Devin Ebanks (3) slipped out of the first round, but landed with the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, one pick after teammate Da'Sean Butler (1) was taken by the Miami Heat.
MORGANTOWN - There seems little question now that Devin Ebanks gambled in leaving West Virginia early and entering the NBA.
Did he come out a winner? Well, that's up for debate.
The second thoughts are bound to creep into his head 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.
When the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks. That's certainly what Ebanks envisioned - or at least hoped for -when he made his decision to leave.
Now there's no way to sugar-coat it. Not being chosen in the first round 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 during a conference call. "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.
Most mock drafts prior to the actual event - as usual - were way off, at least as far as the West Virginia pair was concerned. Ebanks was consistently projected in the first round, while Butler's chances of being picked at all seemed iffy.
Now, both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. The Lakers have won back-to-back NBA championships.
For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempts to position itself for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's own Dwyane Wade.
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Draft deals odd hands to Butler, Ebanks
Former WVU stars heading to teams on opposite ends of NBA spectrum
MORGANTOWN - There seems little question now that Devin Ebanks gambled in leaving West Virginia early and entering the NBA.
Did he come out a winner? Well, that's up for debate.
The second thoughts are bound to creep into his head 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.
When the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks. That's certainly what Ebanks envisioned - or at least hoped for -when he made his decision to leave.
Now there's no way to sugar-coat it. Not being chosen in the first round 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 during a conference call. "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.
Most mock drafts prior to the actual event - as usual - were way off, at least as far as the West Virginia pair was concerned. Ebanks was consistently projected in the first round, while Butler's chances of being picked at all seemed iffy.
Now, both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. The Lakers have won back-to-back NBA championships.
For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempts to position itself for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's own Dwyane Wade.
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MORGANTOWN - There seems little question now that Devin Ebanks gambled in leaving West Virginia early and entering the NBA.
Did he come out a winner? Well, that's up for debate.
The second thoughts are bound to creep into his head 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.
When the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks. That's certainly what Ebanks envisioned - or at least hoped for -when he made his decision to leave.
Now there's no way to sugar-coat it. Not being chosen in the first round 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 during a conference call. "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.
Most mock drafts prior to the actual event - as usual - were way off, at least as far as the West Virginia pair was concerned. Ebanks was consistently projected in the first round, while Butler's chances of being picked at all seemed iffy.
Now, both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. The Lakers have won back-to-back NBA championships.
For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempts to position itself for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's own Dwyane Wade.
Butler was one of four Miami draft picks, all in the second round. The Heat traded away its first-round pick in another move to clear salary cap room.
"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.
Butler was one of those. Riley said his team had Butler as the 21st best player available and got him twice that far down in the pecking order.
Riley seemed concerned little about Butler's knee injury, which, of course, is the reason he slipped that far.
"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, 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 the matter of 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.
Still, he would seem to have a huge advantage in one aspect. Given that the Lakers have the highest payroll in the league and are currently almost $28 million over the salary cap, a second-round pick who makes the roster would be paid $450,000, which would help ease the team's cap burden significantly.
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Draft deals odd hands to Butler, Ebanks
Former WVU stars heading to teams on opposite ends of NBA spectrum
MORGANTOWN - There seems little question now that Devin Ebanks gambled in leaving West Virginia early and entering the NBA.
Did he come out a winner? Well, that's up for debate.
The second thoughts are bound to creep into his head 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.
When the first round of Thursday night's NBA draft came and went without Ebanks being chosen, gone was the multi-million dollar contract assured those first 30 picks. That's certainly what Ebanks envisioned - or at least hoped for -when he made his decision to leave.
Now there's no way to sugar-coat it. Not being chosen in the first round 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 during a conference call. "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.
Most mock drafts prior to the actual event - as usual - were way off, at least as far as the West Virginia pair was concerned. Ebanks was consistently projected in the first round, while Butler's chances of being picked at all seemed iffy.
Now, both find themselves in rather odd circumstances. For Ebanks, he will have to make a roster that is obviously already stocked with talent. The Lakers have won back-to-back NBA championships.
For Butler, he is going to a team that has only a handful of players under contract as the Heat attempts to position itself for a run at several of the free agents that will be available July 1, including Miami's own Dwyane Wade.
