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Thursday, June 21
Updated: June 23, 1:05 PM ET
'Radmanovic' a name to remember
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Vladimir Radmanovic wasn't the main attraction at a workout two weeks ago at Hoops the Gym in Chicago. He was the third option, well behind the SFX agency's plan to get some positive vibes for Alabama freshman Gerald Wallace and Stanford sophomore Jason Collins.
But the talk two weeks later in the NBA isn't about Wallace or even Collins, who is a likely lock for the first round. Instead, Radmanovic has climbed up the draft list, possibly as high as No. 8 to Cleveland or No. 9 to Detroit. His worst-case scenario could be No. 13 to Houston.
|  | | Vladimir Radmanovic has been a rising star in Yugoslavia. |
Not bad for someone who wasn't exactly on the radar screen a month ago.
"Now people know me," Radmanovic said. "I feel better that everyone knows me and after first being a middle-round pick."
The 6-foot-10, 227-pound Radmanovic played three-plus seasons with Crvena Zvezda before transferring to FMP Zeleznik of Yugoslavia in January. He's a stereotypical European forward with a perimeter shot akin to a shooting guard and some big-man skills that still need tending to underneath.
"He was 18-25 before that Chicago private workout but now he could go top 10," said David Bauman, Radmanovic's agent, who falls under the SFX umbrella. "Vladimir does great in workouts and it made sense to show him."
That's what Radmanovic wanted.
In this age where some agents are protecting unknown players -- either foreign or high school -- from being seen too often, Radmanovic is on full display. He's held his own in workouts with Shane Battier and obviously shot better than Wallace in the Chicago session. His best skill -- passing -- isn't being seen as much in the individual workouts. But the word is out that he knows the game and what to do with the ball when he's in trouble.
"I show people in the United States my game here because a lot of scouts don't go to Yugoslavia to watch," Radmanovic said. "The new rules will be better for European players than college or high school. Big men can shoot in Europe. I can shoot outside with a big man and go inside against a small player."
Radmanovic has been added to the list of players invited to New York on draft night. He's expected to join such lottery locks as Eddie Griffin, Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Rodney White, Joe Johnson, Shane Battier and Pau Gasol backstage waiting to hear his name called by David Stern.
But, the 20-year old Radmanovic said he's better prepared for the NBA than some of the above players becaused he's been playing in Yugoslavia for three-plus seasons. The workouts haven't been any added pressure, considering he's simply going through shooting drills and displaying his post moves. So far, he's had a flurry of workouts for Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, New Jersey, Detroit, Washington, Orlando, Golden State. He'll have a second visit with Seattle on Friday, but cancelled a second trip to Chicago and visit to Memphis.
Bauman said Radmanovic's buyout is only $300,000, making it financially feasible to enter the NBA next season.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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