Mouhammadou Jaiteh Pulls Out Of Draft

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

French basketball prospect Mouhammadou Jaiteh reportedly received guarantees to be taken in the first round of next week’s NBA Draft. But that was not enough for Jaiteh’s agent, Herman Mankyah, so he advised his client to withdraw from this year’s draft. And that is what he did this past week, in time for the June 17th withdrawal deadline. that failed to entice the 18-year-old enough to leave his development in France, agent Herman Manakyan told RealGM.com.

The 18-year-old Jaiteh reportedly held workouts with six NBA organizations throughout the draft process. Prior to that, Jaiteh showed himself to be a hard worker during the Nike Hoop Summitt in Portland in May. The 6-11 center demonstrated a 7-4 wingspan, with a muscular 249 pound frame. However, he definitely lacked explosiveness, and showed a raw post-up game.

Jaiteh played for a small club, Boulogne, in a French lower division. So, he needed to impress in these post-season sessions. So, getting the guarantees were a triumph. But that was not enough. “The guarantees were not in attractive situations for us,” Manakyan told RealGM.com. The plan is now for Jaiteh to sign with a higher-level team in France, and several clubs reportedly have been competing for his services. And with the development that should come from another year overseas, Jaiteh should hopefully put himself in even better position for the 2014 draft.

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