MORGANTOWN -- The second thoughts are bound to creep into the head of Devin Ebanks eventually, if they haven't already. Faced with the choice of remaining at West Virginia and enhancing his pro potential or making the jump after his sophomore season, he chose the latter.
Then the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, and gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks.
There's no way to sugar-coat that. It was a disappointment. But when Ebanks did eventually hear his name called, it was a relief. That it was called by the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, well, perhaps that's a bonus.
"I just wanted to be picked,'' Ebanks said on a conference call arranged by the Lakers. "But I'm really happy. I don't have too many words.''
Ebanks and teammate Da'Sean Butler actually went on consecutive picks just over one-third of the way through the second round on Thursday night. Butler, surprisingly, was taken first.
Still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and unable to work out fully until at least this fall, Butler was nonetheless taken with the 42nd pick by the Miami Heat. The Lakers followed by taking Ebanks with the No. 43 selection.
Both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempt to position for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's Dwyane Wade.
Butler was one of four Miami draft picks, all in the second round. The Heat traded away its first-round pick in a salary-cap move.
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Second-round for Ebanks, Butler means tough road ahead
MORGANTOWN -- The second thoughts are bound to creep into the head of Devin Ebanks eventually, if they haven't already. Faced with the choice of remaining at West Virginia and enhancing his pro potential or making the jump after his sophomore season, he chose the latter.
Then the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, and gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks.
There's no way to sugar-coat that. It was a disappointment. But when Ebanks did eventually hear his name called, it was a relief. That it was called by the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, well, perhaps that's a bonus.
"I just wanted to be picked,'' Ebanks said on a conference call arranged by the Lakers. "But I'm really happy. I don't have too many words.''
Ebanks and teammate Da'Sean Butler actually went on consecutive picks just over one-third of the way through the second round on Thursday night. Butler, surprisingly, was taken first.
Still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and unable to work out fully until at least this fall, Butler was nonetheless taken with the 42nd pick by the Miami Heat. The Lakers followed by taking Ebanks with the No. 43 selection.
Both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempt to position for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's Dwyane Wade.
Butler was one of four Miami draft picks, all in the second round. The Heat traded away its first-round pick in a salary-cap move.
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MORGANTOWN -- The second thoughts are bound to creep into the head of Devin Ebanks eventually, if they haven't already. Faced with the choice of remaining at West Virginia and enhancing his pro potential or making the jump after his sophomore season, he chose the latter.
Then the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, and gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks.
There's no way to sugar-coat that. It was a disappointment. But when Ebanks did eventually hear his name called, it was a relief. That it was called by the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, well, perhaps that's a bonus.
"I just wanted to be picked,'' Ebanks said on a conference call arranged by the Lakers. "But I'm really happy. I don't have too many words.''
Ebanks and teammate Da'Sean Butler actually went on consecutive picks just over one-third of the way through the second round on Thursday night. Butler, surprisingly, was taken first.
Still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and unable to work out fully until at least this fall, Butler was nonetheless taken with the 42nd pick by the Miami Heat. The Lakers followed by taking Ebanks with the No. 43 selection.
Both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempt to position for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's Dwyane Wade.
Butler was one of four Miami draft picks, all in the second round. The Heat traded away its first-round pick in a salary-cap move.
"We feel like, contrary to what other people might think, we did draft three first-round picks in the second round,'' said Heat president Pat Riley.
Riley seemed unconcerned about Butler's knee injury.
"All these young guys heal,'' he said. "We felt like he was a real pleasant surprise for us to be there.''
Butler, also on a conference call arranged by the Heat, said his knee was progressing fine.
"I feel like I'm making progress with my knee,'' he said.
As for the Lakers, general manager Mitch Kupchak said the reason for drafting Ebanks was insurance in case backup forward Luke Walton doesn't recover from a pinched nerve in his back. There was also Ebanks' defensive abilities.
"He's active, he's long, he's athletic,'' Kupchak said. "You can be a good defender when you have those types of qualities and you put your mind to it.''
As a second-round pick, Ebanks isn't guaranteed a roster spot and will have to play in the team's summer league and then win a job in training camp. But given that the Lakers have the highest payroll in the league and are currently almost $28 million over the salary cap, a second-rounder who would be paid $450,000 seems a bargain.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Second-round for Ebanks, Butler means tough road ahead
MORGANTOWN -- The second thoughts are bound to creep into the head of Devin Ebanks eventually, if they haven't already. Faced with the choice of remaining at West Virginia and enhancing his pro potential or making the jump after his sophomore season, he chose the latter.
Then the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, and gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks.
There's no way to sugar-coat that. It was a disappointment. But when Ebanks did eventually hear his name called, it was a relief. That it was called by the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, well, perhaps that's a bonus.
"I just wanted to be picked,'' Ebanks said on a conference call arranged by the Lakers. "But I'm really happy. I don't have too many words.''
Ebanks and teammate Da'Sean Butler actually went on consecutive picks just over one-third of the way through the second round on Thursday night. Butler, surprisingly, was taken first.
Still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery and unable to work out fully until at least this fall, Butler was nonetheless taken with the 42nd pick by the Miami Heat. The Lakers followed by taking Ebanks with the No. 43 selection.
Both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempt to position for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's Dwyane Wade.
Butler was one of four Miami draft picks, all in the second round. The Heat traded away its first-round pick in a salary-cap move.
