MBB | Memphis grabs Greene at No. 28, trades him to Houston

By: John Clayton, Tyler Dunne

Posted: 5/8/08

After a draft workout with the Philadelphia 76ers two weeks ago, Donte Greene predicted he would end up a lottery pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.

Not quite.

The former Syracuse forward nearly tumbled out of the first round - and its guaranteed millions - before he was scooped up, 28th overall, by the Memphis Grizzlies and subsequently dealt to the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team deal.

The Rockets gave up the rights to French guard Nicolas Batum, while picking up Greene and a 2009 pick from Grizzlies, as well as the draft rights to former Memphis forward Joey Dorsey (33rd overall) from the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Grizzlies received former Kansas forward Darrell Arthur (27th overall) from Portland to complete the deal.

Greene, who left the Orange after one promising yet erratic year, is the first Syracuse player to go in the first round since Hakim Warrick, who was also picked by Memphis, 19th overall, in 2005.

But Greene, who was not made available for comment Thursday night, had to wait longer than even the most pessimistic of mock draft prognosticators would have predicted.

Greene was the tenth freshman taken in a class considered by many to be the strongest all time (the previous high for freshmen taken in a draft was seven). For the first time ever, freshmen were picked 1-2-3 in the draft. Memphis' Derrick Rose went No. 1 to Chicago, followed by Kansas State's Michael Beasley (Miami) and Southern Cal's O.J. Mayo (Minnesota).

Greene was also the fourth small forward taken Thursday.

Greene joins a Houston (55-27) team that finished fifth in the Western Conference last year and includes superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

And by staying in the first round, Greene ensured himself a decent payday.

Per NBA rules regarding first round picks, Greene will receive a guaranteed two-year contract, with team options for the third and fourth years. His salary for his rookie season will be in the neighborhood of $809,300, as dictated by the NBA rookie salary scale for 2008-09. That figure will increase over the next four seasons should Greene remain under contract.

Thursday's draft closed the curtain on a Syracuse career that began with promise - with Greene as the star of a nationally heralded recruiting class - but ended with the Orange, plagued by injuries and inexperience, in the NIT for the second straight year.

Greene led the Orange in scoring last year with 17.7 points per game, which also ranked fourth in the Big East. He averaged 7.2 rebounds per game, though most of Greene's damage came behind the arc. When Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf were lost to season-ending knee injuries, Greene became SU's de facto three-point threat. The 6-foot-9 forward set a SU freshman record for three-pointers (90), surpassing Gerry McNamara (85).

But consistency proved elusive for Greene, whose play faded later in the year. In Big East games, Greene shot 29 percent from three-point land (he shot 41 percent in non-conference play). He also finished with more turnovers (91) than assists (70).

As the season wore on, the Orange floundered along with its leading scorer. Syracuse missed the NCAA Tournament the second straight season for the first time since 1982, eventually falling to Massachusetts in the NIT quarterfinal.

In April, Greene declared for the draft, and in early June he signed with agent Bill Strickland of Blue Entertainment Sports Television, cementing his place on the draft board.

Unlike Carmelo Anthony, a fellow Baltimore native who led the Orange to a national championship in his only season in 2003, Greene wasn't exactly embraced after declaring for the draft. Greene said his cell phone and Facebook page were raided by SU fans who felt Greene had abandoned the team.

"I don't get no love from up there," Greene told The Daily Orange after his draft workout in Philadelphia. "That's crazy, man."

"I'm getting drafted, I'm going lottery, trying to go down top 10 … So let me go. I'm not coming back to school."

With his NBA fate now decided, the door has officially shut on Greene's tumultuous Syracuse career. His basketball home now resides in Houston.

jsclayto@syr.edu
thdunne@syr.edu