Text 
No Comments [ Add Comment ]Almond on radar for a year
By Jim BurtonFirst-round pick impressed Jazz brass long ago
SALT LAKE CITY -- It's not just that they liked him Thursday night, or even 10 days ago when he came in for a pre-draft workout.
The truth is, the Jazz have liked Morris Almond for a long time now. In fact, they were thinking about drafting him a year ago, when the Rice University senior put his name in the 2006 NBA draft.
Instead, Almond decided to withdraw his name and return for a final season at the prestigious Houston, Texas university.
"We've watched Morris play, not only this year, but we watched him last year quite a bit," Jazz player personnel boss Walt Perrin said Friday, less than 24 hours after Utah made Almond the 25th selection in the 2007 NBA draft.
"We were very impressed with the way he played last year (at the pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla.). We were a little surprised that he pulled his name out, but we were kind of happy he pulled his name out."
The Jazz owned three picks going into the '06 draft: Nos. 14, 46 and 47. They wound up taking Arkansas' Ronnie Brewer with their first selection, then added point guard Dee Brown and forward Paul Millsap in the second round.
But Perrin admitted they were intrigued about Almond even back then.
"We thought he was a good enough player in Orlando last year that he would have been drafted by some NBA team," he said. "But we're extremely glad he did not. We're extremely glad we picked him this year."
Almond, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward, was considered by many experts to be the best shooter in this year's draft. And because they felt they needed some scoring help around the perimeter, the Jazz targeted the 22-year-old as a potential first-round pick.
Almond averaged 21.9 points per game and shot better than 44 percent from behind the 3-point line as a junior. After taking his name out of last year's draft and returning for a final season of college ball, he saw his averages improve to 26.4 points per game and better than 45 percent from 3-point territory.
His patience not only improved his statistics, it helped take him from what would have been a second-round pick to a first-rounder.
Almond flew to Utah Friday afternoon, met with a gathering of media, then returned to his home in Georgia, where he'll stay for a while before returning to participate in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league next month.
He said he felt all along the Jazz were an excellent fit for him and that he was hoping they'd take him sometime during Thursday's draft.
"I've said this before and I'll say it again, Utah was definitely a place I was looking forward to when pick 25 rolled around," Almond said. "I'm just glad things worked out like it did. It was a nerve-wracking night, but at the end of the night everything worked out."
Almond said he remembers when he met with Jazz officials at the '06 Orlando pre-draft camp. He was flattered then by their interest in him, but knew his best option was to return to school.
"I remember, they told me they weren't going to take me at 14, but they would consider me and 45 and 46," he said. "That just told me a lot about their program and that stuck with me throughout this year's process."
The Jazz kept close tabs on Almond throughout the latest college hoop season and were quick to invite him for a pre-draft workout.
They liked what they saw, felt good about what he said in the interview process and held their breath waiting to see if Almond fell to the No. 25 spot.
"To me, it was really significant that he made that choice to stay in school that fourth year," Jazz owner Larry H. Miller said of Almond. "There's not a lot of these kids that do that with the money that's out there, they all know it's there. For him to make the decision to go back to school that fourth year, I personally think reflects a lot about his character."
4JAZZ MAKE QUALIFYING OFFERS TO MILES, BROWN: The Jazz made qualifying offers to guards Dee Brown and C.J. Miles on Friday, making both players restricted free agents. The move means the Jazz can match any offer Brown or Miles get from other teams that want to sign them. Terms of Utah's offers were not available.
Brown, a second-round draft pick last year, had a one-year contract and was a solid enough backup to Deron Williams -- his former college teammate at Illinois -- that the Jazz would like to hang on to him, said Kevin O'Connor, Utah's vice president of basketball operations.
Miles entered the NBA straight out of high school two years ago when the Jazz took him in the second round. He has played in 60 games in two seasons with Utah and spent part of last season with Idaho in the NBA Developmental League.
Miles is only 20 years old and the Jazz feel he still has enough potential to try to keep him, but chose not to extend his original contract.
O'Connor said Utah is also going to try to keep center Rafael Araujo, who is an unrestricted free agent. The Jazz got the former Brigham Young star in a trade with Toronto last summer. Although Araujo didn't play a lot this season, O'Connor said he impressed coach Jerry Sloan with his work in practice.
"Jerry puts a premium on guys that work because he thinks guys that work get better. And he works. He doesn't just act like he works," O'Connor said.
Add Your Comment
