Chansky's Notebook: Short, Long Nights

What happened with Cameron Johnson and Nassir Little?

The NBA draft went almost exactly as predicted through the top ten picks, but then Cam Johnson turned everything around by going at No. 11 to Minnesota and on to Phoenix, where a former coach and mentor now works in the front office.

Johnson began his second graduate school year at Carolina as a journeyman player likely headed for Europe. Good health and hard work made him first-team All-ACC and with a guaranteed $6.8 million for his first two NBA seasons and the potential of making more than twice that if the Suns pick up the last two years of his contract.

Ironically, that was closer to where Nassir Little was expected to go. Instead, Little sat in the uncomfortable spotlight of the Green Room and waited through 14 more selections before Portland picked him at No. 25. His two-year guarantee is $3.6 million, more than three million less than Johnson, who is 23 compared to Little, 19.

Little was somewhat of draft enigma after playing 18 minutes a game as a UNC freshman and moving between small forward and power forward until Roy Williams made him a 4-man off the bench. Jay Bilas kept calling Little a top 10 talent, but apparently the teams that bypassed him wanted someone a little less green if they were going to pay more green.

You had to feel for the handsome Little, who wore a much classier outfit than most of his fellow draftees, but looked sadder as the picks crept on. Exactly what happened may never be known. Even Ol’ Roy said this week he expected Coby White to go top 10 (he went No. 7 to the Bulls), Little 10 to 20 and Johnson 20 to 30, after talking to about 20 GMs in the NBA.

Meanwhile, Duke became the second school to have three players taken in the top 10. Chris Spatola of ESPN and Coach K’s son-in-law told David Glenn Thursday afternoon that as their freshmen seasons wore on, Nassir impressed him much more than Cam Reddish, who went No. 10 to the Atlanta Hawks. He said Reddish never showed him the shooting touch or athleticism previously advertised where Little improved markedly during ACC play.

Good luck to Coby at Chicago and Cam in the Valley of the Sun, and here’s hoping Nassir proves all the teams wrong that passed him by until the Trail Blazers ended perhaps his longest long night ever.

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Chansky’s Notebook: Short, Long Nights

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