Monday, June 16, 2008

Ellington, Green, Lawson yet to make official announcement

The status of Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson is still a secret here in Chapel Hill with no credible sources to confirm one way or the other. There is plenty of speculation, of course. Again, Lawson is finished as a Tar Heel. If he were to return to North Carolina, it would easily be the biggest surprise news regarding the NBA draft that I'm aware of. In my opinion, Wayne Ellington will sneak into the first round and remain in the draft. He'll be one of those guys who sees very little time next season, but there are teams out there, especially late in the first round, in need of a shooter. A place like Boston would fit Ellington nicely, or even a return home to Philadelphia. A year under the tutelage of Ray Allen, it could be argued, may serve him better than a year back at UNC where he's rumored not to be content. Danny Green is the one who would surprise me by staying in the draft. It didn't surprise me that he declared for one reason. When I covered the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats preseason game at the Smith Center in 2006, it was the opinion of Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood that Green was the most pro-ready prospect on that North Carolina team - one that also featured Brendan Wright. Of course, that was before Wright had a lottery-pick-worthy freshman year, but those are some pretty poignant opinions. What has hurt Green is his injury in the pro camp in Orlando, and presumably his bouts with injury in 2008. I think he's good enough, but I think another year would serve him well in light of this year's thicket of prospects.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It should be interesting. Some folks on the UNC Scout message board are saying all three will are coming back. They say they have reliable sources. I enjoy your site.