<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It doesn't look like Pitt center Aaron Gray will be working out at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando next month. Instead, the 7-foot junior who declared for the NBA draft three weeks ago will have a workout at Pitt or in a nearby NBA city at which general managers and scouts will grade him in one, all-important workout. The NBA predraft camp has evolved into a guard showcase; the big-name centers have declined to participate in recent years. Gray said he did not know of any centers who would be taking part in the workouts this year. "One of two things is going to happen," Gray said yesterday after playing pickup games against other Pitt players at the Petersen Events Center. "I'm going to work out here and invite all the teams to come. Or I'm going to pick a location and work out for a team and do their workout. If I did that, they would have to agree to open it up to all the other NBA teams." Gray said that workout likely will be sometime in the next two weeks before the Orlando camp, which is June 6-10. Gray still plans on attending the predraft camp, but he said he will only be there for physicals and official measurements and weigh-ins. "I have no problem working out down there," Gray said. "But no big men are going to be there. If I do well, it's going to be against power forwards and forwards. Even if I did well, what good would it do?" By holding one, all-inclusive workout, Gray will be able to give general managers what they're looking for without incurring the expenses of traveling around the country for private workouts. Many players who have signed with agents, as former Pitt player Chris Taft did last season, traveled across the country for private workouts with teams. Gray retained his college eligibility by not signing with an agent. If he attended private workouts, he would have to pay for all expenses related to those trips by the start of the school year in August. Gray said his workout will be at Pitt or in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Detroit or Cleveland. "Chris' situation was totally different from mine," Gray said. "He gave up his eligibility. I have to foot the bill for everything. That's why when I do this workout it has to be open to every team." Gray, who averaged 13.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season for the Panthers, is being projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick in the June 28 draft. A first-round pick is guaranteed more than $2 million. The last draft pick in the first round last season was guaranteed $2.24 million over three years, the standard NBA rookie contract. The third year of an NBA contract is a club option, but teams usually pick up the option. But Gray said yesterday that money will not be the determining factor in his decision. "I can promise you this," Gray said. "Just because they tell me I'm going to be a first-round pick doesn't mean I'll leave here. All the money in the world can't buy back my senior year. They could tell me I'm a lottery pick. But that's not what it's all about for me." Gray said he is not fazed by the likelihood that Ohio State recruit Greg Oden and other first-year college players will forgo their eligibility and enter the draft next season. Gray said he welcomes the competition. "I'm confident in myself," Gray said. "I'm not afraid of Greg Oden or anyone else out there. I'm not afraid to come back. My worst option is an amazing option. If I don't work out well and they tell me I have to come back, then I'm more than happy to come back to school."</div> Source
