 Expansion WiretapDraft Diamonds or Fool´s GoldThirty different names were left off of the eligibility list for the NBA Draft because the league judged their applications to be, more or less, an exercise in absurdity. 94 apparently legitimate names were released from the early candidate list on Friday, including 13 high school kids and Wyoming junior point guard Jay Straight. There will be 59 Draft picks this year. Early-entry candidates without agents can withdraw from the draft by June 17. The Denver Nuggets pick number 20 in this year´s NBA Draft and will work out about 30 players starting May 25. Included in this group are Croatian forward-center Damir Omerhodzic, Louisiana State freshman forward Brandon Bass, Cal State Fullerton senior forward Pape Sow, Texas Wesleyan center David Johnson, Colorado junior center David Harrison, Brigham Young senior center Rafael Araujo, and 7-foot-3 Korean center Ha Seung-Jin. "I don't know if you're going to get somebody that can impact your team immediately," Nugget GM Vandeweghe said. "But who knows, he may go over to Europe for a couple years and then come and play." The Nuggets will also take a look at Europe´s brightest stars, including Russian 7-3 center Pavel Podkolzine and Lithuanian 7-1 center Martynas Andriuskevicius, who is projected to be a lottery pick. Denver Nuggets, Expansion, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets 7-Foot Chiriaev Withdraws from DraftThe 19-year-old, 7-fee-tall Russian, Ivan Chiriaev, has opted to play in Europe and wait on the NBA. "At this time, it is better for Ivan to play in a developmental situation — probably in Europe," his agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports said. The Toronto Star evaluates Chiriaev this way: "With passable ball-handling and shooting skills but not nearly the overall skills necessary to even hope for an NBA tryout right now, Chiriaev is free to catch on with any team in any European league." "Ivan is a young man with an excellent future because of his size and skills," Duffy said. "He is, however, not physically ready to compete at the NBA level." Orlando Magic, Expansion, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Big Man Entering DraftThe 6-foot-10 Maurice Shaw has made himself eligible for the Draft. Shaw spent a season at Lincoln in Tacoma, Washington, then enrolled at Bridgeton Academy in Maine, an all-male preparatory school. Shaw averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds per game at Bridgeton, leading his team to the Class A New England tournament semifinals. Shaw is now back in Tacoma with his family, training with a few former college players for a pre-NBA draft combine next month in Chicago. "It was real hard, but it made me better." At Bridgeton, Shaw was surrounded by discipline, work ethic and elite basketball players. Three of his teammates are NCAA Division I signees. He also played against teenagers who opted for the Draft, including Durrell Wright and Jackie Butler. "At an open gym, my game ... I was playing real good, hitting the 3-pointer. I stepped it up a lot," Shaw said. "Right now, (the NBA) is a 50-50 situation. If I go into it with a positive attitude ... I don't want to act like I know everything, because I don't." Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, Expansion, Oklahoma City Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets May 2004 Archive |