the results would probably be the same if babcock spent all his time
playing grandtheft auto so why waste his energy doing all that draft
preparation?

--- In rappak@yahoogroups.com, freewheel_99 <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> I'm guessing Babcock sent this email out to some season ticket
holders
> recently.
>
> Dear (Fan)
>
> For a general manager of an NBA basketball team, this is a very
> exciting time of year. With the focus being on preparation for the
> June 28 NBA Draft, I want to bring you inside our basketball office
> and provide you with a special glimpse into what a typical day of
> draft preparation includes. You'll also get an idea of what a draft
> prospect goes through. Here is our daily itinerary:
>
> 8:00 a.m. Breakfast with four draft prospects and two or three
members
> of our basketball operations staff at the hotel. This provides an
> opportunity to spend time with these players in a relaxed
environment.
>
> 8:45 a.m. Time to check my e-mails and voice mail. Players check
out
> of hotel and head to Air Canada Centre.
>
> 9:00 a.m. While the players get dressed and taped for the workout
we
> will put them through, I watch game tape of other players who will
be
> visiting us the next day. One player meets with the team
psychologist
> (the others meet later).
>
> 9:30 a.m. Players warm up while I finish watching game tape.
Various
> basketball staff members talk with the players at this time as
well.
>
> 10:00 a.m. - On-court evaluations. All basketball staff in town
will
> attend this workout. The entire workout is video taped and includes
> the following:
>
> * Height and weight measurements
> * Testing of strength, speed, quickness, agility, reaction time,
> vertical jump
> (only players not attending the recent Chicago Pre-draft camp)
> * Skill testing by position (shooting, ballhandling, etc.) and all
> drills are recorded and compared with all prospects
> * One on one (different positions on the floor)
> * 2 on 2 situations (low post, pick n' roll, etc.)
> * 2 on 1 full court
> * Defensive drills (2 on 2 and 1 on 1)
> * Specialty evaluations (geared to the individual) For example: a 2
> guard that needs to play point in the NBA will have extra work on
> evaluating point skills.
> * Finish with special competition drills that are fun, but also
> measure the players ability to perform under pressure
>
> 12:00 p.m. After the workout, the players, head coach Sam Mitchell
and
> I will answer questions from the media. The media are not allowed
in
> the gym during the workout.
>
> 12:20 p.m. Lunch with the players. This is another opportunity for
our
> staff to get to know more about the players. We also show them a
video
> of the city of Toronto and the team. We want them to know that
Toronto
> is a great place to live and play basketball.
>
> 12:50 p.m. The players will relax in our players' lounge while they
> take turns having individual meetings with myself, Sam, Wayne Embry
> and our team psychologist.
>
> 3:30 p.m. The players depart for the airport and head for their
next
> visit. I will now spend the next two hours working the phones,
talking
> to other GM's, agents, making background calls on players, etc.
> Players for the next day's workouts will be arriving between 3pm
and 7
> p.m. They are greeted at the airport and taken to the hotel where
they
> get a chance to relax a little before dinner.
>
> 5:30 p.m. I try to workout every day. It helps me keep my energy
going
> and deal with all the stress. Most of our staff workout every day.
> Often, I will watch game tape while riding the bike (to maximize
the
> productivity of my time).
>
> 6:45 p.m. I return to the office to watch more tape and return
calls.
>
> 8:00 p.m. I have dinner with one or two of the draft prospects that
> will be working out the next day. We will split the staff with the
> players so that we have more intimate dinners and this allows us a
> better opportunity to get to know each player.
>
> 10:30 p.m. I usually get home between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. I will
> return all late calls and try to watch at least 30 minutes of tape.
>
> This is a typical day for us for the six weeks leading up to the
> draft. Weekends are no different than week days - there are too
many
> players to workout and you can always watch one more tape. This
year
> we will have more than 60 players work out for us here in Toronto.
> This is not the norm, but because we have four draft picks we need
to
> see a lot of players. In a typical year when you have one first
round
> and one second round, a team will have about 20 players in to work
> out. We will not be able to work out all the players we'd like
because
> agents will not send their players to teams they feel have no
chance
> to draft them.
>
> Scheduling these workouts is a nightmare. I handled scheduling for
12
> years in Minnesota, and now I get to delegate this job to Scott
Howard
> our director of international player personnel. Trying to
coordinate
> these workouts and get the right players in on the right day is a
> logistical nightmare, and Scott has done a great job at juggling
these
> schedules. We're limited by NBA rules to working out players in
only a
> 2-on-2 situation or less. We can have more players attend in one
day,
> but only 2-on-2 on the court. We try to bring in players at the
same
> position so that we can have good comparative workouts. Many of
these
> players will visit up to 20 teams prior to the draft. They're as
> exhausted as we are when the draft is over! We are allowed to
bring a
> player back one time and we will do that with several of the
players
> this year.
>
> On the rare day that we don't have players in, the entire day is
spent
> on tape work, trade calls and background work on players. We spend
a
> great deal of time checking out each player. It is important that
we
> have strong character players on our team. Our philosophy and the
> success of our team is dependent on players that believe in the
team
> concept.
>
> We recently finished a two week break from this process, but we
didn't
> get any rest. We attended the annual Chicago Pre-Draft Camp where
66
> of the top prospects gather for a week of testing, drills, games
and
> psychological and medical evaluations. This is also an informal NBA
> convention and a great time to have trade discussions. Although
there
> are not the "Franchise" players in this draft we've seen in recent
> years (Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, etc.), there is a great deal of
> depth with prospects that have potential to be solid NBA players.
>
> Because of this depth, there has been a lot of interest in our
draft
> picks. We're certainly open to trades, but we will not make a trade
> unless it helps our team for the future. We will not take a "band-
aid"
> approach regarding trades. We could take the four first round
picks we
> have in the next two years and translate that into some veteran
> players who would get us immediately into the playoffs. The problem
> with that approach is that though we might get right back into the
> playoffs, those players will age quickly and we'll be right back to
> square one (and with no players for the future).
>
> After the Chicago Camp, we made a trip to a similar camp in
Treviso,
> Italy. This camp had several prospects for this year's draft, but
more
> importantly there were 40 prospects for the next three drafts that
we
> were able to get an early look at. Almost every team in the NBA had
> scouts or GMs at this tournament, so it was another opportunity to
> continue trade talk as well. There were 22 players at this
tournament
> that were 6'11" or taller. The international player has a
significant
> place in today's NBA.
>
> As you know, I can't divulge our player ratings, but I want to
share
> with you a few of the players that we will be looking at for the
7th
> and 16th picks in the draft (each group is listed in alphabetical
order):
>
> * Andrew Bogut, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Marvin Williams are
> players that we are evaluating, but will most certainly not drop
to us.
> * Point guards that we're looking at include Monta Ellis (HS), Ray
> Felton (North Carolina), Jarrett Jack (Georgia Tech) and Roko
> Leni-Ukic (Croatia).
> * 2's and 3's that we're considering include Franciso Garcia
> (Louisville), Joey Graham (Oklahoma State), Danny Granger (New
> Mexico), Gerald Green (HS), Ersan Ilyasova (Turkey), Yaroslav
Korolev
> (Russia), Rashad McCants (North Carolina), Marko Thomas (Croatia),
> Hakim Warrick (Syracuse), Martell Webster (HS) and Antoine Wright
> (Texas A & M).
> * Inside players are Nemanja Aleksandrov (Serbia), Martynas
> Andruiskevius (Lithuania), Andray Blatche (HS), Ike Diogu (Arizona
> State), Channing Frye (Arizona), Sean May (North Carolina), Johan
> Petro (France), Wayne Simien (Kansas), Tiago Splitter (Brazil),
Fran
> Vasquez (Spain) and Charlie Villanueva (Conn).
> * Of course there can always be a sleeper pick that we aren't
> mentioning, but that can be for you to figure out.
>
> The players that we've had in for visits to Toronto have been very
> impressive and we're confident that we will be able to acquire two
> quality players in the first round. With our two first round picks
in
> 2006 and the financial flexibility to use our mid-level exception
over
> the next three seasons, we feel that we're positioned to develop a
> team capable of contending for the playoffs in the near future and
one
> that will continue to develop into a championship contender down
the road.
>
> We are definitely going to get younger, but with that we will get
more
> athletic, better defensively and build the type of character that
is
> consistent with our team philosophy. It is not going to happen
> overnight, but I believe that you will see a hungry basketball team
> that is working hard every night and is making consistent progress
> towards our goals.
>
> Now, I need to try to schedule in a haircut before the draft. Have
a
> safe summer. I hope you'll enjoy watching the NBA Draft at the Air
> Canada Centre and I look forward to seeing you at our games this
season.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rob Babcock
> General Manager
> Toronto Raptors