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Points of emphasis: a critical shortage of pass-first guards is why Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Raymond Felton didn't last long on draft night

Sporting News, The, July 15, 2005 by Sean Deveney

It's a typical morning for an NBA hopeful three weeks before the draft. Raymond Felton is sweating in the warmth of Chicago's Hoops the Gym. He's running through shooting lines with Celtics guard Tony Allen and former Grizzlies guard Troy Bell. Stop, pop a 3-pointer, then run to one side and back. Stop, pop another perimeter jumper, then run.

Felton's blue Nike shirt gets dark and wet around his neck, then the stain creeps over his chest and stomach until the shirt is drenched. His breathing is heavy. His shooting is getting a bit more erratic as the workout goes on, but, hey, scouts are saying his outside shot is his weakness, even though he made 44.0 percent of his 3-point attempts during his final year at North Carolina. Felton hears, "Can't shoot." So, he's working on it.

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At lunchtime, when the on-court drills are done, Felton is not. He heads upstairs to the weight room for strength training. That is, more sweat. Felton pauses and notes, "Yeah, I'm a sweater. But that's what it takes to get where I want to go."

Hours later, Felton is back at Hoops but without the sweat. He's still shooting, but now, his father, Ray Sr., is in the gym with him. No one else. They're doing something they've been doing since Raymond first took up basketball when he was 4--just shooting and talking. Raymond shoots, his father rebounds and feeds him a bounce pass. He also feeds him advice, sometimes about shooting, sometimes about life. "Keep your elbow in, Raymond," might be followed by, "Keep your chin up, son."

Ray Sr. recently retired from his job in a box factory and still lives in South Carolina with his wife, Barbara. But he has come to Chicago for a few days to check on his son and to give him a taste of normal. That's what the shooting session is about. It's a kid and his dad, without the fears and rumors and mock drafts that dance inside Felton's head.

"I could not imagine what he's going through," Ray Sr. says. "I've never been through this, so I can't give him advice. But I thought it would help if we could just find something normal because nothing about that time in a kid's life is normal."

As Felton chats with his dad in Chicago, 1,100 miles to the south in Houston, Deron Williams is learning the value of a healthy diet. On the court, he has spent 2 1/2 weeks working with former NBA star Derek Harper, but it is at the dinner table where Williams has made the most progress. Pizza and fried food were the first to go, and Williams also cut out bread, pasta and red meat. "All the good stuff," he laments. Williams lost almost 20 pounds in the weeks alter he wrapped up his Illinois career. Now he is quicker, his weight down to the 200-205 range. He claims to be converted to the joys of salmon, pork chops and chicken breasts.

And, 700 miles southeast of Chicago, Chris Paul is in a gym in Washington, D.C., working with trainer Idan Ravin. The sessions are grueling. "You know, I thought I was in shape before," Paul says. "I had no idea how out of shape I was."

For almost two hours each morning, six days a week, Paul does intense on-court work, drills in running, shooting, ballhandling. He takes a break for lunch, then is back in the gym for an afternoon session to work on his perceived weakness--that at 6-0, 175 pounds, he lacks the size and strength to succeed in the NBA. Paul hits the weights for three hours daily.

To ease any doubts, Paul has twice-weekly conversations with a guy who knows something about making it in the NBA without overwhelming size: Muggsy Bogues, the 5-3 point guard who, like Paul, went to Wake Forest before going to the NBA. During his career with the Deacons, Paul got to know Bogues and turns to him for advice and inspiration. "Muggs is like a tall midget," Paul says. "But he did not let that stop him."

Felton can't shoot. Williams is too bulky. Paul lacks size. In the weeks leading up to the draft, these are the knocks on the three best point guards out there, three kids who are willing to pay a price in sweat and sacrifice to get where they want to go. It works. Williams goes third to the Jazz. Paul goes fourth to the Hornets. Felton goes fifth to the Bobcats.

"I knew we were all going to go high," Felton says. "But that was real high. I didn't know that was going to happen."

That's three point guards in the top five picks, one of the most talented and eagerly awaited groups of playmakers in league history. They forever will be linked by their back-to-back-to-back draft status, their production compared and their value debated. And, it so happens, they are coming into the league at just the right moment, at a time when changes in rules and philosophy have nudged the NBA into bringing point guards to prominence, a time when Steve Nash just won the league MVP and uptempo approaches are spreading. Not only have these guys gotten where they wanted to go--they have arrived in a league that badly needs them.

Points of emphasis: a critical shortage of pass-first guards is why Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Raymond Felton didn't last long on draft night

Sporting News, The, July 15, 2005 by Sean Deveney

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