Masai Ujiri ready for first draft as Nuggets executive VP June 22nd Article on Nuggets.com

Here is the Masai Ujiri ready for first draft as Nuggets executive VP June 22nd Article on Nuggets.com:

Depending on the activity, five minutes can seem as quick as Ty Lawson or as slow as Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
At some point Thursday evening, the Denver Nuggets will officially go “on the clock” during the 2011 NBA Draft, and there will be precious few seconds to waste.

Nuggets Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri and team President Josh Kroenke will take stock of the available talent, consult with a team of advisors and scouts, and then decide which young player to add to Denver’s roster.

“It goes fast because phones are ringing and everything is going crazy,” Ujiri said during a break from draft preparations this week. “People are trying to make deals and people are trying to call you and figure out different things. You are trying to do different things in a short amount of time. It’s pretty cool.”

As an international scout with the Nuggets from 2003-07 and a front-office executive with the Toronto Raptors from 2007-10, Ujiri has played a role in several NBA drafts. This one will be special because it is his first since returning to Denver last August.

“I’m really excited about this draft,” he said. “Scouting is what got me in this business. I love it. I eat, drink, talk it every day. It’s definitely an exciting time.”

The Nuggets hold the 22nd pick Thursday, and all options are open. They could trade up, down, stand pat or get out of the draft altogether. Whatever happens, Denver is certainly prepared.

Ujiri spent several days overseas scouting international players last month, and the Nuggets brought in 29 college players for workouts and interviews at the Pepsi Center in June.

“You always pound yourself to keep doing your due diligence,” Ujiri said. “You always wonder if you’ve done enough, so you keep going as much as you can. It’s going to end on Thursday, so you give it your all.”

Scouting director Mike Bratz, highly respected scout Herb Livsey, advisor to the executive VP Pete D’Alessandro and scouting coordinator Dan Tolzman have all seen their share of airport gates, hotel lobbies and dimly lit gymnasiums over the past several months.

“I enjoy the process,” said Bratz, a former third-round draft pick who played nine NBA seasons. “It is a real busy time, but it’s something you work towards all year. It’s a fun night, a very hectic evening, but I think we’ll be happy when it’s all done and we’ll have a good player.

History has shown that All-Star talent can be unearthed well beyond the draft lottery.

The Who’s Who list of undervalued draft picks includes Scott Skiles (22nd in 1986), Sam Cassell (24th in 1993), Derek Fisher (24th in 1996), Andrei Kirilenko (24th in 1999), Gerald Wallace (25th to Sacramento), Tony Parker (28th in 2000), Kevin Martin (26th in 2004), David Lee (30th in 2005), Gilbert Arenas (31st in 2001), Carlos Boozer (35th in 2005), Monta Ellis (40th in 2005).

This year’s draft has been criticized as lacking superstar talent outside the first few selections, but rarely does a team count on drafting a superstar with the 22nd pick anyway.

Whether the players are acquired through the draft or via trade, the Nuggets coaching staff is known throughout the NBA for its ability to develop young talent. Examples include Arron Afflalo, Dahntay Jones, Linas Kleiza, Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith.

The candidates to join that list include forwards Tobias Harris (Tennessee), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State),Jordan Hamilton (Texas), Tyler Honeycutt (UCLA) and Jordan Williams (Maryland), along with guards Charles Jenkins (Hofstra), Travis Leslie (Georgia) and Iman Shumpert (Georgia Tech).

All six worked out at the Pepsi Center, including two visits by Harris and Leslie.

“It might not be a superstar heavy draft, but there’s some good players,” Ujiri said. “Let’s focus on the positives and make this a good draft rather than focus on the negatives and say it’s a bad draft. That’s a good approach to have.”

While the Nuggets have plenty of depth at the point guard and center positions, Ujiri, Bratz and coach George Karl agree that overall talent will carry more weight than team needs when it comes time to make a pick.

“I think it will come down to best talent available most of the time,” Ujiri said.

“I think our roster basically is a roster that says take the best player available,” Karl said.

“I like picking the best player available,” Bratz said. “Hopefully you can fit him in some way with your team. You want to look at your team needs as well. If there’s a guy there where it’s close and the player that can fill what you need on your team, I think you have to strongly consider that.”

That discussion is coming soon.

It will be held as the phone rings, the draft board is consulted and the seconds quickly tick away.

NBA commissioner David Stern will then walk to the podium in New York and say, “With the 22nd pick, the Denver Nuggets select …”

Stay tuned.