Tony DiLeo Speaks With Sixers.Com

Last week Philadelphia 76ers Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo sat down with some members of the Philadelphia media to discuss the 76ers draft preparation process. DiLeo has been with the 76ers basketball operations department for 17 seasons. After spending four seasons as the 76ers director of player personnel (1999-2003), DiLeo was promoted to his current role in September 2003. Among DiLeo’s responsibilities, he assists 76ers President Billy King through the supervision of the team’s draft efforts and college and professional scouting systems.

In the past four drafts, DiLeo has played an integral role in helping the Sixers acquire Willie Green (via draft-night trade with Seattle), Kyle Korver (via draft-night trade with New Jersey), Andre Iguodala (9th overall pick in 2004 NBA Draft), Louis Williams (45th overall pick in 2005 NBA Draft) and Rodney Carney (via draft-night trade with Chicago).

Sixers.com sat in on the media availability session and here is what DiLeo had to say:

Q: Are you at the point where you have guys slotted into a preliminary draft?

TD: We have a list. Now that the official list from the NBA came out, we know which players are in, even though they can pull out later on. We’re having a conference call with our scouts at 12:00 today, and we had one two days ago, basically going over the players, going over the rankings and how we rank them. But it will change a lot before the draft, especially with the interview process and the workout process.

Q: If you stay at your current position (12) after the lottery, are you confident you’ll get a good player?

TD: Yes, even at [21] and 30. Every year that we go into the draft we try to identify players and then we try to go after those players. And I think we have more assets or chips maybe to try to do that this year. We’re always active at draft time as far as trading or getting picks or trying to maneuver. But even if we stay at 12, we know there are 12 players we like. So we know we’re going to get a good player at 12. I think everyone concentrates on two players in the draft - the top two - and then the rest. But I’m sure they’ll be star players in that next group. It’s just we have to find them.

Q: One year (2003) had Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but Dwyane Wade turned out to be the first one to win a championship from that group.

TD: Chris Bosh wasn’t too bad in that draft either. That actually is probably going to be one of the all time [bests] - I think Josh Howard went in that draft later. That was a very good draft because just those four and then a couple of other good players down the line.

Q: Have you been busier in the last five weeks than the last five months knowing the importance of the draft?

TD: We’ve been busier in the last five months than we have in the last five weeks. Because we’ve been out more just with three first round picks and a second round pick. We’ve been out more seeing them, covering a lot more of the college games.

Q: Since you have three picks, will you be in conversation with teams that don’t have picks?

TD: I think when we’re in Orlando at pre-draft camp, that is when everyone’s there. All personnel people are there. Everyone is talking, so I think that is when it starts heating up as far as trades and things. We’re open for anything. We’re open to using all our picks; we’re open to combining picks, trying to move up; or maybe moving back, getting another pick or something. We’re open - especially these teams that don’t have picks - maybe get a player from them for a pick. We’re open to everything and we’ve been active in the past. We just have more possibilities in this draft.

Q: Has this year been different in terms of scouting than in previous years?

TD: I think more active just because of the amount of picks we have in this year’s draft. And then this is the first draft that workouts are not allowed until after the Orlando camp, so it’s a little bit different. When you have one first round pick and one second round pick I think it’s probably good, but to try to get all the players you want to get in, in a three-week time period, it’s going to be a little hectic.

Q: With three picks will you have an easier time with agents, trying to get players to pre-draft workouts?

TD: Yeah, I think we’ll have more leverage. The agents will definitely be more selective in this year’s draft, just because of the time frame. But I think we have more leverage in getting players in.

Guys like Jermaine O’Neil and Larry Hughes needed time in the league to mature. Are you willing to take a player who may take a few years to develop?

If we think a player can be a star player, we take that player. It’s so hard to find star players. We weigh everything. In a perfect world, we hope to draft a player who can come in and start and fill some of our needs and be like a three, four-year college player or something like that - in a perfect world. But we’ll take everything into consideration.

Q: Can you get a star at 12 this year? Is that possible?

TD: I don’t know if he’ll be a star in his first year, but he may be a star in two or three years.

Q: But can the player be a contributor?

TD: Oh, I think we’ll get a player at 12 who will be able to contribute, yes. And there’s so many players in this draft. We like players at [21]. We like players at 30. We’re in a good position because I think at 21 there might be players that slide. Or even at 30 there may be somebody who all of sudden is there and we didn’t think, or maybe a European player who we can keep overseas. I think we’re open to everything. We’re excited about this draft because it’s a deep draft and we know we’ll get players. We know we’ll get players to help our team.

Q: You guys could have a significant amount of money in 2008, if you sign you guys to one-year deals. Let’s say you target someone who’s a free agent. Do you do things now with that in mind?

TD: We do with that in mind, but so many things can happen in the meantime. But we have a plan in mind. But we have to be flexible with our plan too. Miami was trying to build Lamar Odom and that group and all of a sudden Shaq becomes available. So, they changed course, rightfully so. We’re open, but we do have a plan. If you look at most of the teams in the playoffs and the really good championships teams, they’re a team and they build together. You look at Detroit. They’re a team. They don’t have one star. Even San Antonio. They’re a team. Utah. They’re not really driven by one superstar. Maybe now, Cleveland is. But that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to build a team like Detroit that they grow together, they be together and hopefully add talent to it and then try to build.

Q: Is that different than the plans from a year or two ago?

TD: Going back to when we went to the Finals, we knew we were close. They changed the rules the year after we went to the Finals. The effectiveness of Allen [Iverson] was limited, since you could zone up. We were that close, so we tried to add. Billy [King] even said it somewhere, that maybe we did take some [short cuts] because we were close and we tried to get back. It got to a point where we said ‘Ok, this isn’t working.’ So we said, ‘All right, let’s build with this group.’ That’s what we’re trying to do. Miami did it. They win it, and then they try to do this and that to keep it going. And then this is the first year in NBA history that the two teams that went to the finals lost in the first round. You think about it.

Q: When did this three-year plan start - with the Iverson trade?

TD: I think the plan probably started earlier because we tried to get more and more talented players in here. We were building with younger players. We knew at some point we had to have players when Chris [Webber] and Allen left, but I think we were planning from a little longer than Dec. 19. Now we want to add. We like this group. We like the chemistry, we have draft picks. And like you were saying, we have some cap room. That’s what we’re trying to do.

Q: Does the plan change if you have the opportunity similar to the Shaquille O’Neal situation Miami had?

TD: If something like that came up, then yes.

Q: The way the team played in the second half, does that make it more likely you’ll draft team-oriented players?

TD: We’ll be very selective. That will be a factor in either our drafts or signing free agents and trades. That will be a factor.

Q: Sometimes when you need guys, you can get guys at a discount that maybe have had issues or problems. Is that something you might do?

TD: We are making changes because we’ll have draft picks, but we like the chemistry so we don’t want to make wholesale changes and break up that chemistry. Andre Miller and some of the things he does with Kyle [Korver], that’s just learned over time. That’s hard to practice but you have to do it. With Andre Iguodala and Sam [Dalembert] at the end, that’s just hard to practice. So that will continue into next year.

Q: Is it easier or more difficult to build around a team like that?

TD: It was difficult to build around Allen because he’s such a unique player and he doesn’t really have a true position. He’s a smaller scoring guard. For a while we were trying and we had some success trying and we tried other things. But it’s definitely easier now when you have a traditional type team.

Q: It seems that your biggest need would be power forward, but picking at No. 12, will you just pick the best player available, regardless of position?

TD: First our philosophy is to identify the players and try to go after them. And then the best player. If we’re at 12 and picking at 12, then it’s the best player. We rank all the players, regardless of position.

Q: What’s hovering around there right now?

TD: It’s hard to tell right now because a lot of this is internet driven and it’s not really from the teams. I think until teams start doing workouts and getting a better idea, every team has some sort of need that they’re looking for, and trying to figure it out. But all the guys after 2, I think will be almost interchangeable. It wouldn’t shock me if somebody now projected at 3 goes 7 or if somebody projected at 6 goes 12. If we feel like two players are about the same level, then we’ll go more with needs. But if we figure this is the best player and he’s a point guard or he’s a center or he’s a wing player, then we go with that player.

Q: Did you like Yi Jianlian, from China?

TD: We liked what we saw. I don’t want to get into so much detail. We went over there, we liked what we saw. He’s a skilled player for a seven-footer.”

Q: How about the Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant. Is it the prototypical big guy vs. perimeter guy?

TD: I think it depends on which team is drafting. I think they’re both high level players.

Q: Is Durant a 3?

TD: His body right now, with the way the NBA is going in the future, I could see him playing 3 and 4 just because he has the length, but he doesn’t have the body right now for a 4. But the way the NBA is going now with the small forwards, he could be a 2.

Q: Would you draft a player to potentially use him as trade bait?

TD: I think where we are, we’re trying to accumulate talent. That’s the most important thing right now, accumulating talent. As the team develops, then you try to [say], ‘Ok, we need more of this position or we need more of that position.’ But the most important thing is to accumulate talent.

Q: What focus have you put on scouting foreign players?

TD: We have had a European scout for nine years now [Danko Cvjeticanin]. We were one of the first teams to have full-time international scout. We haven’t drafted a lot of European players, but a lot of times either the situation wasn’t right or we didn’t have where the pick was. We have people in Asia. We have the world covered - South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. And we’re open to it. It’s not like we don’t want to have European players. Last year in the second round we drafted Edin Bavcic. We’ll see him this summer and we’ll see how he develops this year. We’re open to it. At 12 or 21 or 30, if there’s a good European or international player we would not hesitate. With international players, sometimes it’s a little more difficult because they have buyouts. For example, Tiago Splitter, and now he’s in the draft this year. Sometimes it’s murky what the buyout is, if he can get out. Look what happened to Orlando, and Navarro, who Washington drafted a few years ago. He’s making so much money over there. Washington won’t offer him the money he’s making it over there. So there’s a lot more complications in international players than just drafting a player to play here in the states. But we’re open to it because we’ve seen the success of Dirk [Nowitzki]. I don’t want to say it too early, but he may be the MVP.

Q: Are you going forward as if you’re going to get the 12th pick, figuring the odds?

TD: That’s how we’re preceding right now. We’re going like we have 12, 21 and 30. If we really like a player ahead of us, and I know there’s a couple of players we like ahead of us, we will try to move up. Even not [Oden and Durant], but if there’s a player at eight or there’s a player we think that’s going to go at six. I remember Andre’s year, Iguodala, we tried to move up to five because Dallas wanted to move that pick. We tried to move up to five to get Andre Iguodala in that draft and we just couldn’t get it done. And we really didn’t think we had a chance. And then we were hearing the day before that Toronto may take Araujo. So, then the hope was more alive. I remember that draft because there were eight players and there was a consensus from the NBA that there were eight players in that draft and we had the ninth pick.

Q: If Iguodala had gone eighth to Toronto, whom would you have taken?

TD: We probably would have went with [Andris] Biedrins.

Q: How much do you take in account the psychological responses of players?

TD: We can see what’s on the outside. We can see how fast they are, how well they shoot the ball or dribble or whatever. But it’s harder to find out what’s inside. We try to do that with psychological testing. We try to do that with our background checks and just talking to other coaches or players who played against this player. Or just anyone who kind of knows what gives us a better picture of what’s inside - the drive, what kind of toughness.

Q: Do you test free agents in the same manner?

TD: Not as much. Dr. Joel Fish has been doing it for over 10 years; he has a database. So, if we’re thinking about a free agent and we had him in the draft, he has a profile on him. But agents really won’t let you do a psychological test. But on the other hand, it’s more of a little thing, because if they’ve been in the league three or four or five [years], you have a little idea of how they’re going to react in the locker room. And that’s why we bring Chris Ford of pro personnel department. That’s basically what they do, they talk to people and they know, ‘ok, this guy’s a real problem.’

Q: When you’re looking at prospects, what type of scale do you use?

TD: We have a checklist of things like basketball ability, their skill level, their mental side of it, their coachability, attitude, durability, injuries. But when we talk with the scouts, when they come in 10 days before the draft, we go over, generally, ‘All right, this guy basketball IQ - what is his?’ It’s not an exact form. We don’t say he has a four basketball IQ, three athletic. There are a lot of factors. A lot of factors like ‘He’s about the same level of this and we have need more of a need here so maybe we’ll take this one. Or, you know he’s a four-year guy and maybe he’ll be able to step in right away and help us, so maybe that’s more of a factor. Maybe it’s a young guy and he’s a freshman but we think in two years he’s going to be a star player. It’s not cut and dry.

Q: So, is the pick more on gut instinct or scientific approach?

TD: It’s not gut instinct and it’s not scientific approach, it’s observation, experience and talent evaluation. You have to have talent and try to evaluate talent. It’s not scientific and it’s not a gut thing like, ‘hey, I think this guy’s going to be a good player and just have a gut feeling.

Q: Is it something you and Billy King and Courtney Witte feel you’re better at than 10 years ago?

TD: Every year we’ll go back and say, ‘well, we didn’t have this guy that high and why didn’t we have that guy that high? What did we miss in that guy; or yeah we had this guy rated at No. 10 and he went 20, but he turned out to be a good player. So we were pretty good on that one. We do go back and evaluate and reanalyze, ‘what did we miss with that guy?’ and ‘how come he’s a good player or not a good player?’ We do that. Every year you do it, you have more experience.

Q: Do you debate this on draft day?

TD: We rely heavily on the scouts because they’re out there all the time to get these players. They’re out there so they have the best idea. We rely heavily on what the scouts say. Billy, Courtney and myself, we have more of an overall picture of what direction to go or we know we can trade a guy. We just want to hear from the scouts about what they you think and what player they think would be better.

Q: How do you determine amongst yourselves on draft night who exactly is the better pick?

TD: We have our list and that’s it.

Q: What if someone doesn’t go as highly as expected?

TD: You don’t want the emotion to get involved in the draft. It’s done. We have 1 through 12, and ‘He’s the highest rated player at our time, so we’ll pick him.’

Q: If there’s somebody you don’t want, would you trade down?

TD: That’s what we did with Rodney [Carney] last year. We got cash and a second round pick.

Q: So, you knew he would be there?

TD: We were about 90 percent sure. We weren’t 100 percent sure, but we were 90 percent sure.

Q: Was Carney who you had targeted?

TD: He was the next player on our list.

Q: Does the fan factor weigh in, drafting a player to win now?

TD: It’s a factor. We weigh it in. It’s a factor, but if we believe that this guy’s going to be the best player in the end or a star player, then we’ll go with that. But no, we would rather, and in the past we have drafted a lot of four-year guys. I think the one year with Louis [Williams] - because we knew in the future we didn’t have a lot of first round picks - we said, ‘All right, we’ll take him at 45 and in two years, if he went to college, he’d probably be a first round pick.’

Q: Do you still think that about Louis?

TD: Yeah. If he was in this draft he’d be a first round pick.

Q: So even with Louis, if the best player at No. 12 is a point guard, you would still take the point guard?

TD: Yeah.

Q: Does the fact that you’ve started the rebuilding process, if you do grab a guy who won’t develop until a few years down the road, does it make it better from a fan’s perspective?

TD: I think we’re showing improvement. The way we’ve played, we continue to show that. We get some pieces in the draft, maybe to trade for some more pieces or free agents. I think the way we ended up last year we’re showing improvement. We’re rolling the right way. Let’s face it, we have a major decision.

Q: Do you see this team becoming a contender next season or two years down the road?

TD: It’s hard to say. Look what Toronto did. It’s hard to say. Now you’re going to training camp with a team and adding some pieces to that team. You know, who thought Golden State would be where they are?

Q: The guys are high on themselves now?

TD: They want the season to continue. They’re involved - Iguodala, Korver, Dalembert - they’re involved. They’re not just standing off to the side and waiting for stuff to happen. They actually get the ball and do things.

Q: Their whole body language changed after the Iverson trade.

TD: I remember Chris Bosh saying the same thing about his team up there, about how close they were, how they’d fall for each other and whatever. You had a guy like Mo Peterson who’s been a starter, but accepted his role coming off the bench. And it was just a good atmosphere and good team and they came together. I think we have something growing. We want to add to it, but we don’t want to destroy it.

Q: Would you be more hesitant to get rid of one of those core guys even if in the end you think you might be able to get a more talented player?

TD: It would be hard to get rid of a core guy. I go back to the Miami type thing. Like Lamar Odom was a core guy and all of sudden they could get Shaquille O’Neal. So you have to weigh the situation. We’re open to everything. We want to keep the core together. We want to grow with the core, but if something comes along we have to evaluate it.

Q: If you get the No. 1 pick, would it be Durant or Oden?

TD: I don’t want to say it, because we may be the No. 1 pick.

Q: Do you think whoever has the top pick will come out and say who they are taking well before the draft?

TD: I don’t think the No. 1 or 2 will trade their pick, but if you have the No. 1 pick and you really know that you want Durant and that No. 2 wants Oden, there is leverage there. But, I don’t think they’ll come out right away and say, whoever had No. 1, ‘Well, we’re taking Oden or we’re taking Durant.’

Q: Do you look at the list and go ‘what was this kid thinking?’ sometimes?

TD: A lot of them, [it’s] academics. A lot of them just want to get their name out to be kind of recognized and go back to school. But some of it’s academics where they know they can’t continue at school or they got in trouble and they put their name on.”