By Chris Sheridan, Associated Press, 06/30/99
WASHINGTON- Lamar Odom is going to the West Coast, as the top pick of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lamar Odom shows off his new Clippers cap on Wednesday night. (AP Photo)
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The erstwhile University of Rhode Island basketball star was chosen fourth in the NBA's annual draft of amateur players Wednesday. Some league observers and Odom himself thought he would be chosen higher, perhaps first by the Chicago Bulls.
Bulls' management was admittedly intrigued by the 6-foot-10 phenom, even though he missed two workouts with the team.
The 19-year-old Odom had one of the most bizarre pre-draft existences of anyone, making himself eligible, hiring and then firing an agent, trying to get reinstated at Rhode Island and then missing a pre-draft physical before NBA scouts in Chicago.
Those were just the latest travails involving Odom, who attended three high schools during his senior season and planned to enroll at UNLV before the validity of his entrance exam scores were brought into question.
At Rhode Island, he averaged 17.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists - numbers that had many player personnel directors calling him the most talented all-around player available.
But Chicago, then two other teams passed on Odom before he was chosen by the Clippers, a perennial league doormat.
If he was unhappy Odom didn't show it, saying after his selection that his goal is to be named the league's rookie of the year.
He told a TNT television reporter his life in the weeks leading up to the draft was "chaotic, but it is now under control.''
The Bulls decided to keep their No. 1 draft pick Wednesday night and selected Elton Brand, the college player of the year who left Duke after his sophomore season.
Brand, a 6-foot-8 forward, was chosen after the Bulls took a serious last look at Odom, bringing him into Chicago for a workout on the eve of the draft.
In the end, though, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause went with the safer of the two picks, choosing to try to rebuild his dynasty with a solid frontcourt player.
Brand, 20, was the first player ever to leave Duke as an underclassman. He averaged 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in his final season at Duke, leading the Blue Devils into the NCAA championship game.
Brand became the first player from Duke ever selected first overall.
The Vancouver Grizzlies selected second and chose guard Steve Francis, who had indicated he would be less than enthralled to play in Canada. Francis kept his head buried in his hands as his name was announced, then raised his arms in the air to a loud ovation as he walked onstage to meet commissioner David Stern.
Francis played in college at nearby Maryland, averaging 17.0 points in his only season for the Terrapins. Francis, 21, was a first-team All-ACC selection last season and was widely considered one of the most exciting college players to watch.
A shooting guard in college who was expected to be a point guard in the pros, Francis might play alongside point guard Mike Bibby with the Grizzlies.
UCLA guard Baron Davis was taken third by the Charlotte Hornets, who had said they would grab him if he was still available.
Davis, 20, left the Bruins after a sophomore season in which he averaged 15.9 points and 5.1 assists while still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during the 1998 NCAA tournament.
Davis said prior to the draft that he would prefer to play for the Los Angeles Clippers, who selected fourth.
