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C Byron 'B.J.' Mullens (Levanga Hokkaido Sapporo - Japan)

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Posted on Sat, Jun. 20, 2009
Sixers' workout of Ohio State's Mullens seems to be a courtesy move
By PHIL JASNER
Philadelphia Daily News
[email protected]

Trying to read something into the 76ers' putting Ohio State center B.J. Mullens through a predraft workout today?
Don't.

A source familiar with the situation told the Daily News that the Sixers remain focused on using the No. 17 pick in the NBA's June 25 draft to select a perimeter player, either a point guard or a shooting guard.

The workout for Mullens appears to be a case of the Sixers' honoring a long-standing commitment. At this point, there seems to be no reason to believe Mullens could be part of a trade scenario. The Sixers expect him to be off the board before No. 17.

Mullens averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.3 minutes for the Buckeyes, starting two of 33 games. The belief seems to be that any team choosing him would have to wait at least a year or two for him to mature and develop.
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Sixers' workout of Ohio State's Mullens seems to be a courtesy move | Philadelphia Daily News | 06/20/2009

Report: Pistons give B.J. Mullens a draft promise
Posted by Dave Dial June 19, 2009

Aran Smith of NBADraft.net is reporting that the Detroit Pistons have made a promise to B.J. Mullens to select him with the 15th pick if he is still there when Detroit selects.

June 19, NBADraft.net: Two different sources have indicated to NBADraft.net on Friday that the Pistons have a promise in place to take BJ Mullens if he's available to the them at 15.

Mullens works well with the rebuilding Pistons as he's a player with significant upside but will take time to become a contributor. With the Pistons in the process of rebuilding their squad, Mullens offers them a potential center for the future.
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Report: Pistons give B.J. Mullens a draft promise - Full-Court Press
 
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Mullens gaining Sixers' interest
TEXT SIZE By: TOM MOORE
The Intelligencer

PHILADELPHIA - Working out for eight NBA teams in eight cities over a nine-day span is grueling.

But B.J. Mullens knows it's not that bad.

Mullens, a 7-foot draft prospect, lived through bad while growing up in Columbus, Ohio.

Poor and struggling to make ends meet, Mullens, his mother and five half-siblings spent several years living in shelters. Even when they rented a home, they'd go to churches and shelters on holidays because there the family could get a hot meal.

"It doesn't get worse than that, I don't think," said Mullens after working out for the Sixers on Saturday. "You can just go up. I just know you can never forget those days. When I get lots of money or whatever it's going to be, (I'm not going) to blow it, because there are people out there that wish they had $10 in their pocket. I was like that one day."

Mullens, 20, is expected to be a mid-first-round pick in Thursday's draft after one year as the sixth man at Ohio State. If he becomes the 15th selection, he received a guaranteed two-year contract worth $2.9 million.

Mullens averaged 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and shot 63.8 percent from the field in 33 games for the Buckeyes.

While the Sixers have said they're focusing on a guard at No. 17, director of player personnel Courtney Witte and management believe Mullens is talented enough to merit a closer look.

"We don't expect him, from a probability standpoint, to be there at 17, but I think we need to be prepared," said Witte, calling Mullens one of the top three big men in the draft. "That's what we're doing. He is, potentially, going to be a very good basketball player in the NBA."
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PhillyBurbs.com: ?Mullens gaining Sixers' interest

Sixers See Potential in Ohio State's Mullens
By Dei Lynam
CSNPhilly.com

There is an age old saying in basketball that you can't teach height.

B.J. Mullens is seven feet tall ? which makes him an appealing draft prospect ? even if the Sixers don't need a center.

?We don't expect him, from a probability standpoint, to be there at 17, but I think we need to be prepared and that's what we are doing,? said Courtney Witte, the Sixers? director of player personnel. ?He is a talent and he is potentially going to be a very good basketball player in the NBA.

?He is well over seven-foot and he can shoot the basketball. He's got skill and he can go with his left hand or right hand. He just needs more time, because he started playing basketball late. He's just a young man that is going to get better and better.?

Witte worked out the Ohio State big man along with Ryan Ayers, son of former Sixers head coach Randy Ayers, Saturday.
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Sixers See Potential in Ohio State's Mullens
 
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Scattered Rumors

-B.J. Mullens worked out for the Philadelphia 76ers (#17) on Sunday, and is scheduled to work out for Chicago (#16) on Tuesday. While many NBA teams we spoke with have picked up on the rumor that he may have a promise from Detroit at 15, things don?t really seem to add up here. If anything, the Pistons seem to be most interested in Earl Clark, and have reportedly told him as much, as have the Phoenix Suns, drafting 14th. On the other hand, Detroit continues to be very active in trade-talk, though, and could very well decide to move the pick, which would make all of this moot. Would Mullens really turn down his Green Room invite if he definitely knew he was going 15th? Clark on the other hand just passed up a workout with Chicago this week in order to be with his newborn baby, as he seems to be feeling very good about where?s currently at in this draft.
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DraftExpress: Word on the Street, June 22nd

Posted on Mon, Jun. 22, 2009
B.J. Mullens, a long shot in NBA Draft, works out for Sixers
By FRANK SERAVALLI
Philadelphia Daily News
[email protected]

In the days leading up to Thursday's NBA draft, 7-1 center B.J. Mullens has been launched around the country like the shots he was firing from long distance last weekend.

Saturday's visit with the Sixers at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine was his eighth workout in 9 days.

It just happened that Mullens' last workout might be his biggest head-scratcher in terms of a roster fit. The Sixers, who have been focused on a guard, don't have much need for a big man with Elton Brand, Samuel Dalembert, Jason Smith and Marreese Speights on the roster.

"We don't expect him, from a probability standpoint, to be there at No. 17," said Courtney Witte, the Sixers' director of player personnel. "But I think we need to be prepared. Our philosophy has always been to look at the best player available, and he is certainly a talent.

"I think any time you can get a talent like that, you have to take a look at him and you have to do your due diligence and then make a determination. He is potentially going to be a very good basketball player in the NBA."

A source has told the Daily News the visit was a "longstanding commitment" arranged some time ago. Mullens' agent, Andy Miller, also represents unrestricted free-agent guard Andre Miller. Teams cannot begin to negotiate with free agents until July 1.
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B.J. Mullens, a long shot in NBA Draft, works out for Sixers | Philadelphia Daily News | 06/22/2009
 
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Ex-Buckeye B.J. Mullens raw, but intriguing at 7 feet
BY VINCE ELLIS ? FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER ? June 23, 2009

Nearly nine points and five rebounds per game aren't overwhelming numbers, but those are the totals of B.J. Mullens in one season of college basketball at Ohio State before making himself eligible for Thursday's NBA draft.

For what Mullens lacked in production, the consensus is that 7-footers who can run, are athletic, have good hands and have a great shooting touch aren't easy to acquire.

Mullens might hear his name called when the Pistons pick 15th in the first round.

"I feel really comfortable with them, and I think they like me a lot," Mullens said of the Pistons and his decision to leave college early at last month's draft combine in Chicago.

"It's always been my goal since I started playing basketball. This is my opportunity, and I want to take it."

At the combine, where he measured 7-1 1/4 with shoes with a 7-1 1/2 wingspan, the Pistons interviewed Mullens. He later visited the practice facility with other prospects.

"He has very good outside potential," draft analyst Chris Monter said. "He can shoot with range for a big man.

"You are looking at a player for not what he can do in 2009 or 2010, but what he can do in the future. You can take your time and let him develop."
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Ex-Buckeye B.J. Mullens raw, but intriguing at 7 feet | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
 
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NBA draft: Mullens' value hard to pin down
Potential, thin center crop should work in ex-Buckeye's favor
Thursday, June 25, 2009
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Less than an hour before the NBA draft last year, Ohio State coach Thad Matta finished a phone conversation with a league official, walked into a room where his assistants sat and told them that Kosta Koufos would be selected by Indiana with the 11th overall pick.

A couple of hours later, the Pacers' turn came, and they selected Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless instead.

The 7-foot Koufos lasted another couple of hours before Utah picked him at No. 23.

So don't ask Matta where he thinks his latest one-and-done freshman, 7-foot B.J. Mullens, is headed tonight in the draft.

"I don't know," he said. "B.J. doesn't know."

The consensus of pre-draft speculation is that Mullens' name will be called during the middle of the first round. Detroit at No. 15, Chicago at No. 16 and Minnesota at No. 18 reportedly have the most interest in him.
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BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : NBA draft: Mullens' value hard to pin down
 
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In the League for 15 minutes and already traded. :lol:

You almost have to wait until the next day to see the results of the NBA draft.
 
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dragurd;1489091; said:
What was the point of that really? Why not just make your pick instead of swapping back to back picks. It can't really gain them that much unless OKC really really really wanted Mullens.
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Dallas got a future second round pick out of the deal.
 
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