Milwaukee Bucks General Manager Larry Harris is shamelessly superstitious when it comes to the NBA draft lottery. But Harris doesn't think he's jinxing his chances in tonight's drawing by hinting he'd take Ohio State center Greg Oden with the top pick.
While Harris lauds Texas forward Kevin Durant as a player who can score "20 in his sleep," he says Oden's combination of defense and rebounding would be an ideal upgrade for a team that was awful at both last season.
"One player solves a lot of problems for us defensively," Harris said. "I mean, we were 29th in defense, 30th in rebounding, 30th in shot blocking - one guy solves a lot of those issues, and defense wins games."
Milwaukee finished last season with the third-worst record in the NBA, giving them the third-best chance of landing the top pick in the lottery drawing tonight. The Bucks are assured a top-six pick.
Harris would be thrilled to land Durant as well. He just thinks Oden might be a better fit for the Bucks.
"They're different," Harris. "There's a different 'wow' factor to them because one is more offense and one is more defense. But I don't think you should underestimate what Oden can do offensively, because it's hard to evaluate that in college."
Although Oden and Durant are considered the two marquee players available in the June 28 draft, Harris says the Bucks would be able to draft a good player if they end up picking somewhere between third and sixth.
After Oden and Durant, the draft has a few good power forwards worth considering - including Florida 's Al Horford, son of former Bucks player Tito Horford, Harris said.
"You've got different sizes, strengths, athleticism that you can go in some different directions, and they're all going to be very good players," Harris said.
Harris said he and his staff already are evaluating players, but they'll have a better idea of their options after tonight's drawing.
"You want to curb your enthusiasm a little bit, but there's always scenarios that you're looking into - what if, what if," Harris said. "Yesterday, we caught ourselves going, 'You know what? We kind of have to wait until (today).'"
Harris is hoping for some of the same good luck to help take away the sting of a disappointing season.
"Now that we're in it, I think the whole city's excited," Harris said.
"Certainly, the franchise is. And it's going to be a great draft."
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Ty Lawson led Oak Hill Academy to a 42-1 record as a senior (won their first 42 games).Ty Lawson was first-team USA Today All-America selection. Ty Lawson averaged 23.8 points, 9.1 assists and five steals in 2006 Ty Lawson shot 63 percent from the floor, including 42 percent from three-point range. Ty Lawson had a season-high 37 points, one of nine games in which he scored 30 or more and a season-high 18 assists and had double-digit assists 18 times. Ty Lawson played for coach Steve Smith
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