Dominic James has entered the final week of his NBA audition, and today will workout for the New York Knicks along with Ron Lewis, Trey Johnson and Taurean Green. James, who has until June 18 to make a final decision about his draft status, has struggled to positively differentiate his skills during this evaluation period, and was recently outplayed by fellow draft hopeful, PG Sean Singletary of UVa.Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan recently used the word “unbelievable” to describe Singletary’s performance against several other draft-eligible players, including Marquette’s Dominic James.
Earlier reports indicated that James and Tom Crean could speak with the NBA's draft advisory committee as early as this Wednesday to understand where the MU point guard stacks up against his draft-eligible peers. A decision on whether or not to remain in the draft could come soon after this review. James has indicated that a second-round guarantee would be enough to convince him to leave school.
The Knicks are an interesting team for DJ to work out for. The Knickerbockers do not have a second round pick this year, but as The Knicks Fix points out:
As you all know by now, Isiah Thomas feels he can take a chance with his No. 23 pick because he feels he already made one first-round selection by signing Randolph Morris right out of Kentucky. Go further with that thinking and you figure with Morris, who is 6-9 and projected to be a power forward, Thomas got his big. You might think he'd go with a guard, then, with the next choice.
Selecting (Taurean) Green would be the kind of move that would fit in the Knicks' plans. He's not someone who would have to play right away. In fact, he might not get much burn at all for two full seasons. But consider that Stephon Marbury's contract expires in two years, as does the contract of Steve Francis (if it remins on the books)James worked out with Green today in front of the Knicks brass -- and while Green has elevated his stock in the last month, I guess DJ can hold out hope that one never knows with Isiah Thomas. Heck, nobody saw Renaldo Balkman as a first-rounder last season.
5 comments:
Doesn't Isaiah still have like 7 point guards on his roster? I guess he's looking for more.
Don't ever underestimate the stupidity of Isiah Thomas.
Whether James comes back to MU or not, I think this entire exercise has been absolutely disastrous. The one thing James had going for him as a basketball player is his confidence. After being lit up in tryouts, and question by writers and draftniks, it's hard to believe he'll be the same player. Total mismanagement of a young guy.
We don't know what the Coach's told DJ. Better to have him find out he is not NBA ready yet than for him to feel you were holding him back.
One thing about Isaiah though, he is a solid judge of talent. He drafted Damon Staudomire (who had has moments when the chronic wasn't clouding his judgment), Marcus Camby, David Lee...even Balkman was a steal. Basically, if the Knicks aren't impressed, that's a bad sign for DJ, because Thomas knows the point guard position. He also knows how to destroy the marquee NBA franchise, but that's his GM skills, not his draft picks.
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