The Vancouver Grizzlies made a risky selection with taking Steve Francis at #2 in the 1999 NBA Draft, as Francis didn’t want to go there and was traded on August 27th of that year.
However, if the Grizzlies ended up selecting Lamar Odom (#4 pick by the Los Angeles Clippers), they wouldn’t have had to worry about their star rookie asking out.
(via Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles):
Odom: “I was so nervous my Vancouver workout. I’m working out for Vancouver, boom, shooting the ball. I’m shooting shots like, ‘Boom, one. Two. Three.’ I’m like, ‘Hold up. Four. Five, blah!” Threw up right there. Kept going, though. We don’t even gotta clean it up. Leave it there. Kept the geezer going like, ‘Y’all gonna pick me.’ Kept it going.”
Quentin Richardson: “So you would have went to Vancouver?”
Odom: “Hell yeah I would have went. They had the second pick. So I’m like, ‘I know y’all gonna pick me.’ And Steve [Francis] is like, ‘Yo, I’m not going.’ So I’m like, ‘I know y’all gonna pick me number two. I’m gonna go play with Shareef Abdur-Rahim, you crazy?’ I’m like, ‘What! I’m going to Vancouver!’ I thought it was a wrap.”
