Shots From the Dome

It’s a little unclear right now whether Nick Calathes’ name will remain eligible in the 2009 NBA Draft now that he has or is signing with the Greek professional team Panathinaikos, but I had assumed that when that happened, it would be in the 2nd round. By doing that, an NBA team would maintain its flexibility when they brought him back to the U.S., and wouldn’t be locked into the rookie salary scale.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, always dropping knowledge, had some interesting speculation and information in his May 24 Draft Roundup on the subject. Although his statement that “Calathes could very well have gone in the 30’s and ended up with a non-guaranteed contract, only to get cut in training, as many second rounders often are” was expected, his information about why he MIGHT still be a first rounder was not:

“If anything, Calathes may have improved his draft stock with this move. There are a number of teams in the late first round—such as New Orleans, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Chicago who either have multiple picks or may not be interested in adding another guaranteed contract/roster spot to their team at this point.”