With the NBA draft a week away, the league will announce today the underclassmen that have pulled out of the draft. Some players who are unsure of their draft status try to get a team to promise they’ll take them. That way they can make a better decision on whether to go back to school or stay in the draft.
General manager Kiki Vandeweghe isn’t sure that works. “My basic philosophy is to keep the flexibility because things come up in the end,” he said.
Coach George Karl said the only time he came close to such a promise was in 1984 when he was in Cleveland and thought he had found a hidden gem in guard John Stockton. “He was at Gonzaga, and I said we would donate some money to the athletic foundation if he would not go to an all-star game,” Karl recalled. “But it didn’t work. He went to an all-star game. Then he went to (a workout in) Indianapolis. He went everywhere.”
The Utah Jazz drafted Stockton and got a Hall of Famer.
Denver assistant general manager David Fredman, who then worked in Utah’s front office, said the Jazz was onto Stockton early, too.
Kiki has Karl’s vote
Karl reiterated his desire to continue working with Vande- weghe, who remains in consideration to run the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office.
“I think we’ve had a very good comfort zone and would love to have him around,” Karl said. “I want him happy and hopefully re-energized. We can regroup. But it’s a process. The business world is about opportunity and options. I think Kiki has done such a good job here. I don’t think the options and opportunities are going to go away.”
Asked if he had talked to the Cavaliers recently, Vande- weghe replied, “I’m not involved.”
Footnotes
The Nuggets worked out Louis Williams of South Gwinnett High School near Atlanta on Monday. Nigerian center Deji Akindele, Georgia Tech center Luke Schenscher, California prep forward Amir Johnson and Florida guard Anthony Roberson also attended the workout Monday.
The Nuggets are scheduled to work out Roberson and Montgomery, Ala., prep forward Donnell Taylor today. …
Although a first-round draft spot does not seem assured for him, Roberson, who just finished his junior year, said he’s moving “100 percent forward” on the draft.
“The biggest thing is when you know you can play at this level, it’s hard to look back,” he said.
Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or at athompson@denverpost.com.
