Sergey Karasev will stay in Russia until NBA draft
Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow until the NBA draft in late June, fueling speculation among front-office executives that a team has given the Russian teen star a strong first-round guarantee, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Karasev's representatives, Andy Miller and Justin Zanik, began to inform teams on Tuesday that Karasev, a sharp-shooting 6-foot-7 forward, will not be made available for any private workouts prior to the June 27 draft, league sources said.
Most NBA teams wanted to get Karasev into their facilities for closer inspection, but none will get the opportunity.
Karasev, 19, is likely to be selected in the Nos. 14 to 24 range of the first round. At 6-foot-7, Karasev has tremendous shooting ability and has shown to be a deft passer with a savvy style on the floor.
Nearly every NBA team had executives scouting Karasev at Miller's agency workout in Las Vegas late last week. Karasev also played for the world team at the Hoop Summit practices and game in Portland, Ore., in April.
Teams give draft guarantees to agents so that a particular player won't work out for other teams prior to the draft. This way, other teams could be less convinced to use a pick on a player that they haven't had a chance to closely inspect. In return, the agent and player have a draft floor that is the lowest they could fall on draft night.
Karasev will be practicing for the rest of the month with Russia's under-20 national team slated to play in the World University Games in July. His father, Vasily, is the coach. Vasily Karasev was one of the best Russian point guards in history, and considered one of the elite European point guards of his generation.
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