Collegehoopsnet - Draft Mailbag

Do you have a question about CHN's Mock Draft, Draft News, or a general question for CHN's NBA Draft Expert. Email Shawn at njhoopsnet@aol.com , RE: Mailbag with your name, question & hometown.

I was curious about Anderson Varejao! From what I've read about him, he seems to fit in with what the Cavaliers need. How good of a prospect is he and is it worth taking him at 10 ?

Varejao spent the last pair of seasons playing for FC Barcelona of the Euroleague. This may have hurt his draft stock, because he only averaged around 7 ppg there last season. But, with the success of Leandro Barbosa and Nene, Brazilian players are a hot commodity to NBA GM's. The one problem with Varejao for the Cavs, is that they already have a somewhat similar player in Carlos Boozer. The team would be better off going for a legitimate center or a point guard. Even if the Cavs liked Varejao, they could trade down to get him in the 18 to 28 range.

I have seen tons of mock drafts on the net, and I have not seen Salt Lake City native and Iowa State Senior Jackson Vroman mentioned very much. He has a ton of talent and is a very hard worker, whats your take on this prospect?

It's true, you don't hear about Vroman much, but he has been working out with some teams. He was in with the Knicks last week, and also has worked out for the Bulls and Dallas amongst other. In college, Vroman's biggest plus stat was rebounding, where he averaged 9.6 rpg last year. He'll need to prove he's strong enough to bang in the NBA. He had a pretty huge week at the Portsmouth Invitational, but will probably be made or broken by the Chicago Camp. My guess is that even if he's not drafted, he will not go straight to another league, but will have a good chance at gaining an invite to an NBA preseason camp.

Do you think Dwight Howard would be a good choice for the Bulls? Who do you think the Bulls should try to get at #32 and #39

I believe Dwight Howard will end up being the best player to come out of this draft, no disrespect to Emeka Okafor. However, we all know how the Bulls have struggled behind Curry & Chandler, so you couldn't expect them to try choosing a high school big man again. Either way, Howard will not be available when the Bulls pick 3rd. The Bulls could easily go with the safe choice of Luol Deng, but do not be surprised if they trade this pick away. This is a franchise that wants change, and this pick is one of the only desirable commodities they have. #32 and #39 are actually pretty strong spots to pick from in this draft. A lot will depend on which foreign players end up staying in the draft. Guys like Andriuskevicius and Perovic may withdraw from the draft, allowing formerly projected 2nd rounders to move up. In terms of American players, David Harrison or Tim Pickett may be available here. Uros Slokar or Viktor Khryapa would be possible Europeans at this point. Also, don't count out the possibility that high school entrants Dorrell Wright or JR Smith slip late and end up available at 32.

Can you tell me if Donta Smith has been working out for any particular teams? His announcement drew the ire of Rick Pitino, has that had an affect on his status with teams?

Donta has been making the rounds, and has worked out with teams like Sacramento, Boston, Miami, Toronto and Chicago. He seems to be a mid-2nd round pick, though he could move up higher. At 6-7, Smith has a great body for a guard, and an even more impressive 7-1 wingspan. He needs to prove in the workouts that he can shoot the ball well. It is not even out of the question that Smith could move up into round one, especially if he performs better than guys like Dorrell Wright & JR Smith in the workouts. For more on Smith, check out his recent interview wih CHN.

Will the Celtics package the 24&25 Pick to move up in the draft or trade the picks?

On top of the 15th pick, Boston also has the 24th and 25th picks. Personally, if I was Danny Ainge, I would not move up in the draft. While this draft is not very strong up top, their is a lot of decent talent throughout the 1st round, and the 10th pick in this draft is really not much better than the 25th. I fully expect Ainge to choose one, if not two, of the high school players out there, along with a center. You may have also heard the rumor of the Celtics packaging the #15 pick with other goodies to the T'Wolves in exchange for Wally Sczcerbiak. If that happened, it would be the first good move of Ainge's new career.

Nigel Dixon had a pretty good season last year. His weight is down his shooting is up and he has developed a great work ethic over the past couple of seasons at Western Kentucky. What do you know about him and how do you think he will fare in this years draft?

I've never been a huge fan of Nigel Dixon's games. In fact, his inclusion on the CHN Mock Draft has more to do with the fact that it appears he will be drafted, regardless of whether I think he should or not. Still, you cant ignore a 7-footer who averaged 16 ppg and 10 rpg for a decent Western Kentucky squad. Weight of course, is a big issue for Dixon. He's usually listed at 320, but he'll need to get down around 300 or 290 if he wants to make a roster. Dixon was once over 400, so he's definitely on the right track. Another fault of Dixon's is foul trouble. He managed to foul out of a Portsmouth Invitational game in just 12 minutes. Makes me wonder how quick he'd foul out against Shaq.

1.What's the latest on Lawrence Roberts from Mississippi State? If he goes pro the SEC west should be wide open. If he comes back it probably boils down to them or Alabama.

2. Is Brandon Bass serious about the draft or is he just making some cool trips and meeting some cool people?

I've been hearing that Roberts is 70-30 on heading back to college. He's in a tough spot though. He would not be a 1st round pick in this year's draft. But, his stock is probably as high as it will ever be, so 1st round is also unlikely next year.

In terms of Brandon Bass, I think you have take his chances at being drafted seriously. 13 ppg and 7 rpg for a solid team like LSU is no joke. He's making the rounds, working out with various teams, but is at best a borderline 2nd round pick. Expect him to return to college next season.

Haven't heard much from Northwestern grad Jitim Young. He finished all-Big Ten first team, while constantly being the target of the other teams' defenses since he was the lone NU threat. Can you give me an update on him? Thanks!

Jitim would be an interesting pick.. if there was a 3rd round. He had a wonderful year for Northwestern, averaging 18 ppg and 6 rpg, while leading the Wildcats to an 8-8 conference record. One bad sign is that Young surfaced at the Heartland Invitational Tournament (in Tulsa, OK) which is like a lesser Portsmouth for seniors. A player who was confident in getting drafted would not usually attend such a tournament. This week, Young is also attending the Chicago Pro Showcase Camp. This is a camp to showcase one's talent to agents, who mainly get players contract overseas.

I've been consistently surprised with your draft projections for the Utah Jazz. You've had them selecting small forwards and shooting guards, two of their deepest positions, in just about every iteration of your mock draft. Given that their biggest need is at power forward and, perennially, center do you really expect that they'd bog down an already flooded roster with more guards and small forwards?

From Matt Jaeger
Bozeman, Montana

The Jazz are certainly thin at center, but with three 1st round picks (14, 16, 21) they are bound to select a guard or forward with one of their picks. While at the forward positions, the Jazz have Kirilenko and Harpring, shooting guard is less settled. If they think Gordon Giricek is the long term answer at the two, they are surely kidding themselves. I think there's a strong chance the Jazz will use #14 or 16 on a guard/wing player, because they can still get a good big man with #21. Because the Jazz have so much depth, they could select one of the high school players to develop slowly, though as Matt mentioned to me in his email, the DeShawn Stevenson experiment never panned out.