From what I read, it appears that both Utah and Toronto are hot about Frye..They both would love to draft this young kid...If he was that bad, why in the world would so many teams want this young kid....


Jazz aim higher
Utah trying to move up to draft Illinois' Williams
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune





The Jazz reportedly covet Illinois point guard Deron Williams in Tuesday's draft. (Associated Press file photo )

Having earned the No. 6 pick in the NBA draft with an unhappy 26-win season, the Jazz are close to figuring out what they want to do with it.
Vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor wants to trade into the top three, where Utah would be assured of getting the high-caliber point guard it desperately needs.
The Jazz are drooling over Illinois' Deron Williams - who along with Wake Forest's Chris Paul is one of the top two point guards in the draft - and Utah officials are apparently working feverishly to get him.
A league source told The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday night that the Jazz and Trail Blazers are involved in "intense discussions" about a possible trade.
According to the source, Portland would take Williams with the No. 3 pick. The Jazz would then take one of three players who interest the Blazers - high schoolers Gerald Green and Martell Webster or Arizona center Channing Frye.
Utah would have to throw something else into the deal - perhaps the 27th pick and/or the 34th pick in the draft. But Portland is believed to be willing to move down without asking for more than the Jazz can afford.
than the Jazz can afford.
In recent days, O'Connor has declined to comment on all pre-draft trade rumors.
If Utah can't move up and stays at No. 6, the Jazz won't get Williams or Paul. Both New Orleans and Charlotte, which pick ahead of Utah, want point guards. Neither Williams nor Paul will drop out of the top five.
Barring a trade, the Jazz's decision would probably come down to Frye or North Carolina point guard Raymond Felton.
Though players like Webster and New Mexico's Danny Granger would remain on the radar screen at No. 6, the Jazz would likely find themselves in a position of trying to answer one of the draft's perennial questions: Do you take the highest-rated player or fill a need?
Frye (6-11, 250) probably will be the Jazz's highest-rated player on the board when they make their first pick in Tuesday night's draft.
"He's a pretty talented guy," coach Jerry Sloan said. "It looks like he can shoot the ball a little bit, and he can pass the ball a little bit."
If the Jazz don't take Frye, he is not expected to last past Golden State at No. 9.
Felton's


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fate is more uncertain.
After playing three seasons at North Carolina, he is the No. 3-ranked point guard in the draft behind Paul and Williams.
Some scouts rate Felton just behind Paul and Williams, but others rate him several notches below. If Utah passes, he could slide out of the lottery. Felton could end up going to Minnesota at No. 14 or Toronto at No. 16 if Utah decides to pass on him.
Frye has another advantage over Felton, besides being a higher-rated player.
He's bigger - a true center - and that makes him a valuable commodity in the NBA.
Just ask University of Utah product Andrew Bogut. He is considered the top center in the draft and, almost certainly, he will be taken by Milwaukee with the No. 1 pick.
Oddly, Bogut isn't getting much help in his bid to be the top pick from former Utah coach Rick Majerus.
A couple weeks ago, Majerus questioned Bogut's athleticism and hinted that his nearsightedness might be a degenerative-type eye disease that could impact his career.
The Bucks have checked out Bogut's eyesight and found Majerus to be "1,000 percent wrong," a team source said.
Over the weekend, however, Majerus was at it again.
He told the Chicago Sun-Times that North Carolina's Marvin Williams, the consensus No. 2 pick in the draft, would be his choice at No. 1.
"I know that's going against the grain of thought on the streets of Milwaukee," Majerus told the newspaper. "But that's what I honestly feel. And don't forget, I'm a long-term kind of basketball mind. I know all the pluses with Bogut, and I know the minuses. Yes, he is a legitimate big man and he will probably have a more immediate impact that Williams. And maybe that's what the Bucks need. But I have said all along . . . that I think Williams is special."

More to this story from another site


Blazers facing a double team
No. 3 Portland waits for No. 1 Milwaukee and No. 2 Atlanta to make their moves in NBA draft
Monday, June 27, 2005
JIM BESEDA
NEW YORK -- The Trail Blazers are waiting. In more ways than one.

They're waiting for Milwaukee and Atlanta to decide what to do with the first two picks of Tuesday's NBA draft. Will those teams hold onto those picks? Will they trade them? Regardless, which players will go first and second, and who will be available when -- or if -- the Blazers remain in the third spot?

The consensus is that the Bucks will take University of Utah center Andrew Bogut with the first pick and the Hawks will select North Carolina forward Marvin Williams second. It's possible that one or both teams could go in a different direction, but the chances of that happening seemed slim two days before the draft.

The Blazers hope to patch some holes in their backcourt -- a starting shooting guard and a backup point guard would be a step in that direction -- but it would be hard to pass on Bogut or Williams if either is still available at No. 3.

"We've said all along that we anticipate Bogut and Marvin Williams will be one-two, but . . . I think you always have to be prepared for a reshuffling," Blazers general manager John Nash said.

Milwaukee general manager Larry Harris hasn't disclosed his intentions, but the Bucks appear to be set on taking the 7-foot-1 Bogut. At least for public consumption, the Bucks say they are also considering Williams and won't make a final decision until Tuesday. But big men with Bogut's attributes -- good hands, nimble feet, adept passing, scoring touch -- don't come along very often, and that should be enough to sway the Bucks.

If Milwaukee changes course and takes Williams, then Atlanta almost certainly will grab Bogut, who worked out for the Hawks on Friday. If Bogut goes No. 1, most signs point to the Hawks using the second pick on Williams, who is generally considered the best all-around athlete in this year's draft.

Picking third, the Blazers should be able to land a player who could step into a starting role immediately, but that's assuming they hang onto the pick. There is a good chance the Blazers will look to trade the pick, especially if they can swing a deal that would get them two first-round picks.

At this point, the Blazers seem to have narrowed their top choice to one of four guards, including point guards Chris Paul of Wake Forest and Deron Williams of Illinois, and shooting guards Gerald Green of Houston's Gulf Shores Academy and Martell Webster of Seattle Prep.

The question then becomes will the Blazers stay put or can they put together a deal for two first-round picks with one of the picks high enough to assure them of getting one of the players they most covet?

The Blazers have been in contact with all of the teams that have two first-round picks -- Charlotte with picks 5 and 13, Utah (6 and 27), Toronto (7 and 16), and New York (8 and 30) -- but have yet to agree on any deals.

If they were to land a second pick, most likely in the latter stages of the first round, the Blazers probably would use it on either a center or a forward. Some of the names connected to such a pick include Arizona State forward Ike Diogu, Kansas forward Wayne Simien, Gonzaga center Ronny Turiaf and center Andrew Bynum of St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, N.J.

Speculation also is swirling around the possibility of Portland trying to dump some salaries to free up money that could be used to re-sign center Joel Przybilla, who is scheduled to become a free agent after next season. Guard Derek Anderson, who has two years at $18.8 million remaining on his contract, and Ruben Patterson (two years, $13.1 million), seem the most expendable, but such moves, if the Blazers are leaning in that direction, might wait until later in the summer.

This is the highest Portland has picked in the draft since 1984, when they had the second pick and selected Kentucky's Sam Bowie ahead of North Carolina's Michael Jordan.

"I think it's going to go down as a fairly deep draft," Nash said, "only because the high school kids are in it and next year they won't be."

Jim Beseda: 503-221-8380; jimbeseda@news.oregonian.com

thanks for posting those articles

it's particularly interesting how high Frye is seemingly regarded...makes me feel a bit better if we come out of this with Frye, which of course, we will

i wouldnt make the trade to move to 3, b/c wed still likely take the same players wed take at 8: frye/green/bynum...and if we moved up, wed prob take frye/green anyway