May 31, 2002 10:29 AM EST
Cuttino Mobley appeared on Fox Sports' "Best Damn Sports Show Period" on Thursday, writes Clutch of Clutchcity.net. When asked about the possibility of drafting Yao Ming, Mobley demurred and, after some prodding, said he'd rather trade the pick for a proven player.
"Um... somebody's proven," said Mobley. "What we can do is, and coach I love you, (but) what would be good, and Steve and I were talking about this, is trade the first round pick and get someone already established."
Hosts suggested Lamar Odom, who has been rumored several places (most recently in the New York Post) to be heading to Houston for the #1 pick, and Mobley launched into a little Francis-Odom-Mobley fantasy: "With Lamar running the break and Steve and I on the wings... it's over." He went on at some length singing Odom's praises.
Via Clutchcity.net
Houston Rockets, NBA Draft
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Andy Katz of espn.com reports: Western Kentucky senior center Chris Marcus is expected to withdraw from the NBA draft Friday and return for his fourth season of eligibility, fifth season at the school, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Thursday.
The school has called a "major news conference,'' for Friday at 5 p.m. ET with Marcus and Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton. Marcus needs to take one summer-school class to earn his college degree and earn back his fourth season of eligibility after being ineligible for his freshman season at the school.
The 7-foot-1 Marcus, who was a potential late lottery pick, didn't sign with an agent and hasn't conducted any predraft workouts. The NBA failed to get Marcus to return phone calls as to whether he would accept an invitation to play in the Chicago predraft camp next week at the Moody Bible Institute. NBA teams have been waiting for a chance to watch Marcus but without representation, but their pleas have been to no avail.
Marcus was considered the top senior in the 2002 draft, and his departure would mean that either Fresno State fifth-year senior power forward Melvin Ely and/or Gonzaga fifth-year senior point guard Dan Dickau could be the first senior drafted, but possibly not until in the mid-to-late teens in the first round or lower. The first senior taken in the 2001 draft was at No. 6 when the Grizzlies selected Duke's Shane Battier. Only four seniors were selected in the first round of the 2001 draft.
Underclassmen have until June 19 to withdraw from the June 26 draft and retain their eligibility.
Via ESPN
NBA Draft
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With the hype surrounding Yao Ming, Jay Williams, Dajuan Wagner and a few others, Caron Butler seems to have been a bit lost in the shuffle. One of his NBA comparisons is Paul Pierce. An interesting irony in the comparison is that Pierce kept tumbling on draft night until Boston finally landed him with the 10th pick.
Butler visited Memphis Wednesday for a workout. The Grizzlies had scouted him about 15 times previously. The Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery says that Butler brings a combination of toughness and versatile talent.
He adds that Butler represents the athletic, high-scoring swingman missing on the Grizzlies' roster. What separates Butler from other highly touted small forwards, such as Duke's Mike Dunleavy Jr., is his powerful 6-7, 240-pound frame.
Tillery says the Grizzlies' brass have discounted Butler's past. His high school career in Racine, Wis., was tainted by a 15-month sentence for bringing a gun and cocaine into school. Butler spent six months in an adult prison and nine months in a juvenile detention center.
Team president Jerry West says surviving the ill streets sometimes enhances maturity. He added that, "I've always felt that kids that are able to overcome some difficulties are the ones who seem most resilient."
Via Memphis Commercial Appeal
Memphis Grizzlies, NBA Draft
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May 2002 Archive
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Dallas Morning News | May 30, 2002
In the history of the NBA draft, through franchise shifts and accusations of tanking right up to the evolution of the lottery, i.
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Philadelphia Daily News | May 30, 2002
Phil Jasner of the Daily News reports that Alex Carcamo is one of the free agents participating in the Sixers' mini-camp.
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| May 29, 2002
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is 98 percent sure that star point guard Marcus Taylor is heading to the NBA, Jack Ebling of the Lanseng State Journal is reporting.
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Houston Chronicle | May 28, 2002
The Rockets will have the 38th pick of the draft, unless they don't.
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Houston Chronicle | May 28, 2002
Let the Rockets have their fun.
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| May 28, 2002
Memphis will work out University of Memphis (sensing a theme here?) product Dejuan Wagner today, the 6-3 freshman scoring machine will not have to travel far for his workout at Rhodes College.
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Daytona News-Journal | May 27, 2002
Although the Orlando Magic's search for help in the NBA draft on June 26 has focused primarily thus far on power forwards, there was an exception to that Thursday morning at the RDV Sportsplex in Maitland.
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The Denver Post | May 27, 2002
The Nuggets couldn't workout players for their #5 lottery pick this morning.
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| May 26, 2002
The Denver Nuggets have the fifth overall pick in this June’s NBA draft, and while Yao Ming, Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy all appear as if they will be gone the Nuggets still have many talented players that they will be able to choose from.
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| May 26, 2002
If Marcus Camby was running the New York Knicks I wouldn’t put my money on University of Memphis guard Dejuan Wagner coming a Knick any time soon.
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| May 26, 2002
Ira Winderman of the South Florida South Central writes that now is the time for Houston to trade the first overall pick and avoid the huge risk which comes with 7-5 center Yao Ming.
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| May 24, 2002
Rockets GM Carroll Dawson is set to meet with representatives for Chinese center Yao Ming Thursday, the Houston Chronicle is reporting.
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| May 24, 2002
Williams believes Chicago has a solid future
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| May 23, 2002
Add Bulls leader Jalen Rose to those who advocate the Bulls taking Duke point guard Jay Williams with the second overall pick in the upcoming draft, the ex-Pacer saying he is a big fan of Williams.
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| May 23, 2002
If you listen to the Cavs James is a cannot miss future superstar
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| May 22, 2002
The Golden State Warriors got a taste of something they are craving for yesterday when Jay Williams arrived for his workout.
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| May 22, 2002
Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star is reporting that the NCAA will enforce its outside-participation rule that penalizes those who play in games at the camp -- which is not approved by the governing body -- and decide to withdraw from the NBA draft by the June 19 deadline.
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| May 22, 2002
Maybyner Hilário did more than just participate in a private workout for the New York Knicks yesterday… he impressed.
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| May 22, 2002
Bulls guard Jamal Crawford, labelled Chicago’s point guard of the future, has been busy working out in Seattle.
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| May 22, 2002
Will the Rockets take Ming or make a trade?
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Houston Chronicle | May 21, 2002
Jonathan Feigen writes for the Houston Chronicle that the Rockets have a lot of work to do in evaluating their opportunity to take Yao Ming with the first overall pick in the draft.
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| May 21, 2002
According to ex-Portland coach Mike Dunleavy, the results of the lottery drawing drew no reaction from his son, Duke forward Mike Dunleavy Jr.
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The Daily Camera | May 20, 2002
Gary Baines writes about the Nuggets and the No.
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The Rocky Mountain News | May 20, 2002
Kiki Vandeweghe is making attempts to make the draft lottery interesting.
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The Denver Post | May 20, 2002
The Nuggets are starting to workout players in preparation for the upcoming NBA Draft.
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Houston Chronicle | May 20, 2002
Do the Rockets relish the opportunity to take Yao Ming, the 7-foot-5 bundle of potential from the Shanghai Sharks, and turn him, quite literally, into the next big thing in the NBA?
Or do they run from all of the questions, from all of the negative opinions, from the risk that is inherent in hitching your future to a 21-year-old who comes from a wholly different culture and a vastly different style of playing the game?
Maybe, as the old saying goes, it's harder than Chinese arithmetic.
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Houston Chronicle | May 20, 2002
1.
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| May 20, 2002
Has Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune worked out the perfect draft for two teams at least? Smith writes that Ming is a match made for a team like the Houston Rockets, which would leave Duke’s Jay Williams, the player many consider to be the best in this draft, to the Bulls.
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| May 20, 2002
How close were the New York Knicks to that elusive first overall pick and either Yao Ming or Jay Williams? According to Marc Berman of the New York Post the Knicks were only one number away from their four digit combination that would have given them the top pick, but the final ping-pong ball bounced out of the hopper.
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| May 20, 2002
Steve Francis and the Rockets have plenty to laugh about
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ESPN | May 20, 2002
Everybody has an opinion on the top players in the draft.
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| May 19, 2002
Francis was Houston's lucky charm
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| May 19, 2002
Players like Williams will have more of an idea where they will end up tomorrow
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| May 18, 2002
The Lawrence Journal-Word reports that the Kansas Jayhaks came close to losing more than just Drew Gooden to the NBA.
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nba.com | May 17, 2002
55 undergrads hope to hear their name on draft night
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| May 15, 2002
Do you believe the magic bullet theory?
That the moon landing of '69 was a hoax?
That the government adds mind-controlling chemicals to the water?
That the NBA would, for some ungodly reason, fix the draft lottery to benefit a certain team?
The latter theory is about to get blown to bits, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
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| May 13, 2002
Remember this name: Taj McDavid.
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| May 13, 2002
You can already cross the Los Angeles Clippers off Duke forward Mike Dunleavy’s desired destination list, ESPN's David Aldridge reporting Sunday that if the Clippers receive one of the top picks in the June 26 NBA draft, Dunleavy will pull his name from consideration and return to Duke for his senior season.
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| May 12, 2002
Peja helped pave the way for foreign stars
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New York Post | May 10, 2002
Marc Berman of the New York Post reports: Duke point guard Jason Williams had kept his draft desires quiet until now.
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| May 10, 2002
Mike Dunleavy Jr.
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Winston Salem-Journal | May 9, 2002
Bill Cole of the Winston Salem-Journal reports: Mike Dunleavy, a junior forward at Duke, has decided to place his name into the NBA college draft, a source at Duke said this afternoon.
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Dallas Morning News | May 3, 2002
A few hundred NBA and media types as well as fans assembled Wednesday at Loyola University, all eager to study the 45-minute workout of a man who may be the first pick of the draft, a foreign object of curiosity that one Loyola student called "a biological anomaly.
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Star Telegram | May 3, 2002
So there you have it.
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| May 3, 2002
It comes as no surprise – we have expected it for almost a year now – but Amare Stoudamire is jumping from High School to the NBA.
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| May 3, 2002
According to Greg Logan, they still need some luck in the lottery draw or a bold move to trade up at draft time to have a chance of landing 7-5 Yao Ming, but the presentation the Knicks staged for Yao at a private dinner Tuesday night in Chicago left no doubt about the intensity of their interest in the Chinese center.
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Houston Chronicle | May 2, 2002
Guard Steve Francis has agreed to represent the Rockets at the May 19 draft lottery, the latest indication of his plans to remain with the team long-term.
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Houston Chronicle | May 2, 2002
Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson raved Wednesday after his first in-person evaluation of 7-5 Chinese center Yao Ming.
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| May 2, 2002
Not everyone is in love with Yao
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| May 1, 2002
Yao Ming arrived in Chicago yesterday preparation for what most believed would be his only workout before the 2002 NBA draft, a workout conducted by ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy in front of officials from every NBA team.
