The 6-foot-10 Maurice Shaw has made himself eligible for the Draft.

Shaw spent a season at Lincoln in Tacoma, Washington, then enrolled at Bridgeton Academy in Maine, an all-male preparatory school.  Shaw averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds per game at Bridgeton, leading his team to the Class A New England tournament semifinals.

Shaw is now back in Tacoma with his family, training with a few former college players for a pre-NBA draft combine next month in Chicago.  "It was real hard, but it made me better."

At Bridgeton, Shaw was surrounded by discipline, work ethic and elite basketball players.  Three of his teammates are NCAA Division I signees.  He also played against teenagers who opted for the Draft, including Durrell Wright and Jackie Butler.

"At an open gym, my game ... I was playing real good, hitting the 3-pointer. I stepped it up a lot," Shaw said.  "Right now, (the NBA) is a 50-50 situation. If I go into it with a positive attitude ... I don't want to act like I know everything, because I don't."

The Denver Nuggets look to be in the market for a shooting guard this summer, someone to step up and take over from veteran Voshon Lenard.  Lenard is currently signed for the next two seasons at $3 million per annum, but the Nuggets hold a buyout option in each of the next two summers.  Lenard wants to remain a Nugget, and he did lead the Nuggets in scoring during the playoffs, but according to Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News he did slump at the end of the season and has never been the most versatile player.

Players on the Nuggets radar this offseason for the shooting guard position are unrestricted free agents Brent Barry (Seattle) and Stephen Jackson (Atlanta), and restricted free agents Quentin Richardson (L.A. Clippers), Manu Ginobili (San Antonio), and Jamal Crawford (Chicago).  Crawford said Sunday he's looking for a long-term deal with the first year worth more than the midlevel exception of about $5 million.

"I'm definitely interested in Denver if Denver is interested in me," said Crawford, who averaged 17.3 points and scored 50 in a late-season game. "I watched them closely during the playoffs. I heard they might be looking for a shooting guard."

The problem with a restricted free agent is his current team would have 15 days to match an offer. So it would be a risk letting Lenard go, then waiting on an offer sheet.