VITALS: 6-7, 210, Buducnost (Serbia) OVERVIEW: Pavlovic has played for Buducnost in his native Serbia for the last three seasons and averaged 10.1 points last season in 20 games in the Yugoslavian league. He played well in Euroleague competition, averaging 9.6 points and shooting 54 percent from the floor. Pavlovic shot just under 29 percent on his 3-point attempts last season. Pavlovic played on two Yugoslavian championship teams with Buducnost in 2001-02. Pavlovic played at the 2002 European under-20 championships and has also been a member of the Serbian under-20 national team. Pavlovic is a product of Buducnost's very successful junior program. LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: First round. Pavlovic is one of those guys who could go anywhere in the draft. Boston (16, 20) is one team that has been routinely linked to him. Atlanta (21), Minnesota (26), New Jersey (22), San Antonio (28) and Seattle (14) are in the mix as well. COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Richard Jefferson, Desmond Mason COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Ron Mercer, Tariq Abdul-Wahad ROLE PROJECTION: Key reserve. POSITIVES: Pavlovic is a good athlete with terrific ability to score going to the basket. He takes his man off the dribble and has the ability to elevate over the top of traffic to garner looks. With an excellent mid-range game and the ability to finish, Pavlovic can score points in an up-tempo setting. SHORTCOMINGS: Pavlovic needs to learn how to play defense. His shot is streaky and he often loses sight of the team, focusing instead on creating scoring opportunities for himself. If Pavlovic is going to play guard in the NBA, he needs to have to develop his long-range shooting skills and become more aware of his teammates. At forward, Pavlovic has decent size, but he is on the soft side and does not show the toughness required to play in the frontcourt. Consequently, Pavlovic looks like a man without a position at this stage in his career. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "Pavlovic is pretty athletic, good hops, pretty good hands. He's not a consistent shooter, more on the streaky side. He could slip into the first round." Phoenix Suns international scout Tim Shea
