Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010227
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ED HARDIN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE LENGTH: Medium
That set the stage for a strange Wednesday that ended with the Hornets fuming over a missed deal with the Detroit Pistons before Charlotte took two players who might not even make the team.
Charlotte picked Indiana's Greg Graham with the 17th pick in the first round and added Connecticut's Scott Burrell with the 20th pick.
A trade that would have given Charlotte one of Detroit's two first-round picks fell through when the Pistons pulled out at the last minute. While the Hornets claimed a victory, they privately seethed as Detroit flaunted two quality players - Jackson State's Lindsey Hunter and Tennessee's Allan Houston.
"We went through a mock draft as late as a couple of days ago and we picked Graham and Burrell," Dave Twardzik, Charlotte's personnel director, said. "We felt like if we got them we would have a terrific draft."
The Hornets had hoped to make a lot more noise by moving up and taking either Hunter or Houston.
Orlando and Golden State made the most noise early by trading No. 1 pick Chris Webber, who wore a Magic hat and a smile for about 20 minutes, for No. 3 pick Anfernee Hardaway and three No. 1 draft picks. Meanwhile, the Hornets quietly waited to take two players whose biggest asset, according to the Charlotte front office, is defensive intensity.
"Both were the defensive players of the their leagues," Hornets coach Allan Bristow said. "That's what they'll bring us - defensive toughness.
"But they have a lot of work to do. We've got to see how they develop to see if they even play. They'll have to work to even make our roster."
In Graham, the Hornets got the Big Ten's top defensive player. A 6-3 guard, he would give Charlotte an extra foot in height over point guard Muggsy Bogues and eventually could move into the big-guard role now held by disgruntled Kendall Gill.
"He's a guy who can play a couple of positions," Bristow said. "But Gill's situation had nothing to do with it. Even if we signed Gill for the next six or seven years we wouldn't have approached the picks any differently."
Gill is expected to play only one more season for Charlotte before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Burrell, a 6-6 forward from Connecticut, was the Big East's top defensive player, one who didn't impress anyone with his shooting but seemed to impress the Hornets with his work ethic.
"He's a tough, hard-working, blue-collar player," Twardzik said.
"Neither are offensive-minded," Bristow added. "We got the players we wanted, though."
Considering Charlotte's draft positions, their inability to strike a deal with Detroit and the troubles the Hornets had in getting players to work out, they didn't expect much. Van Exel missed another flight Wednesday morning after the Hornets told him he could have one more chance to try out. As it turned out, Van Exel didn't even get picked in the first round and suffered the ignominy of watching his Cincinnati teammate Corie Blount go 25th.
Seton Hall's Terry Dehere re fused to come to Charlotte (he went 13th to the Clippers).
Oregon State's Scott Haskin came to Charlotte but made the Hornets wait a day while he got some sleep before working out. Haskin went 14th to Indiana.
Sacramento drafted Duke's Bobby Hurley seventh. Wake Forest's Rodney Rogers was not taken until ninth, going to Denver after being passed over by the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks went for 6-11 forward Vin Baker of Hartford University.
Hurley and Rogers were not the only Atlantic Coast Conference players taken in the first round. George Lynch of North Carolina went 12th to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Florida State's Doug Edwards, one of the players Charlotte hoped would fall to 17th, went 15th to Atlanta.
Florida State's Sam Cassell went 24th, and Georgia Tech's Malcom Mackey, who shrank almost three inches in the NBA combine in early June, was taken 27th by Phoenix.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB