Bunkered in his agent Tom Ramasar’s office in Beverly
Hills, surrounded by some friends and family on Tuesday night,
Dijon Thompson prepared to watch and wait as the NBA Draft
unfolded.
But as the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned
into hours without hearing his name called, what was originally
thought to be a draft party was missing its sole reason to
celebrate.
It was only when NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik announced
that Thompson had been selected with the 54th pick (out of 60) by
the New York Knicks late Tuesday night that hours of “anxious
moments” yielded to instantaneous bliss.
“It was a real emotional experience, I’ll tell you
that,” said an emotionally exhausted Thompson, who prior to
the draft still held out hope he’d be picked toward the end
of the first round.
“(At the end) I thought a little bit like I wasn’t
going to get drafted. But I knew somehow it was going to work out
for the best for me.”
But being drafted was only the first bit of good news for
UCLA’s graduated senior who, because he was drafted in the
second round, is not guaranteed an NBA contract.
In one of several draft-day deals, the Knicks shipped the rights
to the 6-foot-7, 205-pound Thompson to the Phoenix Suns along with
forward Kurt Thomas in exchange for guard Quentin Richardson and
fellow Pac-10 draftee Nate Robinson of Washington. Though Thompson
said he enjoyed his “10-second” Knicks career and would
have looked forward to playing with former Bruin teammate Trevor
Ariza in New York, he adamantly believes he makes a better fit in
Phoenix.
When comparing both teams’ rosters, it appears he has a
case.
Because the Knicks, who have six small forwards, are obligated
to guarantee contracts to their two first-round selections
(Channing Frye and David Lee), securing a roster spot would have
seemingly been a difficult endeavor for Thompson.
With the Suns, however, Thompson constitutes its entire rookie
class, and if he makes the roster, would be the only player on the
team with less than two years experience in the NBA.
“I am playing with the MVP in Steve Nash, I am playing
with one of the league’s best in Amare Stoudamire, and
it’s a championship-caliber team,” said Thompson of the
Suns, who owned an NBA-best 62-20 record last season.
“It definitely helps that I am the only rookie. People
will say I went 54th and almost didn’t get drafted. But
actually, it couldn’t have worked out any better.”
That’s something Thompson wasn’t so sure of as
Tuesday afternoon painstakingly turned into late Tuesday night.
Having entered his name in the draft after his junior season at
UCLA to examine his strengths and weaknesses for the NBA game,
Thompson returned to Westwood for a stellar senior season. But even
averaging a team-high 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds for an NCAA
Tournament-bound team was not enough to convince 30 other teams of
his potential in the NBA.
So as he sat glued to the television Tuesday, Thompson was
surprised, even dumbfounded, by some of the players picked before
him.
“I played against some of these guys (who were picked
higher) in pre-draft camps and thought I played better than
them,” Thompson said. “That’s a decision the
organizations that passed me up are going to have to live
with.”
UCLA coach Ben Howland says Thompson’s draft position
might have more to do with philosophical tendencies in professional
scouting than with Thompson’s ability as a player.
“The way the draft and scouting process in the NBA goes,
they evaluate more on raw potential and size rather than just
production,” Howland said. “Someone like Dijon might
not get drafted as high as a high school kid because of the room
for improvement with an 18-year-old as opposed to a 21 or
22-year-old.”
Thompson reported to Phoenix on Sunday to meet with Suns coaches
and officials and planned to head straight into the Vegas Summer
League, which begins Wednesday, in the hopes of earning a spot on
the team.
But even as he hopes to get his NBA career off to a flying
start, Thompson admits his mind still sometimes wanders back to
Westwood and what it would have been like to build on the success
of his senior season.
“We ended on a good note,” Thompson said. “I
wish I could’ve stayed another year. But (the Bruins) are
looking really good for next year.”