NBA Draft Capsules: New Rockets show some brashness

The Dallas Mavericks don't want to wait. Fresh off their first championship, the Mavericks are determined to stay on top. So they gave up the uncertainty and potential of a draft pick for a known commodity in Portland guard Rudy Fernandez.

"He's a guy that can step right in and help us right away," said Donnie Nelson, Dallas' president of basketball operations. "The experience factor was the thing that brought it over the top. ... There's less risk involved. He's NBA playoff battle-tested. It was kind of a perfect storm for us."

At 26, Fernandez is older than a rookie but still younger than most of the Mavericks.

With three years in the NBA, he knows how the league works. Add the years the Spaniard has played internationally, and he's even more of a veteran.

Most of all, the Mavs like that the 6-foot-6, 185-pound Fernandez is bigger and more athletic than most of their shooting guards. He's shown he can play 20-plus minutes a game, get to the rim and make 3-pointers. He hasn't done it consistently, though, which is why the Trail Blazers were willing to deal him for a late first-round pick.

"He's a guy we've had our eye on for a while," Nelson said. "It was kind of right place, right time."

Fernandez has averaged 9.1 points over 24.1 minutes in his career. He made 40 percent of his 3s as a rookie, but his accuracy has dipped every season.

A change of scenery, and a new coaching scheme, could juice up his numbers. So could a change in role: starter.

DeShawn Stevenson was the primary starter at shooting guard last season and in the playoffs. He's a free agent, though, and the Mavs have other priorities, primarily trying to keep Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and Caron Butler. Fernandez would have to beat out other guys already on the roster, but he will certainly be in the mix.

There's also a catch to this starting job. The backup, Jason Terry, is likely to play more minutes, especially during crunch time. Thus, Fernandez could average about the same minutes he had in Portland, but he'd have a bigger role on a better team.

No wonder his first reaction was a tweet filled with exclamation points: "So happy to be in the best team in the nba!!!dallas!!!"

NBA finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki expects Fernandez to fit in nicely with the Mavericks.

"He wanted out (of Portland) and the whole situation for him wasn't great," Nowitzki said after throwing out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers game. "But when you come to a team that has great team chemistry, good leaders and veterans, guys always fit in well and they want to win and sacrifice. In this case, I think he's going to be great for the team."

Fernandez's excitement is a plus considering he was fined twice last summer for comments detrimental to the league — $25,000 in August, then $50,000 in October, all over talk about being traded, including threats of leaving the NBA and returning to Spain.

"I think young guys sometimes take a while to figure things out, certainly guys from Europe," Nelson said. "You've got the American way or NBA way of doing things. So I think there's some learning curve there. Sometimes it's just opportunity. ... We're hopeful that it's another case of that."

The bottom line for Dallas was improving its roster without giving up any of the players who helped them knock off the Miami Heat in the finals. Of course, Fernandez will take up a roster spot, which could mean waving goodbye to Stevenson or Peja Stojakovic.

"Again, it's a combination of getting our backcourt a little bit more athletic, a little bit more scoring punch," Nelson said. "He's an underrated defender — he's better than you think. He's a big-time athlete. He's able to break defenses down. We like this over taking a young guy that might pan out and might not."

He has a friendly contract, too. Fernandez is signed for the upcoming season, plus there's a team option for the following year. With Terry going into the final year of his deal, Fernandez has a year to show whether he can become a big piece of the Mavericks' future.

Dallas also has its last two draft-day acquisitions to consider at shooting guard: Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones.

Beaubois was thought to be a key to the team's future before being injured and ineffective this past season. Jones saw more action in the D-League than in the NBA, and wasn't active in the playoffs.

Although the Trail Blazers recently fired their general manager, guys in the front office knew the Mavs liked Fernandez. Talks heated up in recent days, culminating in an intricate draft-day swap.

Dallas spent both its picks on players Portland said to take: Hamilton at No. 26 and Tanguy Ngombo at No. 57. However, the Blazers immediately included Hamilton in a deal with Denver, and Ngombo was believed to be on the move, too.

The Mavs also came away with the rights to Finnish guard Petteri Koponen, who is expected to play a fourth straight year in Italy. Nelson said the Mavs will ask him next summer about coming to the NBA.

-- Jaime Aron

Pacers trade bittersweet for Indiana native Hill

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — George Hill grew up wanting to play for his hometown Indiana Pacers. He was a high school and college star in Indianapolis, and just last month, decorated his torso with a giant tattoo in the shape of Indiana.

Yet Hill on Friday didn’t sound like being traded home was exactly a dream come true.

"It hurts when you feel like you have a lot of family, but at the same time I know the Spurs love me as a person," Hill said. "They’re a great organization. It’s just a better business decision for them and for myself."

Although beloved by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — who saw Hill as a future star of the franchise — San Antonio dealt their backup point guard to the Pacers in Thursday’s NBA draft in exchange for Indiana’s first-round pick, forward Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State.

The trade gives the Spurs much-needed size and the Pacers a scoring guard like they went into the draft hoping to land.

Now instead of a rookie, the Pacers add a young veteran who spent his first three NBA seasons playing behind Tony Parker and established himself as one of San Antonio’s best perimeter defenders.

Moving to Indiana figures to promote Hill into a potential starter on a young Pacers team that includes Darren Collison and Paul George in the backcourt.

One of Popovich’s recurring complaints about Hill was that he too frequently had to remind him to stop being so deferential while playing with three All-Stars with multiple championships — Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

Hill won’t have that problem in Indiana. At just 25, Hill is practically a proven veteran on one of the NBA’s youngest teams. Danny Granger, at 28, was the oldest of Indiana’s starters by the end of last season.

"You have to realize Indiana already has their young core," Hill said. "I’m already coming in with a great point guard in Collision, a great shooting guard in Danny Granger and a big in Roy Hibbert. You already have so many people there that have already made a name for themself.

"Me fitting in, I don’t think it’s going to be tough."

The Pacers, coming off their first playoff trip in five seasons, further showed their commitment to their young core Friday by picking up the 2012-13 team options on Collison, George and Tyler Hansbrough.

Pacers general manager Larry Bird said the team talked with the Spurs about Hill the past few years.

Hill averaged 11.6 points last season and was often on the floor during close games in the final minutes despite coming off the bench. Popovich felt Hill was among the NBA’s most improved players in his second year, though Hill’s progress seemed to stall at times last season.

Drafted 26th overall out of IUPUI in 2008, Hill became another late gem the Spurs mined from deep in the draft. But after a 61-win season ended in the first round to the youthful Memphis Grizzlies, the Spurs needed bigger players more than a third guard.

In addition to the 6-foot-7 Leonard, the Spurs also received two Slovenian big men in the deal with Indiana: Davis Bertrans, Indiana’s 42nd pick, and Erazem Lorbek, a second-round pick from 2005.

Hill said it was tough getting the call Thursday night from Popovich, who used to call Hill his favorite player.

"I kind of look at Pop as a father figure. I’m sure everyone knows that and I’m sure he probably looks at me as a son," Hill said. "It was tough to really talk to him, with him getting rid of me and me leaving. But I talked to him today also and it was very good. You see the emotions on both ends."

--Paul J. Weber

Elsewhere

Top pick Irving introduced by Cavs

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Kyrie Irving's entourage consisted of one — his father. Irving didn't show up with a multimillion-dollar shoe contract, proclamations of greatness, nicknames or tattoos, either.

Cleveland's newest No. 1 draft pick is far different than the last one. He's hardly like LeBron James. And that might be exactly why the Cavaliers love him.

"He's something special," said coach Byron Scott.

Irving, who left Duke for the NBA after just one injury-shortened freshman season, was introduced Friday by the Cavaliers along with Texas forward Tristan Thompson, the club's No. 4 overall pick. During a 20-minute question-and-answer session, Irving displayed some of the cool and confidence that convinced Cleveland the point guard was the perfect choice to lead them back into contention.

Dressed sharply in a tailored gray suit accented with a pale blue tie, the fresh-faced Irving handled queries about expectations, the league's labor issues and other topics with the ease of a seasoned veteran. As he does on the court with the ball in his hands, the 19-year-old ran the show.

"He takes his time and makes it look easy," said Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant, who shared the stage with Irving, Thompson and Scott. "I was saying to myself, he's a lot better than I am."

As first impressions go, Irving was flawless — well, almost. The Cavaliers were in the process of presenting Irving and Thompson with their respective wine-and-gold home jerseys — Irving will wear No. 15, Thompson No. 13 — when Drederick Irving noticed his son's pants were unzipped. Without causing a scene, he simply nodded and lowered his eyes at Kyrie, who got the sign and quickly fixed things to avoid an embarrassing moment. No one seemed to notice. Kyrie smiled at his dad for another loving assist.

On Thursday night, when his name was called by commissioner David Stern as the Cavaliers' choice, Irving had to summon all his strength not to become too emotional and break down. After all, Drederick Irving was the one who taught him how to play, the one who had raised him to be his own man, the one who had to take over after his beloved wife, Kyrie's mother, Elizabeth, died suddenly 15 years ago. This was their dream, and the path to it wasn't always easy.

"After my name was called," Irving said. "I wanted to hug my father for 10 minutes, knowing that all the hard work had led to this moment."

Even a day later, Drederick Irving's head was still spinning.

"It's still surreal," he said as his son posed for photos with school kids the Cavaliers invited to the news conference. "It's a surreal moment for Kyrie. It couldn't be better for any other person than Kyrie. He's a hard worker, a good kid. He gets it. He got the blueprint with what I tried to instill in him as a kid.

"You guys are getting a gem and I'm not just saying that because I'm his father. He has another gear that people haven't seen. He's a special kid."

The Cavaliers, one season removed from James' departure, have known that for a long time.

Although there was speculation they considered taking Arizona forward Derrick Williams with the first pick, the choice was really Irving all along. He was on top of their draft board all season, and after winning the lottery in May, it was inevitable he would be the selection.

Irving's arrival gives Scott a dilemma at point guard. Does he start Baron Davis, the seasoned veteran? Or Irving, the gifted rookie and franchise face?

"We'll let them fight it out," Scott said, smiling. "There are no expectations on Kyrie as a starter or anything like that. We expect Kyrie to come in, work hard and get better each and every day, learn from some of the veterans we have. There is opportunity because of the way I coach, he'll probably be playing with Baron as well.

"When you have those two guys in the backcourt who both handle the ball and make great decisions and make other people better, it makes us a better basketball team."

Without coming off as arrogant, Irving knows he can make the Cavaliers better right away. He's not expecting to be given the starting job because of where he was drafted. And although there may be external pressure to live up to others' ambitions, Irving first needs to satisfy his own.

"I hold myself at such a high standard that the expectations people put on me, I try to exceed those," he said. "And more importantly, I try to exceed mine. Right now, I'm really just focused on this opportunity and being part of the Cleveland organization and just contributing as much as I can. This season coming up, I'm really focused on being one of the leaders on the team along with others. This is a young team and I'm really happy to be a part of it."

Thompson's selection was viewed as somewhat of a surrpise by draft experts, who think the Cavaliers may have "reached" by taking the 20-year-old. Thompson played just one season with the Longhorns and was thought to be a late first-round pick. Grant, though, said the club has been scouting the 6-foot-8 power forward since high school and had him rated among this draft's best.

"We actually had him ranked much higher than fourth," Grant said.

Scott can't wait to get his two new players on the floor. After enduring a 63-loss season, the Cavaliers want to move forward and Scott believes Irving and Thompson can quicken the team's rebuilding project.

"We said going into the draft, if we can get these two guys at No. 1 and No. 4, it would be a home run," he said. "Well, we hit a home run."

-- Tom Withers

Heat complete trade for point guard Norris Cole

MIAMI (AP) — Norris Cole’s speed stood out to the Miami Heat, so they moved quickly to get him. Completing a deal that was struck in principle a day earlier, the Heat formally acquired Cole from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday afternoon in exchange for the rights to Croatian guard Bojan Bogdanovic, a second-round pick in the 2014 draft and cash. Cole was drafted 28th overall by the Chicago Bulls, who then sent him to Minnesota.

The Heat simply could have waited with hopes of snaring him at No. 31 — the pick they used for Bogdanovic — but feared Cole would already be gone. So the deal was made, and after some logistics involving Minnesota’s trade of Jonny Flynn to Houston were worked out Friday, the NBA signed off on the move.

"I’m just going to be myself," Cole said. "Stay humble, work hard, earn the respect from the veteran guys there and the coaching staff. That’s the most important thing."

The Heat had Cole rated as the draft’s 18th-best player, and bypassed several other point guards to get him.

"Norris was ahead of all of these guys for us because of a specific skill set that he has," Heat President Pat Riley said. "He has tremendous speed and tremendous acceleration and great control of the ball while he has that acceleration. ... His speed, his acceleration, his ability, I think, to be a game-changer and a pace-changer is what we wanted."

Cole played his college basketball at Cleveland State, and scored 22 points to lead the Vikings past then-12th-ranked Wake Forest 84-69 in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament, on the same court the Heat call home.

It was during that postseason run when Cole began becoming a star for Cleveland State, and he capped his college career by averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists as a senior for a team that finished with a 27-9 record.

"Playing there my sophomore year and winning in the NCAA tournament, it comes around full circle," Cole said. "It makes that game that much more special."

Cole was the Horizon League’s player of the year and defensive player of the year, and that more than piqued Miami’s interest. Riley said the team essentially traded up three spots because it did not "want to get left at the altar," adding that the consensus in the Heat draft room was that Cole was the right fit for the Eastern Conference champions.

"We’re intrigued by a lot of his skills," Riley said. "Whether or not it works, only time will tell."

Miami entered the draft without a first-round selection, and resisted the urge to spend $3 million to move into the first round by buying a pick. Making a trade was much simpler for the Heat, and Cole addressed one of the team’s major needs. The Heat do not have a point guard guaranteed for next season, though Mario Chalmers is a restricted free agent, is expected to be Miami’s starter next year and wants to be back.

Riley said Cole worked out about 10 days before the draft and left a major impression.

"This was his audition, this was his job interview, this was his opportunity to get into the NBA and there wasn’t anybody that I think we’ve had in a number of years that took it more seriously and competitively than this guy," Riley said. "He just dominated the practice with his effort, his hustle, his conditioning, his quickness."

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Cole said he can’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed by the chance to play with LeBron James — whose arrival in Miami from Cleveland generated slightly more fanfare than Cole’s will — and Dwyane Wade next season.

Cole finished last season with 780 points, 210 rebounds, 191 assists and 80 steals. No other Division I player in the last 15 seasons had totals like that in all four categories. He increased his steal numbers in each of his final three college seasons, and his rebound total as a senior nearly matched what he grabbed in his first three years at Cleveland State combined.

"One common comment that the various NBA teams have had when I have spoken with them is how hard Norris works defensively," Cleveland State coach Gary Waters said. "That is the difference between him and many of the other players in the draft."

Cole finished his career as Cleveland State’s record holder in games and consecutive games played (140 each) and minutes (4,114). He ranks second on the school’s all-time list with 90 wins and is third in scoring with 1,978 points.

He’s looking forward now, not back. When the Heat were in the NBA finals, he said he was thinking about having the chance to play with Miami, and a couple weeks later that chance has arrived.

"I can’t be out there star-gazing," Cole said. "At this level, we’re all pros, and as a competitor you can’t get out there if you’re going to have doubts and if you’re going to be star-struck. This league is not for those type of players. So I’m going to get out there and work hard with the ‘Big 3,’ earn their respect in practice, so that they can trust me so that we can make plays and contend for a championship."

-- Tim Reynolds

Williams’ fast rise to No. 2 overall

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — To say Derrick Williams wasn’t highly recruited out of high school might be an understatement. Williams remembers playing in La Mirada, Calif., and checking all the recruiting websites and outlets to see where he was ranked among the best high school players in his draft class. One small problem: He wasn’t.

"There was actually one site where I was top 100," Williams said. "I was pretty happy. I was excited. Other than that, no. In ESPN I was 72 and everything else I wasn’t even top 100."

Two short years later, Williams is No. 2. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected the Arizona power forward with the second overall pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.

He held his introductory press conference Friday and reflected on just how quickly he went from being a complete unknown to labeled one of the potential stars in the entire draft.

Williams didn’t start focusing seriously on basketball until the 10th grade, after he grew about 6 inches to 6-foot-6 in a nine-month span.

"That’s really why I stopped playing baseball. The strike zone got a lot bigger," he joked.

Not being a child prodigy caused him to miss the years of AAU basketball in middle school that some of today’s star players were exposed to as teenagers. The constant back-slapping and idol worship that plagues the circuit never got to Williams, who was motivated to prove he was just as good as some of the more highly touted members of his class.

"A lot of people, when they see themselves in the newspaper or the media at such a young age, they kind of stop working as hard because they think they’ve already made it," Williams said. "I just took it as motivation, not seeing myself in the newspaper and wanting to be on that level. It’s motivation for me. Just hard work and determination, it’s really helped."

It didn’t take him long to start making a splash with the Wildcats.

Williams was the Pac-10 freshman of the year in 2010, then averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds to earn the conference player of the year honors last season.

Just like that, he was one of the hottest commodities on the market, even garnering interest from Cleveland for the top overall draft pick.

"It went really fast," Williams’ mother, Rohma Moore said of her son’s rise. "And, I think, faster than he expected."

Williams seems to be handling it all in stride Friday, trying his best to stay humble while the accolades and recognition he craved as a high schooler were being heaped upon him shortly after his 20th birthday.

"He’s just now ramping up and sort of passing all those guys who were ranked higher than him," said his agent, Rob Pelinka. "He’s had a hunger that wasn’t satiated when he was 12 or 13 in some of the AAU circles where people were telling him how great he was. He’s had to prove it with his play. And I think that’s why his character and work ethic are so high."

In Minnesota, he’ll be playing on a team full of "tweeners" — players that play multiple positions, like him. Michael Beasley is a small forward-power forward. Wes Johnson is a shooting guard-small forward. Anthony Randolph is a forward-center.

The redundancy of his skill set doesn’t seem to bother Williams, who worked out with Johnson and Beasley in Los Angeles this summer and formed a fast friendship. He’ll spend the rest of the summer working with a couple of trainers to drop about 10 pounds, making him quick enough to play small forward, which is where he thinks he fits best in the NBA.

Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn reiterated Friday that Williams will not be traded.

"He can start looking for an apartment or a home," Kahn said. "He’s part of our family."

Pelinka insisted Minnesota was still a good fit for his client, pointing to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns of a few years ago as examples of teams who can have success without conventional starting lineups.

"I wouldn’t pigeon hole him into a four or a three," Pelinka said. "He can do both. The great players in the game can do that. What’s Kevin Durant? Or Dirk Nowitzki goes all the way to the finals and he doesn’t have a position. I think the league is becoming more of a hybrid league."

Williams is soft-spoken and humble when speaking to the media, but his mother says she sees a different side of him when he hits the court.

"He walks around, you see this humble kid, he’s gliding around," Moore said, "and then you see him beasting it up out there, just being a beast."

Now he has a whole new set of doubters in the NBA. Many draft analysts called this class the weakest in years, saying there were no clear-cut, perennial All-Stars in the bunch.

Williams just shrugs. He’s heard that all before.

"I’ve come a long way since high school," he said. "Barely got recruited. It’s an honor and a blessing to have this opportunity. I’m going to take full advantage of it."

-- Jon Krawczynski

Jazz draft picks arrive with chip on shoulder

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The newest members of the Utah Jazz arrived in Salt Lake City on Friday with something to prove, center Enes Kanter because he hasn't played in 14 months and guard Alec Burks because he's always been somewhat overlooked.

Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said those qualities make the two first-round draft picks a perfect fit in Utah, especially as they join players still upset about missing the playoffs last season and a coach about to embark on his first full year in charge.

"I see a little attitude and a little frustration from all of us in that we want to be able to make it right and be building in the right direction," O'Connor said.

The 6-11 Kanter and 6-6 Burks give the Jazz size and toughness, not to mention more youth. Both are 19, which means four players 21 or younger could figure in the Jazz rotation next season.

Kanter is expected to compete for minutes at center and power forward, while Burks has the versatility to play shooting guard and a little point guard.

Their development, however, could be on hold if there is an NBA lockout.

If that happens, Kanter said he will go home to his native Turkey and play for his national team, hopefully against the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol in the European League.

"I think that will keep me in shape, make me ready for the NBA," said Kanter, who already is an impressive physical specimen despite being forced to sit out last year when he was declared ineligible at Kentucky. He has a 7-foot-1 wing span, weighs 262 pounds and has just 5.9 percent body fat.

Jazz strength coach Mark McKown said Kanter is a physical player like former NBA player Rafael Araujo, who once shattered a backboard with a dunk.

"He was a beast," McKown said of Araujo. "Enes is almost a beast. And he will be a beast."

Jazz coach Ty Corbin got an up-close look at Kanter when he worked him out privately in Chicago several weeks ago.

The two men went one-on-one, and Corbin ended up on the floor.

Of course, Corbin was quick to note he'd been fouled.

"I wanted a better feel of what he had in the post, see his moves after contact," Corbin said.

Kanter didn't disappoint.

Then again, he's been mixing it up in the post since he was 15.

That's when he started playing professional basketball overseas, often going against men 15 to 20 years older.

"They made me tough," Kanter said. "They were going hard, and they were really great players."

Burks doesn't have the 3-point range that BYU star Jimmer Fredette has. But he said he's a better outside shooter than the 29 percent number he put up at Colorado.

Burks said proving critics wrong is what he does, especially after being under-recruited out of high school.

"That chip on my shoulder only added to my confidence," said Burks, the first Colorado player in school history to score over 770 points, grab 240 rebounds and hand out 100 assists in a single season.

Marketing a national sensation like Fredette would have been easy. But Jazz President Randy Rigby said not to underestimate what winning will do.

"When people see the tools Alec Burks brings to this community, people will be happy," Rigby said.

O'Connor cautioned that fans will have to be a bit patient, though, as both draft picks are still teenagers.

"It's like being patient with a quarterback," O'Connor said. "You have to go through some growing pains."

Jazz CEO Greg Miller said the fans in Utah will love Burks and Kanter if they work hard and compete hard.

"We have a young team that we're working hard to grow and develop into a great young team that one day will win an NBA championship for the fans here," Miller said.

First up for Kanter is to return that call left by Jazz big man Mehmet Okur, whom he said is as popular in Turkey as Nowitzki is in Germany.

Burks, meanwhile, just wanted to get some rest. He couldn't sleep the night before the draft, and didn't sleep much Thursday night, either.

"It's hard to sleep when you just made your dream come true," Burks said.

-- Lynn DeBruin

Cho's immediate influence with Bobcats on display

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rich Cho was still general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers when he went to Spain last month to look at a player who had intrigued him on video and at a recent camp.

PHOENIX (AP) — Markieff Morris was born seven minutes ahead of twin brother Marcus. He was first in the NBA, too, selected by the Phoenix Suns at No. 13 overall, five minutes before the Houston Rockets made Marcus the No. 14 pick.

Markieff was in sweltering Phoenix on Friday to be introduced at a news conference at US Airways Center with his mother, Angel, beaming from the front row.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound power forward said he will miss playing alongside his brother, as the pair did at Kansas, but he smiled while noting that Steve Nash might be an upgrade as a teammate. After all, Nash led the NBA in assists five of the last seven seasons.

"Steve is a great passer and I have great hands," Morris said, "so it will be exciting playing with him."

Coach Alvin Gentry cautioned that there would be a learning curve for the Suns’ pick, but said he expects Morris to be "a very good, really solid NBA player."

"We need a guy that can add some toughness to our team," Gentry said. "We need a guy defensively that can rotate, do some things like that. He does all of that. I think the big thing for us is he adds all that to our team but he also offensively is exactly the way we play. He shot over 40 percent from 3. He’s a stretch player that can open up the floor. He can get out and run. You look at all the things offensively and what he adds, defensively, it was just a great fit for us."

As a junior last season, Morris averaged 13.6 points and led the Big 12 in rebounding at 8.3 per game. He is the quieter of the twins off the court, but his demeanor changes demonstrably once the game starts.

"That’s my job," he explained. "Off the court, I’m humble, but I’m excited on the court. I’m ready to just play. It excites me to play basketball. That’s how I am."

Angel Morris raised the twins as a single mother in Philadelphia.

"They were humble," she said, "they listened. They were good boys."

Morris spoke of his mother’s firm hand and loving support.

"The one thing about us is we preach family," he said. "As long as we had each other, we were OK. Times were rough, but as long as we were together, everything was cool with us."

The boys played football but after both grew what seemed like a foot taller over a summer, they turned to basketball. Markieff watched from afar as Nash and Amare Stoudemire formed one of the most devastating pick-and-roll combinations the game has known. No one is calling Morris the next Stoudemire, and the Suns’ style is a world apart from the high-, low-post game of Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks. But Morris honed in on the Suns as a team that would be his favored destination.

"Just growing up, watching Steve, what he does with big guys, with Amare," Morris said. "Watching that, I was a perfect fit for playing with Steve at the point guard. He has a high basketball IQ and he gets guys the ball."

Morris knows that the next step of his career will have to wait until what could be a prolonged NBA labor dispute is resolved. For now, though, he and his family are savoring this remarkable week.

"It’s a lifelong dream, man," he said. "It was a long journey to get here and I’m proud of my mom. My family’s been there with me. Me and my brother, we appreciate all the loving and care my mom gave us. We’re happy, we’re excited."

-- Bob Baum

Vucevic, Allen expect to help 76ers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen helped the 76ers get big. Now, they can only hope that means they’ll help them get better.

Vucevic and Allen were introduced by the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, a day after they were picked in the NBA draft. The 7-foot, 260-pound Vucevic, out of USC, was taken with the 16th overall pick. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward Allen, out of Temple, was their second-round pick. Both are expected to bolster a frontcourt that lacked size.

"We just needed to get bigger," team president Rod Thorn said. "We’re very scrappy, but small. Skilled big players are hard to come by. If you a get a chance to get skilled big players, it’s really hard to pass up."

Thorn said Vucevic and Allen can contribute next season and fit into the Sixers’ long-range plans as they try and make the leap from 41 wins and a playoff berth to 50 and a deeper postseason run.

Vucevic skipped his senior season with the Trojans to declare for the draft. He is coming off the best season of his career. He was All-Pac-10, averaging a team-high 17.1 points and a conference-best 10.3 rebounds.

"I feel like I can help this team by bringing something different," he said. "I feel it’s going to be a great fit for me."

In a bit of a surprise, both players might yet share a locker room with Andre Iguodala. Long the subject of trade rumors, Iguodala not only wasn’t traded on draft night, but coach Doug Collins said the Sixers aren’t shopping him.

"The problem with that is, (Iguodala) is thinking, ‘Well, they must be shopping me. They don’t want me,"’ Collins said. "That’s not the case. That was never even in play. That’s a hard thing because you start reading that stuff and you think we don’t want them. We want Dre. We want him back."

Collins and his assistant coaches are set to hit the road and visit with the entire roster before the CBA expires on June 30.

"We want to make sure guys have everything they need because we can’t talk to them (after Thursday), so we’ve got to make sure they’re training," he said. "We’re not allowed to provide anything for them, any therapy or anything like that. So we’ve got to make sure they’ve got everything they need. We’ve got to hit the ground running in case that happens."

The Sixers are plenty familiar with Allen. Thorn called him a "first-round talent" who only slipped to the second round because of questions about his passion for the game.

Allen is Temple’s career rebound leader (1,147) and 24th on the all-time scoring list with 1,421 points. He’s also third in blocked shots (213). He averaged a double-double as a junior, but his rebounding numbers dipped his senior season. Still, Allen worked out twice with the Sixers.

"I’ve heard people say I need to play with more energy," Allen said, "and a higher motor."

Collins is a passionate coach. If there’s anyone who can light a spark in Allen, it’s the coach who led one of the biggest one-season turnarounds in franchise history.

He just hopes a potential lockout doesn’t derail the enthusiasm built over the last year.

"I want to see them, how their spirits are, see how they’re doing, talk to them about the draft, what our plans are and what we expect out of them next year," he said. "It’ll be good to see the guys. I miss them."

Bucks eager to see what Harris, Leuer can do

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves were awfully busy on draft night. So busy, in fact, that it took the NBA until Friday afternoon to approve all the wheeling and dealing that was done by president of basketball operations David Kahn.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace ended Josh Selby’s slide in the NBA draft. Now he’s putting all the pressure of sticking around on the young guard’s shoulders.

Wallace introduced Selby to reporters in Memphis on Friday afternoon. The general manager even recreated a moment Selby missed by being picked 49th overall, making Selby stand up before presenting him with a Grizzlies’ hat the guard would have been given by NBA commissioner David Stern if he had been drafted in the first round.

The general manager said he hopes luck has shined on the Grizzlies in finding a talented player at No. 49, but he admitted they took Selby based off his high school pedigree and not what he did in his lone year at Kansas.

"I know Josh is disappointed the draft didn’t quite go his way. It was an up and down season for him this year at the University of Kansas, but now this is the beginning of his professional career. We’re starting here with a blank slate, and we’re anxious to see what this very talented young man can do," Wallace said.

"It’s all up to him now. He’s jumping on what we call a moving train coming off the best season of the franchise. Josh, the challenge is for you to come in here, show us your talent and make coach (Lionel) Hollins have to play you, OK?"

The Grizzlies are coming off their deepest playoff run ever, going seven games in the Western Conference semifinals before losing to Oklahoma City.

The 6-foot-3 Selby was a high school star coming out of Lake Clifton High in Baltimore in 2009-10 after averaging 32 points and seven assists. But he was suspended for the first nine games at Kansas for accepting impermissible benefits in high school, and then he was hampered by a stress fracture in his foot. He left college averaging 7.9 points and 2.2 assists.

Selby said he couldn’t believe it when he heard he was drafted by the Grizzlies. He said he was sitting in the car with his mother listening to the radio when he heard the news and started crying. But he said he’s been to Memphis before and loves the city.

He’s also eager to play too after an injury that he said held him back at Kansas. He sees Memphis as a great situation because he knows Rudy Gay already, and the Grizzlies also have former Kansas Jayhawks on the roster in Darrell Arthur and Xavier Henry.

"I didn’t have the season everybody expected me to have," Selby said. "I’m just going to try to prove that I’m supposed to be here in this NBA along with everyone else."

Selby was asked about criticism of his maturity and character. He said he doesn’t usually say anything because he knows that’s not who he is, and he sees Memphis as a clean slate to change that perception.

"They say I’m cocky. I don’t think I’m cocky at all. I just have a certain way I carry myself," Selby said. "They say I have a temper, a bad attitude. I don’t have that at all."

Selby will be joining about 19 free agents at a minicamp this weekend with practices Saturday and Sunday. Wallace said this camp will help replace the summer league. The NBA has less than a week before the collective bargaining agreement expires, and the Grizzlies continue looking for more 3-point shooters and a post player who could spell Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

From Lithuania to Toronto for Raptors’ draft pick

TORONTO (AP) — Lithuania’s Jonas Valanciunas is ready for the next stage of his basketball life in Toronto. The 7-foot center was introduced Friday and given uniform No. 17, one day after he was selected fifth overall by the Toronto Raptors.

The 19-year-old player says he’s excited and happy to see his jersey and his team. He is looking forward to living in Toroonto and finds the whole experience so far "amazing."

The 230-pounder says he needs to get stronger. The Raptors will need to buy out his contract with his Lithuanian team if they want him in camp as soon as possible. His agent says Valanciunas would like that to happen.

Bulls acquire rights to Mirotic

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls have acquired the rights to No. 23 pick Nikola Mirotic from the Minnesota Timberwolves for No. 28 pick Norris Cole of Cleveland State, second-rounder Malcolm Lee of UCLA and cash. The Bulls announced the move Friday, officially completing a draft-night trade.

A 6-foot-10 forward, Mirotic is under contract with Real Madrid through 2015 and is not expected to join the Bulls next season. The Timberwolves had acquired his rights from Houston before sending him to Chicago. In a separate trade, Minnesota sent Cole to the Miami Heat in a deal that was finalized Friday. Lee was first-team, all-Pac-10 and made the conference’s all-defensive team as a junior for UCLA.