
If that's true, Tsakalidis' stock immediately will rise. He probably won't get out of the lottery if he can play next season. If there's a chance he'll be tied up for more than a year in Greece, he'll likely fall to a team with multiple picks or a veteran team that can afford to wait until he's ready to come back to the U.S.
Cleveland, Boston and Dallas would shy away from him if they can't touch him. But Seattle could afford to draft him and not see him for a few years. A team with a secure staff -- president, GM, director of player personnel, scouting and coach -- can be more patient with Tsakalidis' progress.
A decision has to come down by Monday at the latest or Tsakalidis will kill his chances of staying in the lottery.
3. Houston's dilemma: The Rockets have made it clear that they will re-sign free-agent guard Cuttino Mobley. "We want to get that done," Houston's chief scout Dennis Lindsey said.
OK, so let's assume Mobley is signed. Do the Rockets still pick Cincinnati guard/forward DerMarr Johnson at No. 9 if he's available. As of late Wednesday, the Rockets couldn't agree on a pick. Apparently, they are no closer than they were a month ago.
But most of the apprehension is because they're not sure Johnson will be on the board. For Johnson to make it to No. 9, Atlanta and Chicago have to pass him at No. 6 and No. 7.
The entire lottery could be determined by what Orlando and Atlanta do with their picks. If the Magic go with Darius Miles and Atlanta picks Mike Miller, then the rest of the lottery should fall in place for Johnson to slide to No. 9. But if the Magic take a big man like Joel Przybilla and Atlanta snags Miles then that would leave Miller, Courtney Alexander and Johnson on the board for Chicago, Cleveland and Houston. The Cavaliers want a big man but they might find it hard to pass on one of those three. Johnson hasn't worked out for the Cavaliers, which makes it hard for them to take him at No. 8.
Houston could easily find room for Johnson next to Steve Francis and Mobley. The Rockets don't want to mess with that tandem after the pair grew fond of each other during the past season. Their chemistry and the development of Kenny Thomas inside has the Rockets believing their rebuilding process will go faster than most teams. The Rockets are intrigued by Przybilla if he gets past Cleveland. A choice between Johnson and Przybilla would cause fits for the Rockets. They'll need a center sooner, rather than later in Houston.
4. Can the Clippers mess with Miles: The growing sentiment in the league is that the Clippers might still pick Miles, even though his agency doesn't see him in L.A. Miles, who is confident that he's a top-five pick but doesn't believe he'll be a Clipper, could end up at the Staples Center.
The Clippers have sent out that the word that they were pleased with their selection of Lamar Odom last year and don't want to pass on another player who could be a steal in the draft. Comparing Miles to Kevin Garnett only helps his cause to go higher in the draft instead of hurting him.
But, in the end, ESPN.com has heard the Clips still might lean toward Iowa State junior forward Marcus Fizer. He's more of a finished product and a bit more prepared to contribute next season than Miles. Remember, Odom was still two years older than Miles. He sat out one season after high school and played one at Rhode Island. Miles would be arriving straight from the prom. No high school player (maybe Garnett) has been a hit in year one, directly out of high school and into the NBA.
5. Chicago beating the Magic: While the Magic is touting their class of 31 players as a record to beat, the Bulls are planning on bringing in 40 players.
Chicago has six picks (Nos. 4, 7, 24, 32, 33, 34) in the draft. The Bulls are and have been one of the best at keeping quiet their workouts. Most of the league believes chatter that Kentucky's Jamaal Magloire smoked Texas' Chris Mihm in a workout was an attempt to get teams to believe they wouldn't take Mihm. Don't buy it. If Mihm's on the board, the Bulls will grab him. One workout won't kill Mihm's chances of being at the United Center next season.
6. Jockeying for position in the draft: Boston, Dallas and Orlando (Nos. 11-13) could have the choice of DePaul's Quentin Richardson, UCLA's Jerome Moiso, Nigerian Olumide Oyedeji and Greek's Iakovos Tsakalidis. The consensus brewing has Oyedeji as the odd-man out, with Moiso the first one taken.
Teams at the bottom of the first round (Portland, Philadelphia and Utah) are all flirting with trades to move up to grab their specific picks.
Utah needs athletes at No. 23 and will grab the best player available, which might be Oklahoma State's Desmond Mason. But the pressure will be on to take Utah's Hanno Mottola.
7. Thinking big: Teams are looking at grabbing power players higher up in the draft. Kentucky's Magloire has helped himself through workouts, especially going against other centers (see Mihm in Chicago).
"He's got the basic shot, the jump hook and an NBA body," Lindsey said. "He's a good backup right now in the league."
Remember last year when big men started to climb in the draft. Golden State grabbed 6-11 Jeff Foster out of Southwest Texas State at No. 21 and Atlanta took 6-10 Cal Bowdler out of Old Dominion. Teams would rather miss out on a big man (Frederic Weiss with the Knicks at No. 15 or Aleksandar Radojevic with Toronto at No. 12) than take a flyer on an athlete who can't shoot.
That's why the name Primoz Brezec will get a long look on draft day. The 7-foot Slovenian, who was third in rebounding in Chicago with seven per game, has worked out for Indiana. The Pacers might take a chance on him, especially with Rik Smits thinking retirement. The most likely scenario has Brezec slipping to the top of the second round where Dallas (in a trade) or Chicago (trade) or New Jersey (keep) could take Brezec
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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