Mark Bartelstein, Chicago-based agent for players such as Brad Miller, Antoine Walker and Derek Fisher was interviewed by RealGM's Andrew Perna on Wednesday. He is representing Adam Morrison of Gonzaga and James Augustine of Illinois in June's NBA Draft.
On which teams Adam Morrison will work out for:
?He?s going to work out for Toronto, Chicago, Charlotte and Portland as of now.?
On the best/worst case scenarios for Morrison come draft night:
?I try not to get into that too much because so many things can change ? trades and things like that. I know it?s biased, but in my opinion I think he?s the best player in this draft. I think he?s going to have a sensational career in the NBA. He?s a very unique player and I think the mistake people make is when they say that someone else has a bigger upside. Adam has a huge upside to his game, he?s a young guy. He?s going to put on another twenty pounds, which is going to make a gigantic difference and he?ll really help him evolve.?
On the ?unfair? comparisons to Larry Bird:
?I think obviously Larry Bird is one of the greatest players of all time, and so it?s flattering for anyone to compare Adam to Larry. I think there are similarities between the two, and that?s where people drew the comparison from, but I don?t want to put that on Adam. I think it?s too much pressure. He?s a great scorer, he can do it so many different ways, and he?s an unbelievable shooter, and shot-maker. He finds ways to create opportunities for himself, and he has a great feel for the game. Those are things you can?t teach, and he has them so I think that makes him pretty special.?
On James Augustine?s pre-draft workouts:
?He?s already worked out for a bunch of teams, and he?s scheduled to work out for a bunch more. He?s pretty booked up, and he?s done really well. I think he?s opened up a lot of eyes. He?s a really athletic big guy, who can run the floor like a deer. He?s a really tough kid, and knows how to make the kinds of winning plays. He also comes from a great program in Illinois. He?s going to be a really good NBA player.?
On Danny Granger?s surprising fall in last years? draft:
?I think at the beginning of the process he started as a second round pick, and then jumped up quite a bit. People started to see how special he was and he started moving up as a potential top ten pick. Then on draft day he fell a little bit but, he wound up in a great situation. He had a great year, made the All-Rookie team, and a lot of teams made a mistake. That?s the nature of the business, it?s a subjective decision. No one knows for sure what they have until a year or two later when you can begin to see who was right and who was wrong. You know, if the draft was today Danny would be a top ten, maybe even top five pick for sure. But, you can?t worry about those things. What you do is you make sure your players are as prepared as they possibly can be. You make sure they work hard as they possibly can and put their best foot forward. From that point on you sleep well, because your guy has done everything imaginable. Danny did that last year and I hope to have my guys doing that this year.?
Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com
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