'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 38

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009 ... our-090529

• North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough was there, but he didn't seem to draw a high level of buzz one way or the other. "He looked like the same guy we saw for four years at North Carolina," one NBA GM said. "I wanted to see him try to score over longer, more athletic players. If he showed that, I'd be impressed."

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009 ... our-090529

• The big mystery was the no-show of Washington's Jon Brockman. The NBA just shrugged its shoulders when asked where Brockman was. His absence fueled a number of (unsubstantiated) rumors. I heard everything from a promise by a European team to a first-round promise from an NBA team to an injury. We're digging to find out the truth.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

• Anyone Excited in Chicago?

With no competitive action to be found, most of the teams we talked to at the official networking point of the Combine—the Westin Hotel—don’t appear to be all that enthusiastic about what they’ve learned here so far. Many are already calling for changes to be made next year. The NBA’s competition committee held a meeting last night, and David Stern did not look all that enthused as we watched him exit the building. “I can’t imagine that the NBA is going to allow this to happen again next year,” one General Manager and Competition Committee member told us today. “The agents are making a mockery of this process, and it’s making things increasingly difficult on us in terms of making decisions.”

The top seven players in our mock draft were all either not in attendance (Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings) or declined to compete in the skill-portion of the workouts today. Still, there were some who found a way to make do with the information that was presented to them. “These are certainly critical parts of information” Mavericks General Manager Donnie Nelson told us. “These are the best of the best here, and to see them all in one place alongside each other—even indirectly-- is definitely very helpful. You can see a player’s athleticism, you can see court awareness, you can see skill-level, so there is definitely lots of information you can see in a setting like this.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

• Tyreke Evans Signs With WMG

The last major prospect without an agent has made a decision regarding who will represent him in this draft. Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans has signed with Arn Tellem and Bob Myers of Wasserman Media Group, completing what has to be considered an impressive group of new clients for the powerhouse agency. WMG also signed Gerald Henderson, James Johnson and Wayne Ellington, as well as DaJuan Summers, Jon Brockman and K.C. Rivers.

The first decision made by Tellem and Bob Myers was to pull Tyreke Evans out of the competitive portion of the Chicago combine, putting him in the same situation as other top prospects such as Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden and Jordan Hill.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

Evans and co. are all in Chicago, they are just being selective about what parts of the combine they decide to participate in. James Harden for example has elected not to conduct any interviews with teams drafting outside the top five, canceling a scheduled interview at the Westin Hotel with the Cleveland Cavaliers for example. He also reportedly will not be conducting any competitive workouts with anyone anywhere in the draft process. A source close to him tells us he feels very good about the possibility of being selected by Oklahoma City or Washington, and for right now is not planning on visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Most teams we’ve spoken to in Chicago are indicating that they believe Oklahoma City is indeed leaning towards picking Harden. They also believe the Thunder are not enamored with Rubio at all, as they are committed to developing Russell Westbrook at his natural position—point guard.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

• No Competitive Workouts for DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan will not be conducting any competitive workouts, his agent Aaron Goodwin tells us. The rumor mill indicated that he was only interested in going up against James Harden, except for in Toronto, where he was slated to face off with Gerald Henderson. Goodwin says that is not the case.

“DeRozan is not working out with anyone. He isn’t going up against Gerald Henderson or anyone else at this point. He may not even go to Toronto. He won’t fall to 9.”

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

It will be very interesting to see how things play out, particularly if players such as Jrue Holiday and Jonny Flynn continue to move up the board. On face value, teams like Washington, Minnesota, Golden State and New York don’t have an immediate positional need for a player like DeRozan, but his upside could clearly sway the tide in his favor.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

• Ater Majok Workout

Representatives of eight NBA teams spent their Memorial Day in Washington D.C. watching a workout featuring UConn freshman Ater Majok. The Sudanese big man competed alongside college seniors such as UAB’s Lawrence Kinnard and UIC's Josh Mayo, in both individual skill-based drills and a two on two setting. The feedback we received seemed to be lukewarm at best and very poor at worst. Majok is apparently trying to showcase himself as some type of small forward prospect, and the reaction in the gym was not very positive. “He’s five years away from being five years away,” one high-level NBA executive told us. “He definitely needs to go back to school,” said another.

Majok’s frame reportedly looked good, and he actually sports fairly nice shooting mechanics. The problem is that he looks like someone that has barely played any competitive basketball whatsoever in the last few years, which just happens to be exactly the case. He’s also not quite as athletic as you might think looking at him on first glance, as he appears to be “more long than he is athletic.” “It’s going to be very tough for him to get drafted this year,” the NBA executive opined. “By the time he’s ready to play, who knows where you’ll be. He needs to go back to UConn for at least another two years” Majok’s “advisors” are apparently exploring the option for him to play overseas next year, according to reports we’ve gotten from teams in Europe.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

• Scattered Notes
-One player who really doesn’t seem to have very much positive buzz these days is Ty Lawson. “Injury prone” one assistant GM calls him. “A backup point guard…he’s 100% behind Jonny Flynn” another NBA representative says. “He’s a product of North Carolina’s system” a third told us. Lawson seems to be outside of the lottery at the moment, but still has a good chance to be picked by two teams looking for point guards in the late teens, Philadelphia (#17) and Atlanta (#19). He’ll have to keep Eric Maynor at bay, though.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

-James Johnson is being knocked by some teams for not being very impressive in their interview sessions, but others are wondering if those are the same franchises that appear to be most interested in him at this point. We’re hearing that Phoenix at 14, Detroit at 15 and Chicago at 16 all like him quite a bit, and there are some question marks about whether there are smokescreens being placed in order to cause him to fall.

“He was great in the interview we did with him. Seems like a really nice kid,” one team that sat down with him here in Chicago said. “I’m not really sure where that stuff is coming from.” Johnson is being knocked by some for not always being terribly enthusiastic about practice, and also for butting heads with Wake Forest head coach Dino Gaudio and teammate Jeff Teague at times.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Wor ... tion-3235/

-Larry Brown is reportedly extremely high on Stephen Curry, and may be willing to trade up in order to get him. Apparently he views him as being able to play either guard position, even alongside Charlotte’s current group of point guards, Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin.

Curry is getting love from teams as high up as Washington and also has a chance to be drafted 6th (Minnesota) or 7th (Golden State). While the Knicks clearly like him, he isn’t the only player they will consider—the other top candidates on their board currently appear to be Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf ... er_20.html

West hobbling: The Cavaliers announced after the game that guard Delonte West left the court with 3:33 remaining in the fourth quarter due to a hip pointer. He will be re-evaluated Friday morning.

[nasty daddy]

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports ... eason.html

Rafer Alston wants to remain with Magic after deal ends next season
Magic point guard Rafer Alston, subbing for injured starter Jameer Nelson since a February trade, would like nothing more than to sign an extension with the Magic.

Alston told the Sentinel on Thursday that he wants to remain with the organization after his contract expires next season.

But he will be making $5.5 million as a back-up to Nelson and realizes he is vulnerable to a trade.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf ... er_20.html

Ratings continue to soar: Tuesday's Game 4 set a record for the most watched game in cable television history with 10.08 million viewers, though when the numbers come in for the Nuggets-Lakers Game 5 on Wednesday it could be pushed to second. TNT and ESPN have been scoring huge viewership increases all season.

So far the Eastern finals have seen a 41 percent increase in viewership from last season's Boston Celtics-Detroit Pistons series. The local rating for Game 4 was an almost unheard-of 30.3, which is higher than some Browns games were last season. The Cavs currently have the highest local ratings in the NBA.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/spo ... 46378.html

Denver has committed 11 technical fouls in this series and defensive stud Dahntay Jones is one more flagrant-1 foul away from a suspension.

Coach George Karl said he won’t rein in his players for Game 6 in Friday night in Denver, however. “You guys are almost saying you’ve got to have savvy and poise to be a championship team,” Karl told reporters Thursday. “I mean, you think the Detroit Pistons have the poise that the San Antonio Spurs have? No, I mean there’s a different way of handling emotional, passionate, intense players. We have some guys who are emotional. Maybe a little too emotional. But for me, I’m not going to tell them to stop that because I think that stops them from becoming a competitor. “Right now, we’re competing on the best stage on a pretty good level. I think the Lakers know we’re there.”

The Lakers have plenty of their own problems, inconsistency among them, but in Game 5, they showed they’re not always so soft in the middle and they don’t have to be a one-man band, either.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind ... =katz_andy

Jodie Meeks isn't a lock for the first round, and unless he can get some sort of guarantee in the first 30 picks, he'll probably return to Kentucky for his senior season.

Meeks said he wasn't sure why Patrick Patterson withdrew from the draft before coming to the combine, but said Patterson told him he thought he could improve his stock by playing in college. Meeks said he has nothing to lose by staying in the draft until at least the June 15 deadline.

Meeks said he has workouts scheduled with Oklahoma City, Detroit, Washington and Atlanta. "If I'm not first round, then I'll go back to school," Meeks said.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind ... =katz_andy

What about some of the other players still mulling whether to stay in the draft or return to school?

Jrue Holiday, UCLA: The Bruin freshmen is likely going in the lottery and competed against the rest of the top point guards Thursday morning. Holiday said he is paying attention to reports that he could be in the top 10 in the draft. Holiday said that he hopes he has shown he can be a true point even though he didn't play the point at UCLA because of senior guard Darren Collison.

"I'm a point guard and a leader and I'm trying to show it verbally on the court," Holiday said. His workout schedule has included Toronto, New York, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Charlotte and the L.A. Clippers. UCLA assistant Donny Daniels was in the stands, but it seems the staff is resigned to the fact that Holiday is a goner.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind ... =katz_andy

Jeff Teague, Wake Forest: Teague is projected to go somewhere in the first round. "Right now, I'm 100 percent in the draft," is how he put it. Teague said the only way he would return to school for his junior season is if "a GM told me I'm not ready and I'm in the second round -- then I would return to school." Teague's workout schedule so far includes Golden State, Minnesota and Toronto.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind ... =katz_andy

Patty Mills, Saint Mary's: Mills showed some Ty Lawson- and Darren Collison- like speed during point guard drills Thursday. Mills isn't a lock for the first round. "I'm doing everything to stay in," Mills said. "If the feedback is negative then I may come back." Mills, who broke his right hand during the season but came back for the West Coast conference tournament, said his right wrist is completely healed after an X-ray three weeks ago.

An Australian Olympian, Mills said he is also going to the Reebok Euro camp next week in Treviso, Italy. "I want to expose myself in these workouts to experience playing in games," said Mills. The NBA draft combine is limited to skill work. "Me being an international player allows me the chance to go over there as well." But he said he won't take a guaranteed contract in Europe over returning to Saint Mary's if he is a second-round NBA pick. He wants to play in the NBA, but he also wants to make sure he's in the first round.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind ... =katz_andy

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland: Terrapin coach Gary Williams was at the Attack Athletics gym supporting Vasquez. "If he's a legit top-25 pick then I do think that's something he'll look at," Williams said. "If there's any question about that, then I think he'll come back to school to put him in that position (top 25) next year." Vasquez concurred. He was just giddy to be at the combine, working out against other top point guards like Lawson, Mills and Davidson's Stephen Curry.

"I'm a true point guard and this is fun to go against them," Vasquez said. "I love competing. I want to do this to benefit my game." Vasquez was hoping there would be five-on-five games, but that wasn't on the agenda. He also said having Williams in attendance meant a lot to him. "He's a great guy, person and friend," Vasquez said. "It means a lot to me."