One of the funniest things to watch in the NBA draft is the gamesmanship and,
frankly, the lying that goes on. Say that Team A likes, say, Andrew Bogut,
but they are too low to get him. So what to do? Why, spread a rumor, of
course: a rumor is out that Bogut suffers from a degenerative eye disease.
Teams have called Utah to check on this.
Why do it? To create doubt about a player you really like so that
others will pass on him.
It works both ways, too. So you may hear that (just to take an example)
Raymond Felton is zooming up in the ratings, that he had an incredible workout
in L.A., but the Lakers don't want any of this to get out.
In Felton's case, to be clear and fair, there is a consensus that he has
moved up sharply.
What is really unfortunate about this sort of thing, though, is that high
school players get the worst of it. On the one hand, they're flattered and
puffed up by people with their own agendas. Then they are in the draft and
subject to, basically, psychological warfare.