jeddelong

Do we have rights to this guy indefinitely? ESPN Article Three players, at three different stages of their careers, come together in Madrid this weekend, all with the NBA looming large on their horizons. The question for Tiago Splitter, David Andersen and Omri Casspi is, what effect will this weekend's Euroleague Final Four have on their careers on the other side of the Atlantic? The culmination of the European season arrives at the Community of Madrid Sports Palace, starting Friday, when Splitter's Spanish team Tau Ceramica take on favorites CSKA Moscow, featuring Andersen, in the second semifinal. Before that, Casspi's Maccabi Tel Aviv and Italy's Montepaschi Siena face off for the right to play in Sunday's final and as is by now customary, every NBA team will have one, and possibly up to half a dozen, personnel on hand to witness the highest level of club basketball outside North America. This is not an occasion for weak hearts. Reputations, careers even, have been made or lost at Final Fours where the fervent, passionate, soccer-style crowds test even the strongest nerves. There's a good chance that Tiago Splitter will pay in the NBA next season. Last season, some experts believed Splitter looked overwhelmed as Tau lost to hosts Panathinaikos in the semifinal yet, of the "NBA three" in action this weekend, his future appears the most clear-cut. The San Antonio Spurs still took Splitter 28th in last year's draft, a decision that appears to have been more than justified by his form in helping Tau return to a fourth consecutive Final Four this weekend. Splitter, as he told ESPN.com before the Euroleague season even started, fully intends to be at the Spurs camp later this year and no evidence from either Tau, Texas or Tiago himself, has emerged to contradict that analysis. "The NBA is something I have in my mind," Splitter says. "I want to finish the season here then we will see better. But, for sure, it would be the best way to go over to the NBA, winning the Euroleague, proving you are a great player and earning the respect of the NBA Splitter's coach, the highly-regarded Croatian Neven Spahija is, coincidentally, a friend of Spurs general manager RC Buford. "It will be a very interesting conversation with RC," Spahija said while laughing. "When anything bad happens with players I recommend, it's my fault; whenever the players are good, it is because RC is a great scout! "But Tiago has had his best ever season and I really appreciate the job he has done for us. He has taken the next step in his career, but is he ready for the NBA? It is difficult to say, you never know how players will adjust." Whatever the outcome with Splitter, however, the Spurs have an embarrassment of Euro riches waiting in the wings, along with the 6'11", 23-year-old forward/center from Brazil. Frenchman Ian Mahimni is an almost identical build to Splitter (same height, six pounds lighter at 230) and is coming off an exceptional year in the NBA Development League with the Austin Toros, having averaged 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds a game. Iowa Energy coach Nick Nurse, who spent much of his career in Europe and is currently an assistant with the Great Britain national team has seen Mahimni 10 times this season. "He's got all the talent in the world," Nurse says. "He's extremely talented, athletic, shoots it facing up and he has some good fight in his game. At the end of the season he was banged up and wasn't 100 percent, but he was still right in there, battling. "Of course, being ready for the NBA and being ready to make it onto the Spurs are two different things and he needs more experience and to get more physical. But he showed some flashes of sheer brilliance this season." To further cloud the issue, 28-year-old Lithuanian Robertas Javtokas, having been buried deep on the bench at Panathinaikos last season, is coming off an exceptional season with Russian team Dynamo Moscow. "Javtokas should have been in the NBA two years ago," says one European scout. "But he took the decision for his family to take the money at Panathinaikos and that held back his opportunities. Now, he's one of the better bigs available over here." For the Spurs -- a club not known to shy away from international players -- this summer could be a particularly interesting one. "International guys all develop in different ways," Buford says. "We have seen that happen here at the Spurs with Manu (Ginobili), (Luis) Scola, (Gordan) Giricek and Tony (Parker). All came to the NBA by different routes. "There is not a formula that is perfect, that works for every individual. But we like all three of these guys and we think they can all be productive players in the NBA." David Anderson was drafted by the Hawks in 2003, but has chosen to play in Europe. The case of CSKA's 6'11" forward/center David Andersen is less clear cut. Drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks six years ago, his talks with the NBA team have never progressed because of their unwillingness to match anywhere near the money the Australian-Dane has been able to command over nine years in Europe ... five in Italy and the last four in Moscow. "Last year, David was coming off a major injury," says CSKA coach Ettore Messina of Andersen. He was 27 and suffered an appalling broken leg, dislocated ankle and ruptured ligaments that cost him most of the 2005-06 season. "It was very difficult for him but this year he has moved back to the position he likes best which is a position he interprets in a very personal way. He is a center who can shoot from outside, he has a lot of versatility, shooting from outside and posting up his man. "This was probably his best season at CSKA. But he will be out of contract and, as for the NBA, why not, if he plays for a team that needs his special ability? He's not a 'muscle' player, he's more a finesse player who can spread the floor with his jump shot and can get points inside." "I haven't really made a decision (on the NBA). I'm pretty open to things at the moment," Andersen says. "I'm exploring my options, my agent is talking to people, but like any player, you dream of playing at the highest level." Casspi, at 19, is the youngest of the trio and, given his undrafted status, will be the most interest to NBA scouts in Madrid. Although he was limited to 11 minutes a game in Euroleague, his playing time increased after Zvi Sherf took over coaching duties in January and his 4.6 points and 23 rebounds a game were of higher quality than the basic numbers suggest. Sources say that Casspi has let it be known that if the signs are pointing that he will be a first-round pick, his name will remain in the 2008 draft. Some observers believe he is worth a lower first-round pick and a strong showing this weekend could cement that view. "I'm not thinking about it at all, tomorrow is the biggest game of my career," Casspi says. "But my contract is finished at the end of the season and everything is open. For now, I just don't think about it, I think about the next game." The teenager, who turns 20 in June, was already on NBA radar after a strong showing on the World Select team that was outclassed by a strong U.S. national junior team, featuring college stand-outs Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo at the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis 13 months ago. "Omri is a hard-nosed, no-nonsense type of player who could be an excellent role player in the NBA," says former Australian national teams coach Rob Beveridge who coached Casspi that week. "He can knock down the three and is good in the open court and in his finishing. But I think his biggest strength is his mental toughness and his desire to win." In short, Casspi, Splitter, Andersen and all other Final Four combatants will need these type of qualities this weekend.

FYI on Givony (since someone asked): He ran into legal trouble for basically committing Libel against an agent/player. Here is his old website: http://www.draftcity.com/

It's going to be close, but their schedule leaves us hope I think the bolded teams give them at least a chance at winning. I guess my point is that it could be a much harder schedule: Tue 27 Cleveland 7:00 PM NBA TV Find Tickets | Travel Wed 28 at New Jersey 7:30 PM Fri 30 at Orlando 8:00 PM Sun 1 San Antonio 7:00 PM Find Tickets | Travel Tue 3 Detroit 7:00 PM NBA TV Find Tickets | Travel Fri 6 at Charlotte 7:00 PM Sat 7 Boston 7:00 PM Find Tickets | Travel Tue 10 at Philadelphia 7:00 PM Wed 11 at Milwaukee 8:00 PM Find Tickets | Travel Fri 13 at Miami 8:00 PM ESPN Find Tickets | Travel Sun 15 New Jersey 3:30 PM | Travel Tue 17 at Atlanta 7:00 PM | Travel Wed 18 Washington 8:00 PM ESPN Find Tickets | Travel

I saw this today for the first time: Atlanta receives a 2007 (top 10 protected) Indiana first-round pick. (Al Harrington trade 082206) Sorry if this is redundant, I had previously heard it was loto protected but this allows us to get into the loto picks, right?

From the AJC: Harrington has fired his longtime agent, according to several people familiar with the situation. Harrington severed ties with his New York-based agent Andy Miller Tuesday, meaning the negotiating process regarding the sign-and-trade deal he's seeking, with assistance from the Hawks, is far from complete. In fact, those sources said that the proposed deal that would have sent Harrington to Indiana was never as close to completion as was widely believed. With Harrington seeking new representation, league rules stipulate that there has to be 15 days in between the time Harrington files the paperwork to fire Miller and retains new representation, the process could stretch well into this month before it is resolved. Harrington is prepared to restart the entire process, sources said. And that means an entirely new set of teams could be involved. There were reportedly more than a half dozen teams that inquired about sign-and-trade possibilities involving Harrington before the list was narrowed to Indiana and Golden State last month. That list included the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee most prominently. But with the news that the process is set to begin anew, the list of teams showing interest in Harrington could increase dramatically this time around.

I saw they just posted the boxscore, pardon me if someone already posted it: Box Score

I did see the thread, can't check every hour. I guess I'll take Bargini so I don't slow you down any further. Obviously a trade seems more plausible here, but I guess that pick needs to be made. In the future, I think it would be wise to list that a time and date that the draft is starting when you get this thing going. I assume we were all still waiting as usual or put the time and date in the main forum.

I did see the thread, can't check every hour. I guess I'll take Bargini so I don't slow you down any further. Obviously a trade seems more plausible here, but I guess that pick needs to be made. In the future, I think it would be wise to list that a time and date that the draft is starting when you get this thing going. I assume we were all still waiting as usual or put the time and date in the main forum.

I'd like to participate. I'd rather someone assign me a team so its a challenge to learn about them and make their pick.

Jay Williams: After working out for the Rockets, Heat, Hawks and Raptors, Williams decided he wasn't yet ready to come back from his near-fatal motorcycle crash. He's now in Los Angeles trying to strengthen his left leg, according to agent Kevin Bradbury, and he plans to reassess his options some time around Jan. 1.

Anyone notice that UPN is gone and now the have Itv as a partner? I don't get I think, this sucks.

Kendall (Denver): I just heard that the Jazz made a trade with the Blazers. What were the details behind that trade? Chad Ford: (2:33 PM ET ) It's done. Just got off the phone with the Jazz. The deal is No. 3 to Utah for No. 6, No. 27 and a future first that the Jazz had from the Pistons.

I emailed him it just seems to be irresponsible journalism.

There is no way we could have gotten pick two and three under the scenario he suggests, right? Thanks to Kobe, Hawks lose first-round pick By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 06/01/05 Today's question: I've heard that Billy Knight covets a second first-round pick. I thought the Hawks already had one. What happened to the pick they got from Boston in the Antoine Walker deal? EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR That pick disappeared when Kobe Bryant decided to torpedo the Lakers' season. That pick was lost because it was lottery-protected and contingent on Bryant and the Lakers making the playoffs. So Hawks fans can join Shaquille O'Neal and Lakers fans worldwide in despising Bryant. We wrote about this potential scenario playing out about six weeks before the season ended. At the time, the Lakers were still in the playoff hunt. You know how that ended. It gets worse for Hawks fans, though. Had the Lakers made the playoffs, the Hawks would have had the No. 2 and 3 picks in the draft. Their number combination came up back-to-back during the draft lottery but the second one was thrown out since they already had the No. 2 pick. As to the Hawks' desire for multiple first-round picks, they have made no secret of their desire for another one. It'll cost them, though. As mentioned in a previous dish, the Hawks could alleviate that problem by trading down in the draft; Charlotte has two lottery picks and would love to move up to No. 2 for the second straight year. Still, I don't know that trading away a chance to select Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams, Deron Williams or Chris Paul — any one of the could be available at No. 2 depending on what Milwaukee does with the first pick overall — might be too sweet a deal to pass up.

I believe the Hawks Magic Number for the most ping pong balls is 9 (the combination of our losses combined with Bobcat wins to gaurantee our position)

David (Macon, Georgia): Dear Mr. Ford, What have you heard recently about the Hawks drafting situation? Any rumors out there concerning them? Thanks. Chad Ford: (3:49 PM ET ) The best question about the Hawks is what they do if they don't get the No. 2 pick. Some say Shaun Livingston (the Hawks also watched him workout today). Others say it will be Iguodala if he's still there. At No. 6, the draft starts getting very speculative. There are a lot of ways to go. . .

Chad Ford has us taking Shaun Livingston at #6 and Josh Smith falling all the way to #16. Wouldn't that be something? Two guys predicted at the top of the lottery ending up on the Hawks with picks 6 and 16.

This really hurt to read. I don't know how Chris Ford and others in the media get off thinking that they can bully the Hawks team and fans. After the trades he said we wouldn't win another game...not even close. He castigates us for trading Rasheed, who do we care Rasheed goes to he was gone anyway. My understanding is that Knight is in charge, no questions there. Just yesterday he was applauding a possible trade between Dallas and Orlando where Dallas would take on Grant Hill and get the first pick in the draft while also giving up antonie walker to give orlando flexiblity the following year. How is this any different from Atlanta sending Henderson to Orlando (8 million off next year) and taking Grant Hill in return for the pick and Grant Hill. Of course he doesn't really mention that... Hawks starting from scratch By Chad Ford NBA Insider Send an Email to Chad Ford Thursday, May 6 It's taken me months to muster up the wherewithal to write a Hawks blueprint. Like almost everyone else in Atlanta and around the league, I've lost interest over the last several years in one of the most bland, winless franchises in the NBA. What a difference a few years make. Two summers ago, the Hawks looked destined to be a real contender in the East. In fact, they guaranteed it. With Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, Glenn Robinson and Jason Terry playing together, the team had plenty of offensive firepower. The playoff guarantee was the stuff of marketing genius and, for the first time in a long time, there was actually a buzz about the Hawks. Of course, a month into the season, we all recognized that GM Pete Babcock hadn't built a contender; he'd built a shanty town based on fragile knees and inflated egos. No one played defense. No one shared the ball. The coach lost his job. Then the GM lost his job. Then the team started trading guys away. Before we knew it a For Sale sign hung outside the Philips Arena. All was lost. This past season was a disaster. The Hawks' sale started with one owner, then mysteriously turned to another group of owners, led by Boston's Steve Belkin, at the last minute. In the meantime, the franchise was left in limbo. GM Billy Knight, determined to get cap space for the upcoming offseason, began trading away the entire team. Before it was over, Robinson, Ratliff, Abdur-Rahim and Nazr Mohammed would all be wearing different uniforms. Guys with names like Sura, Rebraca, Person and Przybilla were replacing former all-stars. But the killer was Knight's decision at the trade deadline to send Rasheed Wallace to Detroit for a host of expiring contracts and the No. 17 pick in the 2004 draft. With that one swift move, the Hawks turned the Pistons into a powerhouse and completely left the cupboards bare in Atlanta. When the new ownership finally took control (ironically called Atlanta Spirit) it inherited the shell of basketball team, a flawed arena, six season ticket holders, five angry players and warehouse full of Big Dog jerseys. $250 million sure doesn't buy what it used to. How long will it take for the Hawks to rebuild from scratch? Here's a look at what to expect as Insider continues its summer blueprint series. Hawks Summer Blueprint DRAFT: The Hawks own two first-round picks in this year's draft. They have the No. 6 overall pick and they also own the Bucks' No. 17 pick. The Hawks received the Bucks' pick as part of the Wallace trade via the Pistons. They need all the help they can get. Overall, the Hawks have a 10.4 percent chance of getting the first overall pick in the draft. Just as importantly, they have an 11.2 percent chance of getting the second overall pick. That's because the Hawks are one of the few teams that covet high school start Dwight Howard as much or more than Emeka Okafor. Howard is a local kid with a huge following in Atlanta, and some within the Hawks, who are rebuilding from scratch anyway, think think he's the perfect kid to start building around. If the Hawks don't get either of the first two picks, they have several interesting players to choose from in the sixth position. Both Shaun Livingston and Luol Deng would be very interesting choices here. However, both should be gone by the time the Hawks are picking. More likely they'll have their choice of athletic high school forward Josh Smith and Stanford small forward Josh Childress, point guards Devin Harris and Ben Gordon, or several promising international big men like Andris Biedrins, Pavel Podkolzine and Kosta Perovic. With their second first-round pick, don't be surprised if they go big. There are several freakish big men in the draft and several of them should be sitting there for the taking this far down. The Hawks, with two first-round picks, can afford to take a risk on one project, especially if they go with a point guard or small forward with their first pick. Figure them to look at players like Brazil's Tiago Splitter, Colorado's David Harrison, Serbia's Peja Samardziski, Puerto Rico's Peter John Ramos or BYU's Rafael Araujo. FREE AGENCY: The Hawks are essentially losing their whole team to free agency this summer. Only Jason Terry, Boris Diaw, Chris Crawford, Alan Henderson and Travis Hansen remain under contract for next season. It will be pretty surprising if they sign any of their current free agents to significant deals. Stephen Jackson is already claiming that he wants out of Atlanta. Most of the other players who hit the market -- Bob Sura, Zeljko Rebraca, Joel Przybilla and Wesley Person -- were spare parts picked up for trade purposes. The good news is that it leaves the Hawks with significant cap room to work with. Once you figure in cap holds and minimum roster spots for the Hawks, the team is looking at roughly $18 million in cap space to work with this summer. But here's the kicker . . . can they get anyone to take it? Atlanta isn't a hotbed for NBA recruiting these days. The team is in shambles, the fan support is awful, the team has no coach, and no one knows for sure what the new ownership is going to do with the team. There are several interesting free agents on the market, but the chances seem unlikely that the Hawks could ever lure them to Atlanta. Kobe Bryant, Kenyon Martin, Mehmet Okfur, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson and Stromile Swift would all be nice fits in Atlanta. But with the exception of Crawford (who'll do anything to get out of Chicago), can you really imagine any of these players signing with the Hawks? I could see the Hawks being contract leverage (for a restricted free agent like Martin), but in the end Hawks fans should keep their expectations in check. TRADES: The only significant player left on the team is Terry, who continues to put up nice numbers, but is neither the point guard nor the franchise player the Hawks need him to be. Atlanta matched the Jazz's offer sheet to Terry last summer and have been regretting it ever since. Terry has been unhappy in Atlanta and it is believed the team will work hard to shop him this summer. The one catch is that the Hawks cannot trade Terry without his permission (or to the Jazz) until Sept. 25th. Securing his permission shouldn't be a problem. Finding a team willing to give up something of value in return for Terry may be a trickier proposition. In an ideal world the Hawks would love to unload Henderson's contract (1 year, $8.3 million remaining) as part of a Terry trade . . . but don't count on it. The Hawks can also use their extensive cap room to facilitate trades with teams that are trying to get further under the salary cap. The Suns, Magic, Pistons, Clippers, Spurs, Wizards and Cavs all fall in that category this year specifically. But the truth is almost every team has issues in this area. This may be the best, and only way, for the Hawks to rebuild quickly. COACHING: The candidates are coming out of the woodwork now that coach Terry Stotts has been fired. The most prominent rumor floating around the league has Dallas assistant and former Lakers head coach Del Harris as the front-runner for the job. Mike Fratello and Lionel Hollins have also been mentioned for the position and the Hawks would be very interested in Warriors head coach Eric Musselman if the Warriors decide to let him go. For now, however, Harris is the front-runner . . . but I'm not sure what that really means for the Hawks. While Harris is an excellent coach, he's looking at a long, major rebuilding project in Atlanta. Those type of jobs never really pan out for veteran coaches who get tired of losing, start playing the few veterans they have on their roster and, inevitably, get fired. Musselman is the perfect candidate, having served as a popular assistant here. He's a great motivator and knows how to get the most out of his young players, but knows when Chris Mullin is ever going to get around to firing him. FRONT OFFICE: For now it looks like Billy Knight is still running the show. The Hawks shocked a lot of people in the league when they hired Dominique Wilkens as the vice president of basketball. While Wilkens has always had a front office role with the Hawks, some read the promotion to mean that he, not Knight, was now running the Hawks. As far as I can tell, both Knight and Wilkens report to president Bernie Mullin, who then reports to an ownership board consisting of five of the owners who must approve everything from trades to coaching changes. Got all of that? If you don't, you're not alone. GMs around the league claim that they too are in the dark about who's really in charge in Atlanta. For now Knight is doing most of the hands-on work, but without the power to say yes or no to any deal . . . there are issues. What the Hawks need now is a rebuilding plan. Free-agent acquisition committees (which Wilkens is the head of) are a start, but they need a more comprehensive plan on how they are going to rebuild this basketball team from the ground up. The good news is that for the first time in a long time, the Hawks have the financial flexibility to make something happen. The bad news is that the team is so far in the tank, it's going to take awhile to convince players that Atlanta is a great place to play again. What does that mean for Hawks fans? The teams has probably hit rock bottom. But it's going to take several years to climb out of the hole it's suck in. Have fun.

This is from Insider's review of international prospects that have spent a few years overseas: David Andersen is an Aussie who could play for the Hawks. David Andersen, PF/C, Atlanta Hawks: The native of Australia was drafted in the second round in 2002. He had a career game in the semifinals of the Euroleague Final Four for Siena, scoring 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting and hitting a number of big shots down the stretch. However, he played sparingly for Siena this season, averaging just 9 ppg and 4.6 rpg in 20 mpg. I talked to Anderson at the Final Four, and he said he plans play for the Hawks in the summer league this year. Atlanta has a lot of roster spots open and probably should give Andersen a look. He's not going to be a star in the NBA, the way the first three could be, but he could be a nice role player. He's active, can score around the basket and is pretty athletic.

One think about the nbadraft.net mock is that it does not take into account team needs. They aren't going to do that until next week I think. I noticed this at first because it has Chicago taking Howard which most people say won't happen (they are trying to move away from youth). The story here is that particuarly in the teens there will be much variance until team needs are factored in.

It is top 15 protected right so 16 was the best we could do! So... Non-playoff teams equals 13 Orlando Chicago Washington Atlanta Clippers Phoenix Philly Toronto Cleveland Seattle Golden State Portland Utah Plus: Boston and New York so Milwaukee gets number 16

Suns have a 13 point lead right now, its looking good. If LA wins, this couldn't have turned out any better

Milwaukee just blew a 4th quarter lead combined with a Miami and NO win means that we just moved from the 19th to the 17th pick, not bad....

According to this article from NBA.com (it must be surmised) the tiebreaker happens after the season, probably a coin flip or something (it can't be record based because they wouldn't have to break the ties in an office somewhere, they would just no) Here is the article: -- Six ties among teams that finished the 2001-02 regular season with identical records were broken Wednesday night through random drawings to help determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2002, which will be held Wednesday, June 26, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. NBA Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations, Stu Jackson conducted the drawing live on NBA TV earlier Wednesday evening at the league office in New York. Chicago and Golden State, who finished tied with a 21-61 record, will each receive 225 chances out of 1,000 in the NBA Draft Lottery. In the event that neither the Bulls nor Warriors wins one of the first three picks in the Lottery, Golden State will select fourth and Chicago fifth. Phoenix and Miami, who finished tied with a 36-46 record, will receive 15 and 14 chances out of 1,000, respectively, in the NBA Draft Lottery. In the event that neither the Suns nor the Heat wins one of the first three picks in the Lottery, Phoenix will select ninth and Miami will select 10th. Indiana (42-40) won a tie-breaker with Toronto and will select 14th in the first round. The Raptors will select 15th. (Note: Toronto's pick has been conveyed to Houston) Charlotte (44-38) won a tie-breaker with Orlando and Utah and will select 17th in the first round. Subsequently, Orlando won a tie-breaker with Utah and will select 18th in the first round, leaving the Jazz with the 19th pick. Portland (49-33) won a tie-breaker with Boston and will select 21st in the first round. The Celtics will select 22nd. (Note: Boston's pick has been conveyed to Phoenix) San Antonio (58-24) won a tie-breaker with the Los Angeles Lakers and will select 26th in the first round. The Lakers will select 27th. Following the order of selection for the first round of NBA Draft 2002, as well as the number of chances for teams in NBA Draft Lottery 2002, to be held Sunday, May 19, at the NBA Entertainment studio in Secaucus, N.J. Teams entered in the NBA Draft Lottery, which will determine the order of selection for the first 13 picks, listed in order of overall record (worst record first) and chances out of 1,000 in the Lottery:

I think people forget this: "An NBA-record 62,046 fans were in attendance at the Georgia Dome to witness what may be the last game in Atlanta for Michael Jordan, who scored 34 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to their eighth straight win, 89-74 over the Hawks. The Hawks sold 8,000 'video screen only' tickets that offered no actual view of the court. The purchase of those seats gave the Georgia Dome the record for the most people ever at one arena to see an NBA game, surpassing the previous mark of 61,983 fans that saw Boston and Detroit play at the Silverdome on January 29th, 1988. "It's a special feeling when 62,000 people come out to see you play," Jordan said. "It certainly is a lot of respect that is being paid, but as you walk out onto the court, you know you can't focus on how big the crowd is. You have to focus on what you have to do out there as a basketball team." I don't get how anyone says this isn't a basketball town. You just have to give them a product (it may never be Jordan attendance but they can fill Phillips)