NBA DRAFT: PROSPECTS' PASTS GET CLOSE SCRUTINY

Before the 76ers decided to take Allen Iverson with their No. 1 pick in the
1996 NBA Draft, they made sure they inspected the merchandise before buying.

And it wasn't about evaluating his basketball talent. That was a given.
Then 76ers President Pat Croce told ESPN's Bob Ley that he spent "five
figures" in trying to find out what made Iverson tick. It paid dividends
for the Sixers as the feisty point guard, a three-time scoring champion,
carried them to the 2001 NBA Finals, earning MVP honors along the way.

"The more we investigated Allen, the more comfortable we became with who he
was," said Brad Greenberg, the 76ers' general manager from 1996-97. "We
didn't think he would do something ridiculous."

Despite future run-ins with the law and 76ers coach Larry Brown, Iverson's
$80 million contract has more than paid for itself.

"He may not be perfect, but he reinvigorated a dead franchise and was the
most important player to the organization since Dr. J," said Greenberg, now
director of basketball operations at the University of South Florida. "He
packs the building and has what I call the wow quotient."

In Wednesday's NBA Draft, several potential first-round picks, including a
probable lottery selection in the University of Connecticut's Caron Butler,
have had troubled childhoods that have included jail time either for
themselves or close family members.

Lee Benson, a possible second-rounder, served more than eight years in nine
different prisons after being convicted of abduction and drug trafficking.
After spending a year at Brown-Mackie Junior College in Kansas, the
28-year-old is ready to make his mark.

"A lot of people say, 'You've got a lot to lose if you go in the second
round or go overseas,'" the 6-foot-9, 231-pound Benson told scouts at the
predraft workout camp in Chicago earlier this month. "Where was I a year
ago? I was sitting in a cell reading a book or watching TV. So what do I
have to lose?"

It's not his losses NBA executives are concerned with. The Sixers rolled
the dice and it came up a seven, but just as often teams have tossed away
millions on immature teenagers from hardscrabble backgrounds who prefer
scoring drugs over points.

Think back to the 1986 draft when the Celtics, Warriors and Mavericks
respectively selected Len Bias at No. 2, Chris Washburn at No. 3 and Roy
Tarpley at No. 7. Bias died of a drug overdose two days after being
drafted. Washburn and Tarpley both wasted their talent on drugs and were
eventually banned from the NBA. Washburn was repeatedly in trouble during
his North Carolina State days.

In 1993, the Timberwolves took a chance on Isaiah Rider with their third
pick. Several suspensions and five teams later, Rider, who averaged nearly
20 points a game in his last two seasons in Minnesota, is looking for work.
His transgressions ranged from spitting on fans to boycotting practices to
possession of marijuana and illegal cell phones. Poor homework or bad judgment?

"We did all the research on Rider," said Rob Babcock, director of player
development for the Timberwolves. "He was and isn't a malicious guy to this
day. He can be very intelligent, charming and charismatic. We could've
taken Calbert Cheaney. We wouldn't have had the headaches, but what you
have is a bench player where [Rider] had the potential to be first-team NBA
every single year."

Because of the recent trend to draft high school players, it's more
difficult to evaluate their mental status. In 1999, the Spurs drafted
troubled Chicago prep star Leon Smith with their 29th pick and traded him
to Dallas. Instead of making the team, he ended up attacking his girlfriend
with a gun. He received 18 months probation and at one point attempted to
commit suicide.

Amare Stoudemire, the 6-10 senior from Cypress Creek in Orlando, is this
year's prep-to-lottery possibility. The Shawn Kemp wannabe had a rocky
childhood that saw him live in six homes across two states while his mother
and brother were in and out of jail. DeAngelo Collins, a 6-10 senior from
Inglewood High in Los Angeles who is a potential second-rounder, carries
rougher baggage, including a felony assault charge that landed him in a
juvenile facility at 14.

Most of these NBA hopefuls, including Butler, have cleaned up their acts,
but whether they're sincere isn't always easy to determine.

"Some of these kids come from a rough background and have seen things you
and I have never seen," said Greenberg. "At Portland we'd get the family
background and give psychological tests that included Rorschach [inkblot]
testing. It could point to issues a player has but he could be a great
player with a mental illness."

With its 10th pick, the Heat may have a shot at junior college standout
Qyntel Woods, who has admitted to marijuana use. But the Heat has been here
before.

In 1999, Pat Riley and company snared Rodney Buford when he dropped into
the second round (53) because of a marijuana arrest at Creighton. Police
caught Buford with marijuana on two separate occasions during his first
tenure with the Heat (1999-2000). Still, Riley gave him another chance in
training camp this season before cutting him.

"You have to be cautious to write guys off so quick because of issues away
from the court. We were aware of Rodney and knew to some extent he'd still
be there [second round] but when we bring in guys we like to think you can
help him make those problems a thing of the past," said Heat GM Randy
Pfund. "Sometimes you have to live with it. You try to make good basketball
decisions. You want guys with feisty personalities.

"Look at Charles Barkley, he wasn't a choirboy but when he competed he got
in your face. ... The bottom line is you let some stuff go. At the end of
the day, those things are important, but his play weighs most heavily."

Babcock said teams spend thousands on first-rounders, but very little on
longshot second-rounders who rarely make the team.

"You don't fly in second-rounders or give them psychological exams and you
don't spend money on private eye firms," Babcock said.

Unlike the NFL's more extensive investigations, the NBA does background
checks only on players who are suspected of foul play. Before Stu Weinstein
became head of security for the Dolphins, he was a private eye for 17
years. He said the Dolphins budget between $7,000 and $10,000 for
background checks.

"I research between 360 to 400 potential draft picks and free-agent types
myself," Weinstein said. "For any off-field arrest or disciplinary act
we'll sometimes go to the kid's town and school and interview coaches and
teachers to get the full story."

Still, the Dolphins took gambles on players such as Lawrence Phillips and
Cecil Collins -- and lost.

Tim Frank, senior director of sports media relations for the NBA, said that
since Sept. 11, the league doesn't talk to the media about security, but he
did say the league does background checks on certain players with police
records.

"It's not done on every single person eligible for the draft," Frank said.
"There's not more to be said. Security matters are called security for a
reason."

NBA teams incur most of the expenses. Babcock estimates that some
psychological testing costs between $200 and $500 per session and that
private investigators can cost up to $3,000 per day.

Babcock says, "I'd rather bring in a kid for two days and get a better line
on him with my gut instincts than a psychological test that they've taken
four times already.

"If red flags come up, I'll talk to their coaches, reporters and students.
It's not hard to measure physical skills but court sense, heart, attitude
and maturity level, those are difficult."