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"But at the draft, sometimes they say top 20 and you're top 30,'' he said. "You don't know exactly.''
Darrell Arthur, the Kansas forward who was one of Ajinca's workout partners at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, said he was hearing a "range of 9 to 20.''
It's hard to know where the lithe, but woefully inexperienced Ajinca might eventually go, but it's safe to say Arthur doesn't have to worry about "top 30.''
In any case, this turned into a multiteam viewing, with the Toronto Raptors (coach Sam Mitchell, director of player personnel Jim Kelly) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (general manager Danny Ferry, assistant GM Chris Grant) also observing. It's the same process by which the Sixers had previously watched Ohio State 7-footer Kosta Koufos during a session directed by the New Jersey Nets.
Arthur averaged 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds and helped the Jayhawks win the NCAA championship. He's a 2-year, 54.1 percent shooter from the floor, with 109 blocks in 78 games. If at a listed 6-9, 225 pounds, he seems a little undersized as a pro power forward, Sixers senior vice president/assistant general manager Tony DiLeo said the league is moving in that direction.
"He fits the way we play,'' DiLeo said. "He's an athletic player. He gets up and down the floor, he can hit an outside shot, he can post up. He's been a winner. In high school [in Dallas], he won; in college, he won. He has a lot of good intangibles.
"We like him because he can go outside, he can go inside. He may be able to play some 'three' down the road. He's a polished player. A lot of 'fours' are not huge anymore. They're more athletic; teams are playing more of an up-tempo [style]. I don't think size will be a problem for him.''
Arthur said he has been through "about nine'' workouts, and has one more scheduled today in Washington; he canceled a couple when, sitting on cramped, smaller airplanes, his back tightened up. He believes he is projected to go before the Sixers' slot, but said, "I just wanted to get all the workouts I could in. I wanted everybody to see me, just in case they were trying to make trades or anything.''
Ajinca appeared in just two games for Pau-Orthez in the French Pro A League in 2006-07, and averaged 5 points in 25 games this season with Hyeres-Toulon. In '05-06, he managed 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in high school in Paris.
He is listed at 220 pounds and said he would like to develop a body similar to Boston's Kevin Garnett or Toronto's Chris Bosh.
"I need to take some weight, not too much,'' he said, smiling. "Not like 'Shaq.' I don't have a body for the same thing like Shaq.''
DiLeo said teams are intrigued by Ajinca, despite his inexperience.
" 'Cause he's 7-1 and very skilled,'' DiLeo said. "He has a great feel for the game. He can shoot the ball; he can post up. The only thing that's a little against him right now is his body. His body hasn't filled out. He needs to get stronger. He would be a project just because of his body.''
The Sixers filled out yesterday's session with Drexel's Frank Elegar, who said he had previously visited Houston, New Orleans, Portland and Washington, and Saint Joseph's University's Rob Ferguson . . . Former Penn guard Jerome Allen has been in the gym as what Tony DiLeo termed "a guest coach'' . . . Sixers' Thaddeus Young, Rodney Carney, Lou Williams worked out yesterday. *
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