Sonics added a the best undrafted player to VSL team

Richmond Times Dispatch: Local college players were shut out of Thursday night's draft, but at least two landed with teams yesterday.

Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon, Virginia Tech's guard duo, will play in summer leagues with the Seattle SuperSonics and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, their agents said.

The players, essentially, will try out for the teams in the summer leagues. Only first-round draft picks are guaranteed contracts.

Dowdell was considered the state player most likely to be drafted. He would have been the first state player picked since Virginia's Roger Mason Jr. in 2002, and the first Tech player selected since Eddie Lucas in 1999.

Dowdell's agent, Kareem Memarian, said Seattle was going to take Dowdell with the 35th pick. But the Sonics had to send that selection, Louisiana State's Glen Davis, to the Boston Celtics as part of a blockbuster deal that shipped franchise guard Ray Allen to Boston. The Sonics are rebuilding their team around No.2 pick Kevin Durant, a former Oak Hill Academy star.

After that trade, Memarian said the Sonics told him they planned to bring Dowdell to their summer league. Memarian said he then notified other teams of this informal agreement, but added, "We still had other options, too. I didn't tell other teams not to draft him."

Dowdell worked out twice for the Sonics, including a last-minute workout Tuesday in Seattle. New Sonics General Manager Sam Presti also saw Dowdell work out for San Antonio, which previously employed Presti as its assistant general manager.

Critical Beatdown wrote:I think they're just saying the "best in Virginia", not the best overall, though that case could be made too because I really like what I've seen from his film.

JSM wrote:

Critical Beatdown wrote:I think they're just saying the "best in Virginia", not the best overall, though that case could be made too because I really like what I've seen from his film.

They said best in Virginia, I said best undrafted overall.