Gonzo for guy from Gonzaga
Paxson should pick Morrison for leadership, experience
Rick Morrissey
In the wake of the news

June 28, 2006

Maybe John Paxson already has had his "Whoa, wait a second" moment. Maybe he sat in an arena during an NCAA tournament game or at a top Italian league game. Maybe he was watching a tape of a midmajor game during the doldrums of February when it happened.

Maybe he saw something that made his thought process screech to a halt. And maybe years from now, he will tell reporters: "The first time I saw him was in Albuquerque, of all places. When he walked into the joint, he was all legs and wingspan, and it felt like somebody had given me an elbow to the solar plexus. I knew I'd never feel the same about a small forward again."

All right, that probably sounds a little more like Raymond Chandler than the Bulls general manager. Paxson probably would say, "I thought he could play right away." But you hope whatever happens Wednesday for the Bulls in the NBA draft, they walk away with the man they truly wanted with the No. 2 pick. You hope it's not a consolation prize who might, just might, turn into a star.

You hope it's someone Paxson believes can turn this franchise from a fringe playoff team into a team with upward mobility in the postseason.

You have read here before that the player who fits the mold is Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. But some of Paxson's comments about Morrison sound tepid: "It's not like he's a stiff athletically." It sounds like the rest of the sentence might be, "but you wouldn't want him on your potato-sack team at the company picnic."

Morrison has played more quality basketball for a longer time (three seasons at Gonzaga) than many of the players in the draft. Paxson said he doesn't want his team to skew much younger; last year's team lacked veteran leadership. You can make the argument that Morrison is older than his years (he's 21) when it comes to basketball. And get this: He actually … likes … to … pass … the … ball.

But the league is all about potential and athleticism, and to a lot of draft analysts, Morrison comes up short. It's very similar to what we see at the NFL combine, where players who haven't done much on the field in college perform well in strength and speed drills and suddenly find themselves the apple of Jerry Jones' eye.

And players like Morrison, who can, you know, play the game, get downgraded.

He's up against a lot, most of it skepticism. He's not black, and the vast majority of the players in the NBA are. Let's not get into a social/cultural/physiological discussion over why that is. It's just fact.

He's not an international player, and executives are falling all over themselves trying to find the next Dirk Nowitzki. Maybe if he sold himself as Adam Morrisinius from Lithuania, it would help.

The Bulls are intrigued by Senegal's Saer Sene, even though he has been playing organized basketball for only three years. They might use their 16th pick in the first round to take him. They see his 7-foot-8-inch wingspan, see his athleticism and see someone like DeSagana Diop starting for Dallas. They think, "Maybe this guy's worth a shot."

Or, they might use the pick on a guy from Switzerland. Either we're completely falling apart as a basketball nation, or the world has passed us by. I hope we don't face Switzerland in the next world championships.

All will be right with the world if Toronto takes Morrison with the first pick overall. Here's a kid who stayed in school, learned the game, stood out and did everything he was asked to do at Gonzaga. I'd like to see a polished player get rewarded for doing all the polishing on his own and not waiting for the NBA to do it for him.

In a twisted way, Morrison is a victim of doing the right thing. He played against weakened competition in college because the best talent these days either jumps to the NBA from high school or leaves college after a year. So the question lingers: He has dominated everyone, but what does it mean?

That question should be asked of Duke's slight J.J. Redick, who needs screens to get open, and not Morrison.

I'm hoping Paxson's reserved attitude toward Morrison is a ruse, that he's secretly praying the Raptors take someone else. I know Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni play the same position Morrison does. But he's going to be better than they are, if he isn't already.

You heard it here first.

rmorrissey@tribune.com

So what about Brandon Roy? His stock is incredibly inflated due to the fact that he's a safe pick. Same goes for Shelden Williams.



So Tyrus Thomas, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andrea Bargnani, etc, etc, etc, are not talented basketball players?



Let's not get into it? You brought it up, Morrissey. You're dead wrong, but still, you introduced the topic.



No. Actually, he played against weakened competition because Gonzaga is in the WCC. Anybody in the ACC afraid of St. Mary's, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, or Loyola Marymount? Didn't think so.



He'll probably be better than Nocioni, I'll give you that, but I'll take the man from Sudan over the bass player from Almost Famous.



Yes we did. But only because nobody else would publish such horseshit.

Couldn't agree more bucket. This is just a draft morning throw away piece used to create a little discussion. It will be forgotten forever by tomorrow morning.