Monday Insider......Prince rising

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With 10 days left until the 2002 NBA Draft, things remain as turbulent as ever.

It no longer looks like there will be a major battle over the No. 1 position. A smooth trip in China for Rockets officials probably seals the deal for Yao Ming being the first international player ever to go No. 1.

Jay Williams already seems resigned to being the next Jerry's kid. Mike Dunleavy is still subscribing to the philosophy that less is more. Several teams were using Nikoloz Tskitishvili as an excuse to get one more European trip in on the company dime. Caron Butler has resorted to threatening Shaq. And Rock Newman gave his challenger, Chris Wilcox, a featherweight in Chicago before letting him beat up on a few more worthy opponents in New York Saturday.

Here's our latest look at who's hot and who's not in the draft.

HOT

Mike Dunleavy -- We're not sure whether he can actually play basketball in the NBA, but the kid could be a CEO in marketing. While other top players are killing themselves in daily team workouts, Dunleavy is hanging out in Durham, shooting an occasional jumper, playing coy on good days, lifting his skirt just a little when it gets a little cloudy. Is he in or is he out? No one knows, but with all the attention he's generated (both the Grizzlies and the Warriors came to him this weekend) you have to believe he's figured out how to make this process as painless as possible. Dunleavy's stock is as high as ever for doing the very things most teams say they hate. He's indecisive, uncooperative and in control . . . and the Rockets are still pondering whether to take him No. 1. Go figure.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili -- Speaking of mysterious, the more Skita sits on the bench thousands of miles from here, the more his stock continues to soar. His agent says he's in the draft, which means he's already secured a top-10 pick, but with the way things are going, he now looks like a lock for the top 5. Warriors brass flew to Italy this weekend to get another look. Grizzlies godfather Jerry West is planning a last-minute visit if Skita won't come to him and the Suns are trying to convince his coach, Mike D'Antoni, to come along for the ride.

Chris Wilcox -- After sitting out of workouts before Chicago with a pulled hamstring, agent Rock Newman finally got Wilcox to show up and pound the hell out straw man Jermaine Williams in Chicago. That was just a taste of what was to come. Wilcox went toe to toe with Fresno State's Melvin Ely in New York Saturday and left teams blown away. His athleticism and defensive tenacity have the Knicks drooling at No. 7. Will he even be around then? The Cavs are also looking for a power forward at No. 6.

Tayshaun Prince -- Prince seems to have recovered a bit from a nasty case of senioritis. He's been working out this summer and teams have been blown away by his shooting and ball-handling skills. Although questions still linger about his ultimate position in the pros and just how durable the Fen-Fen poster child will be, it looks like he's now a lock for the first round.

Zaur Pachulia and Mladen Sekularac -- Who? Pachulia got rave reviews in his first four workouts (Indiana, Milwaukee, Denver and Orlando). The 6-foot-11 big man and former teammate of Nikoloz Tskitishvili has the size and strength to be a legitimate post player in the NBA. The fact that he's from Europe and can be stashed away for another season or two only helps his stock. Sekularac, an athletic, 6-foot-8 two guard, had a general workout in D.C. and will be auditioning before a host of teams in L.A. Tuesday and Phoenix Wednesday. In between, he got a look in Indiana and Golden State this weekend. The word around the league is that he won't slip past Toronto at No. 20.

NOT

Dajuan Wagner -- There's still a chance that Wagner could go as high as No. 5 to the Nuggets, but, the way the draft is playing out, it's looking more and more likely he could be in for a fall. Although teams have been impressed with his workouts, there are so many talented big men in this draft that the diminutive Wagner (he measured a disappointing 6' 3/4" in Chicago) could be in for a slide. The Nuggets like him, but it's beginning to look like either Butler or Drew Gooden will definitely fall to them. The Knicks like him, but won't take him if Gooden, Wilcox or Nene Hilario is on the board. The Heat may be interested, but they have Qytnel Woods and Jared Jeffries rated higher. It's not inconceivable that Wagner is on the board when the Wizards' pick at No. 11. Would MJ take a gamble on Wagner? The need a point guard and scoring in the worst way. . . Wagner has the potential to give them both.

Curtis Borchardt -- Borchardt tried to play the same game Dunleavy did, but it hasn't paid the same dividends. For starters, teams wanted plenty of time to examine his feet. The NBA is already littered with dysfunctional Big Foots and Borchardt's history of foot injuries has everyone a bit wary. Second, this draft has an amazing collection of tough guys from Wilcox, to Hilario to Amare Stoudemire. While Borchardt is a better shooter and taller than all of them, Insider has heard the word "soft" attached to his game by several teams. He won't slip past the Clippers at No. 12, but it's looking less likely that the Knicks (No. 7) or Heat (No. 10) will call his name.

Amare Stoudemire -- His stock was on the rise until a shoulder injury forced him to begin canceling workouts. While some teams still feel he's a top-10 pick, someone has to slip. The rise of Nene and Wilcox means that Stoudemire is now the third-best raw big man in the draft. Could he slip all the way to No. 18? The Magic are praying for a miracle.

Nenad Kristic -- A last-minute call from the Yugoslavian national team means that Kristic won't be able to make it to the U.S. for individual workouts. Several teams will fly to Yugoslavia to work him out, but won't get the mass look he would've had in the U.S. Still, based on his size and raw talent alone, he'll slip into the late first round.

ASSORTED BAUBLES AND TIDBITS

Kareem Rush has strung together a series of strong workouts. Last year he looked like a lock for a lottery pick. This year . . . he could slip into the lottery, but more likely, he'll be perfect as an apprentice to Reggie Miller in Indiana.

The great point guard debate continues to rage . . . Dan Dickau or Frank Williams? While Dickau has been shooting the ball great, Williams has had difficulty battling a series of injuries. Right now Dickau's stock is higher, but several teams are trying to arrange a workout in which they go head to head. Don't expect it to happen.

Speaking of point guards, Fordham's Smush Parker is making a late run at the first round. He was so-so Chicago, but teams like his size (he measured 6-foot-4 in Chicago) and his ability to run a team. He's also been bulking up this summer, which never hurts. It's not inconceivable that he slips into the late first round if a team really needs a point guard.

UCLA center Dan Gadzuric continues to wow teams in individual workouts. His athleticism is phenomenal for a kid his size. Several teams noted that his skill set was a bit below average, but said it was nothing some good coaching couldn't fix. Said one team executive, "I think once he gets some NBA big man coaching, hits the Pete Newell camp and learns how to play in the post, he could be really good. I'm not sure he was really taught how to play in the post at UCLA."

There isn't anyone in the draft who has a tougher decision to make Wednesday than Stanford's Casey Jacobsen. Jacobsen has been impressive in several workouts and a few teams later in the first round are definitely interested. However, with the volatility of the draft, most are reluctant to promise anything. There's a decent chance Jacobsen slips into the first round, but there aren't any guarantees. The biggest question he has to ponder is this . . . Will playing another year at Stanford really help things?

Can the Kings afford Bibby and Christie?

The Kings were just seconds away from having the privilege of whacking the Nets in the Finals.

Now, with a big contract for Mike Bibby on the horizon, and a whopping luxury-tax hit looming, GM Geoff Petrie plans to sit down with owners Gavin and Joe Maloof in Las Vegas this week and explore what the Kings are and aren't willing to do this summer to compete with the Lakers.

The biggest sticking point will be Bibby, whose stock soared in the playoffs. The Maloofs knew when they traded for him that Bibby would command a big contract, but now it's looking like it will be the max. The Kings have nearly $56 million committed for next season. A seven-year deal for Bibby will shove the Kings toward the mid-$60 million range in combined salaries for 2002-03.

Can they afford to sign Bibby and keep the team intact? Apparently, that's what will be decided this week.

"Say we sign Bibby for $7 million, then we're paying $10 million in the tax," Joe Maloof told the Sacramento Bee. "That's a $17 million contract in that sense. There's a certain point where you have to look at it in a business sense. You have to take the basketball hat off and put the business hat on."

For starters, expect the team to use its first-round pick in the draft on an international player it can keep overseas (and off the cap) for another year or two.

Second, don't be surprised to see the team trade a player like Doug Christie, who makes $6.25 million next season, to save some cap room. With players like Hidayet Turkoglu and Gerald Wallace waiting in the wings, it may be the Kings' only chance at staying afloat financially.

Price of success may mean trading some key personnel

Scott Howard-Cooper / Sacramento Bee

Bibby's cost? A King's ransom

Martin McNeal / Sacramento Bee

Draft Rumors: Dunleavy's dilemma -- Warriors or Grizz?

Forget all of those Antawn Jamison trade rumors flying around this week. Not only is Jamison tough to trade because of base-year compensation issues, the Warriors haven't given any indication that they're shopping him.

In fact, they brought Jamison along for the ride on a recent recruiting trip to Durham, North Carolina -- enemy territory for the former Tar Heel.

Jamison, joined by Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean and assistant GM Gary Fitzsimmons, wined and dined Mike Dunleavy Thursday.

Jamison emerged from the visit unsure of Dunleavy's intentions but convinced that Dunleavy would embrace playing for the Warriors despite the franchise's uncertain coaching situation and its league-high eight-year playoff drought.

"He wouldn't have a problem with it whatsoever. That's something I know for a fact," Jamison told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He was doing his homework, asking a lot of questions. I left with a great feeling. It was good to get to know him and know what he's all about."

Jamison has been pushing the Warriors to go after a small forward so that he can move to power forward -- the position he prefers to play.

Mike Dunleavy Sr. and Dunleavy Jr. likely spent the weekend sorting through the reams of information that has come their way. If you distill it all down it comes to this:

He'll either go to the Warriors at No. 3 or the Grizzlies at No. 4. The Grizzlies also met with Dunleavy Thursday.

"He's a very conscientious kid," Grizz president Jerry West told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "He's someone who is going to make a decision based on what's best for him. But we wanted to talk to him. He knows he's going to be taken high in the draft. We'd seen pretty much all of [the top prospects] personally except for him."

Jamison does his part to recruit Dunleavy

Brad Weinstein / San Francisco Chronicle

Grizzlies hit road, talk with Dunleavy

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Workout Watch

Chris Wilcox really got the ball rolling this weekend with an impressive workout in New York against Melvin Ely and DeAngelo Collins.

The Knicks are drooling . . . "When you saw him play, he brought tremendous energy to the court offensively and defensively -- very active, runs the floor," GM Scott Layden told the Newark Star Ledger. "And what you saw here is he's improved his skills. If you go from his freshman year to today, you see great improvement. Great improvement. Clearly, he's a player who is willing to work. And that often times is the key."

Caron Bulter (in Chicago) and Nene Hilario (in Miami) also headlined this weekend's workout wonders.

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[Guest]

Tayshaun Prince is the real deal, teams are bluffing and gloating at the same time. He's Mike Dunleavy on slimfast. Give him a pro diet and strength coach and a couple years your'e talking a young Toni Kukoc.

People complain about his size but he has dominated at every level being undersized. He was a McDonalds All-American and All-SEC playing against the same guys at the highest levels of competition.

Teams arent going to make the same mistakes as they did with Paul Pierce, Mo Pete, Brendan Haywood. He wont go early lottery but he wont go very late either.

After #10 look for him anywhere and forget about him after 20.

[ATLien_]

I was really hoping he would slip to us at 37 but then he had to go and show out. We should have told him to bomb the workouts LOL. He is going to get that first round guranteed Denero now.

[Guest]

IF Babcock wants Prince...he will do enough to move up

and get him.

[Guest Walter]

He's not better than Tshilski (sp?), Butler, J. Jeffries, Nachbar, Diaw, Woods, or Dunleavy and maybe not even better than Chris Jeffries and Grizzard.

That's 7 definate and 9 possible to probably better Sfs ahead of Prince. Let's do the math. 20 draft positions, only 18 teams (meaning if they draft 1 Sf they likely don't draft 2), 5 positions. That's between 3 and 4 players drafted per position through the twentieth pick ON AVERAGE. I just don't think that half or near half of the 1st 20 picks are going to be Sfs. That's what it would take if Prince were to be picked within the 1st 20.

In a Sf heavy draft, Prince is a late first (if that), early second.

W

[KB21]

I've got him slotted in between 21 and 28. I think he may go in the later part of the first round.

As for the other SF's, Rod Grizzard is going to drop into the second round. Mark my words. For all his talent, he was hardly the dominant player he should have been. He's not a good shooter and doesn't play any defense. He's also paper thin, which is also something Prince is.

Prince's basketball skills are a lot better than Grizzard's.

Diaw-Riffiod has a promise that he will be taken in the first round. It is being speculated that Denver is the team that has told Riffiod that they will select him in the later part of the first round. The word on Riffiod is that he is a great athlete but very raw.

[Guest]

Under the best player available analysis the # of SFs is irrelevant. Teams will move and deal before and after the draft, what they will do now is acquire assets.

I dont expect Prince to rise into the top 10, but 10-20 is wide open. I think the Europeans are over-hyped. Last season Gasol, Turkoglu and the kid w/ Utah played very well. Rebraca in Detroit had a good season after 3 NBA seasons. Gasol played well on one of the worst teams in the NBA. Others are no better than Cal Bowdler. I would go European than Old Dominion any day however.

They are good players but they arent heads and shoulders better than our best college players. So, I think the Nahbars and Welschs are not locks, nor is Hilario Neybeyner.

I wouldnt even be surprised to see Prince go as high as 12 to the Clippers if they keep the pick. His is an L.A. kid that played for the Nationally Ranked Dominguez High with Tyson Chandler. The western teams are very familiar with him and he has already been linked to the Lakers. Unsurprisingly, thats when he started moving up.

I really think he will fall between 14-20. Why?

Pacers need a shooter to replace Miller soon, Miller is from LA, what better mentor? Rush has been linked to the Jazz.

Rockets wont go big again, backcourt is set. So SF makes perfect sense.

76ers need scoring options other than Iverson. Larry Brown loves kids who play the "right" way.

Hornets need backup for sick Mashburn. Theyre only one more scorer away.

Magic - ditto - Grant Hill.