1999 Draft Preview

The SABL will hold its sixth annual draft on Oct. 17. Last year, I said it was one of the worst crop of new players ever. This year, I'm saying it's one of the worst crop of new players ever. Not only that, good cards are fewer, too. When is the scoring coming back to the NBA?

ROYAL CONFERENCE

WEST

1. Deerfield - With Snow developing into a good point guard, Deerfield looks good again this year. Rahim, John Wallace and Brian Grant are tough. No big holes. I pick Deerfield first because they own the second pick in the draft and that will be Paul Pierce and that will give them the edge.

2. Finney - It's between Finney and Deerfield for the division this season. The Longhorns might rope the division in with guards Brevin Knight and Russell, along with swingman Kobe. Maurice Taylor leads the big men in scoring and the rest is all beef with boarders A.C. Green, Oak, Lorenzen Wright, Ratliff the shot blocking king and more.

3. Holcomb - Charlie's wheeling and dealing this off-season has given him no draft but a better team now and in the future. Baker and Penny are going to come back big, Daniels looks like San Antonio's future point guard, Jim Jackson's good and so is Jerome Williams. Ben Wallace will start for Orlando and heck, even Bimbo Coles has a good card. Charlie could even sneak into the playoffs this year.

4. Garden City - I just wanna say that Duncan got a great, but not excellent card. Ya' wanna trade him, Josh? Phills is good at the guard slot, but after that, Garden City is the middle of the pack.

5. Meade - A bit weak a point, with Kenny Anderson, but Reggie is still Reggie and Leon still has guys that can rebound.

EAST

1. Philly - You cannot overestimate the help new coach Gary Goldstein brought to his team by snagging Jason Kidd in his deal with McLean. Combine him with Iverson and you have the most lethal 1-2 guard punch in the SABL. His big men look good, too, with Divac, Van Horn and Campbell. He needs help at small forward, but Gary should still take the division, unless . . .

2. Akron - . . . Dave Scott can catch him. Dave's only made one trade in the off-season, to get Alan Henderson, but it really helped his rebounding. Stoudamire, Allen, Williamson and the fabulous Garnett are enough to keep him on Philly's butt all year. It's either Akron or Philly for the Royal Conference Championship.

3. Richmond - Frank should have enough to make the playoffs again, with old friends Mark Jackson, Finley and Steve Smith.

4. East Asia - Another playoff team is the easternmost team in the SABL. Armstrong, Eddie Jones and Antoine Walker are the reason.

5. Brooklyn - The team with the most titles in SABL history may be the worst team in the league now, unless Bettendorf gets that dubious honor. After dumping almost his entire Royal Conference champion team in the off-season, Steve Feldheim is rebuilding. He has the draft picks to do it, too.

SOUTH

1. St. Lucie - Yep, the defending SABL champs are the best team on paper in the SABL for the fourth year in a row. I've won championship in two of those four years, so that proves that anything can happen in the playoffs. The Aces are weaker this year, however, because of one big reason - no Scottie Pippen. He went in the McDyess deal as an investment in the future. We'll see if it pays off, because . . .

2. Galactic . . . Steve Walters now has Pippen and probably the second-best team on paper in the SABL, for the third year in a row. Steve is a pest to my team that just won't go away. He has an incredible passing and defensive team at the guard and small forward slots and a couple of freak cards that will torment the teams he chooses to unleash them on - Reggie Slater and Sam Cassell. Oh yeah, Barkley and Kemp are ga-ga good, too. It will again be between the Aces and Galactic for the Classic Conference Championship.

3. McLean - Finally, a stable coach for this rudderless franchise that's always been loaded with talent. But, you might ask why did he trade Kidd for three role players and draft picks? Well, he got the third pick in the draft back in that deal, too, and that might be Bibby or White Chocolate. Coleman will really help and Robert still has Howard, Gugliotta, Van Exel and Zo. A playoff berth finally for this great team.

4. Tulsa - Phillip has the fifth pick in the draft and that will help him build for the future. Tim Hardaway looks good, but it's mediocrity everywhere else.

5. Chapel Hill - Tommy gets the fourth pick and, like Tulsa, he needs it to rebuild.

NORTH

1. Miles - Tom Jargo took the division last year and he should do it again this year thanks to some good tradin'. With The Mailman now aboard, along with Christie, Blaylock & Mutombo, the Bulldogs rock.

2. Tri-City - Chris is the most Amazing Feeney this season and his team might push Miles for the divisional crown. Marbury is awesome and Ward, Fisher and good old Detlef Schrempf got good cards, too. Rebounding? Can you say Danny Fortson?

3. Great Lakes - It's an odd collection of players, but with the first pick in the draft, too, Dennis could make the playoffs. The scary thing is that Great Lakes, with guys like McGrady, is just going to keep getting better and better and better . . .

4. Davenport - It's close between the Dazzlers and Great Lakes. Hakeem is still dreamy and some of his old guys can still shoot.

5. Bettendorf - I can't comment on this team yet because until the draft there is almost no team to talk about!

PROSPECTS

There are some prospects you want to look at and using no other brain but my own faulty one, I'll try and pick the best players available by NBA team. I have not reviewed players without cards:

Atlanta - Corbin was cut, has a guard rating and can rebound like crazy there.

Boston - Paul Pierce should go number two.

Charlotte - Brad Miller can rebound, Chucky Brown's actually not too bad. Chuck Person's rifle is not loaded. Beck can rebound

Chicago - Hey, is Chicago's entire team available in the draft?

Cleveland - Danny Ferry is still alive. Butler has a good card.

Dallas - Dirk Nowitzki (say that fast three times) might be a star. Number 7. Erick Strickland's guard card is not too bad, either.

Denver - Raef Lafrentz (say that fast four times) could be a star. Number five on my list.

Detroit - Buechler can shoot threes and rebound and Loy Vaught is available. O'Bannon can really rebound at guard.

Golden State - Atwawn Jamison might break out. Number 8. Delk's a rated shooter.

Houston - Michael Dickerson is Number 11. Sam Mack's a shooter. Bullard shoots threes and nothing else. Cuttino Mobley has potential and he's Number 20. So does Bryce Drew - Number 22

Indiana - Sam Perkins can still shoot threes. McKey was cut, his blank outside D is available.

Clippers - Michael Olowokandi eats too much candy. Number 10. You could do worse than Sherm Douglas at the point. Nesby has a decent card and he's 21.

Lakers - At least Lue WANTS to play.

Miami - The Heat's not on.

Milwaukee - Tim Thomas was cut. He is available. He could be good. Number 6. Tractor Traylor is too small to play center. He's 13. Haywoode Workman was my first point guard in this league - Number 19

Minnesota - Woebegon again.

New Jersey - Jamie Feick can rebound. Number 16. Murdock is not done yet.

New York - I've always like Kurt Thomas. Number 14. If you just want to harass your opponents for fun, draft Rick Brunson. His card is filled with fouls, but he won't sink his foul shots.

Orlando - Harpring and Doleac are not going to remind anyone of Shaq or Penny. 17 & 18.

Philadelphia - Larry Hughes is good. Real good. Get 'em. I have him ranked fourth.

Phoenix - Danny Ainge should suit up.

Portland - Bonzai! Oops, I mean Bonzi! Bonzi Wells has a freak card that matches his name. Check out his 32/28 rebounding at guard, best in the set. No defense and he throws the ball away on the break, but he can score and draw fouls from any column. Wow! However, though he's not as bad as Brunson-burner at the foul stripe, he only made 44.4% of his free throws. All 70 minutes of him is available.

Sacremento - Jason Williams is full of white chocolate. Number 9. Vernon Maxwell has a decent card and just like last year, he's still the best ex-con available in the draft, so he's Number 15.

San Antonio - It took me awhile to figure it out, but Malik Rose is available. Number 12. Elliott is a real gamble.

Toronto - Vince Carter should go number one.

Seattle - Sit on the Space Needle.

Utah - How tall do Mormons get?

Vancouver - Mike Bibby should go number three.

Washington - AC/DC, it doesn't matter