DraftCity.com says a report in the Desert News that the agent for David Harrison stopped a recent workout is unfounded.

The Desert News reported that Harrison?s agent stopped a two-on-two workout because his client was being dominated by BYU center Rafael Araujo in the contest.

Harrison also denied the report and called it ?frustrating.?

"I'd rather die than stop the workout and let someone get the better of me," Harrison said. "We both did well in the workout. If (Araujo) thinks he got the better of me, then that's his opinion."

Less than two weeks after signing New York City high school standout Sebastian Telfair, adidas has inked an endorsement deal with another high profile high school player, Josh Smith.

Adidas signed Smith to a six-year deal that guarantees him about $12 million, but could eventually be worth upwards of $20 million, sources told ESPN.com. Telfair signed an incentive-laden, six-year contract with the same shoe company that could equal Smith's guaranteed money.

"We think we now have the two gems in this year's NBA draft," adidas spokesman Travis Gonzolez said. "Josh is more of an unknown than Sebastian is, but it's our job to help get him out there."

Smith, a 6-foot-8 forward from Smyrna, Ga., is among the most athletic players in this year's draft class. Scouts have marveled at his vertical leap and rim-rocking dunks.

"The dunk is the most exciting play in basketball and it definitely helps sell shoes," Smith's agent, Wallace Prather, said.

Smith will be graduating from high school this Saturday. RealGM's affiliate draft site, Draftcity.com has him slated going 4th in thier 2004 mock draft.

Bulls general manager John Paxson likes the idea of drafting Connecticutt forward Emeka Okafor or Duke swingman Luol Deng with his top-6 in this year's NBA Draft.

"There's no question [Okafor is] going to make a difference in this league on the defensive end," Paxson said. "He fits that role of defender, rebounder and hard worker. He still has a ways to go offensively. But if you look at where he has come from, there's no reason to think he's not going to get better. He has all the qualities of being a legitimate NBA front-line player for a long time. And I think that can happen rather quickly."

However, he seems higher on Okafor like most all gms than Deng.

"He will have to expand his game because he's not in the athletic category that some other guys are," Paxson said. "But he's a basketball player. And he's just getting better. He has great length (7-foot wingspan). And he has a work ethic that will make the most of his ability."

The Draft Lottery is May 26 and the NBA Draft is June 24.

Andy Katz (ESPN)

Ronny Turiaf never considered declaring for the NBA draft.

Got that? Never.

Turiaf doesn't know why his name continued to be on potential draft lists of players who were considering the draft, or included with those "on the fence" all the way down to Monday's deadline for underclassmen to declare.

The junior forward was even against putting out a statement through the Gonzaga sports information department Monday. But he was pushed to do so, and went along with the party line.

All the while, Turiaf was smart enough to know that he was likely a first-round pick, but not a lock.

"It never popped in my head, never," Turiaf said Monday from Spokane, Wash. "I always knew I was coming back for my senior year at Gonzaga."

And, so he will. And once again, the Zags will be a preseason top 25 team because of it.

Turiaf led Gonzaga with 15.7 points and was second on the team with 6.2 rebounds a game. But he had a penchant to get into foul problems in big games, none more costly or untimely than the three first-half fouls he picked up against Nevada in the Zags' second-round NCAA Tournament loss to the Wolf Pack. Turiaf would play only 15 minutes, scoring 13 points (five rebounds) in picking up four fouls.

"I've got a lot of work to do," Turiaf said. "Nobody knows how much pain and regret I have about that Nevada game. We strive to advance in March and what happened in that game (picking up too many fouls to be effective) will never leave my mind."

(article continues with breakdown of top returning NCAA players)

Marty Blake has been evaluating basketball talent for half a century, but he said early entrants have made the unpredictable field of scouting even more difficult.

Blake, who serves as the National Basketball Association's director of scouting, has watched the hardship entries of the early 1970s turn into a floodgate of players bolting for the league.

In 1990, just 14 underclassmen ? all of whom played some college basketball ? entered the draft. As of yesterday afternoon, 34 underclassmen had publicly declared for this year's draft. The deadline to declare was last night at 11:59 p.m. The league will release its complete list this week.

"This is going to be the toughest draft to analyze, and I've been doing this 52 years," Blake said.
...
Blake does not have a problem with high school players turning pro. He said most of them play so many games during the spring and summer that they are able to develop their games faster.

"People put too much emphasis on the five or six high school players that can play coming out," he said. "We're drafting on potential, but we've been drafting on potential all the time, whether it's 2004 or 1984."

That is not to say Blake would encourage just anybody to turn pro. When the pre-draft camp starts June 8, he said the majority of the 65 or so players invited will find out they are not cut out for the NBA. Underclassmen who haven't signed with an agent have until June 17 to withdraw their names from the June 24 draft if they would like to retain their NCAA eligibility.

"We'll certainly advise a lot of guys if they didn't play well to go back to school," Blake said.

But he also figured there would be players such as Randolph, who left Michigan State after one season, as being someone who just needs time. He rode Portland's bench for two seasons, but he earned the NBA's Most Improved Player award this season.

Blake warned that teams have to be both cautious and patient with underclassmen. The trend will not stop any time soon.

This year's draft could mark another watershed event for underclassmen. It would be the first time a point guard has made the jump from high school in Telfair or Duke signee Shaun Livingston.

"They're getting younger. We're a developmental league," Blake said. "The problem is we're all just victims of immediate gratification syndrome. We have to develop guys."

Wisconsin junior Devin Harris is throwing his name into the NBA Draft but isn't going in with both feet as he will not hire an agent.

"Over the last couple of weeks I've been back and forth," the 6-foot-3 point guard said. "You talk to me one day and you'd be certain that I'd be staying and then you could talk to me a couple of days later and you'd think I'm leaving.

This past season Harris averaged 19.5 points, 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game and was named a "second-team All-American and the Big Ten player of the year - as well as the most outstanding player of the Big Ten tournament".

RealGM's Draft affiliate Draftcity.com has Harris projected as the 10th pick in the June 24 draft.

For more information about Devin Harris, check out his profile at Draftcity.com

http://draftcity.com/devinharris.htm

The Hartford Courant is reporting that Emeka Okafor, expected by many to be the first overall pick in this year's NBA draft, has signed his first endorsement deal.

The deal will keep him in touch with the college experience he enjoyed, signing on to be a spokesman for College Sports Television. Okafor will represent the network, the fastest growing independent cable network in the nation, with on-air and off-air appearances.

"This is a channel dedicated to college sports," Okafor said. "I feel I had a good college career and excelled both academically and athletically and that's what they are trying to get across about college sports. I liked the idea of that and it seemed beneficial to both sides."

Sebastian Telfair will not be the only local guard entering the NBA draft, joining J.R. Smith in announcing his intentions to enter the NBA straight out of high school.

Smith, however, still has the option of going to North Carolina after decaring he will not be hiring an agent.

Telfair's announcement will end months of speculation, and quash any thoughts of his ever suiting up for Rick Pitino at Louisville. The 5-11 point guard from Lincoln is also expected to announce that he has signed an endorsement contract with a major sneaker/apparel company, likely Adidas.

High school phenom J.R. Smith, who was scheduled to attend North Carolina this season, is the latest high schooler to enter the NBA draft.

He averaged 23.3 points and 5.4 rebounds during his senior season and signed with North Carolina. But after being named MVP of the EA Sports Roundball Classic and sharing the McDonald's All-American MVP honors with Dwight Howard - likely either the first or second pick - Smith may be lottery-worthy.

"I'm very determined. I'll do whatever it takes to get there. I'm going to keep working hard. That's what got me here, and I'm not going to stop now," said Smith.

The decision as to whether the high flying J.R. Smith will be entering the NBA or attending the University of North Carolina as expected will come on Monday according to his father, Earl Smith Sr.

"He hasn't decided yet," the father said. "But on Monday he will know."

Smith was co-MVP of the McDonald's All-America game and East MVP of the EA Sports Roundball Classic. He has said he would turn pro if he were confident of being one of the first 14 picks.