With the NBA Draft just hours away, here's a look into whatmight happen in the first 13 picks.
1. Cleveland- Lebron James (6-8, 245, high school) Jameswould have been the first player drafted in last year's draft. Hehas received more hype than any athlete ever before turningpro.
2. Detroit- Darko Milicic (7-1, 253, Serbia) Milicic isalready wearing Piston's gear around town. The swing forward whoturned 18 just last week has all the deft fundamentals of aEuropean player, with the aggressiveness and attitude of anAmerican.
3. Denver- Carmelo Anthony (6-7, 234, Syracuse) AllAnthony did was lead Syracuse to a national championship as afreshman while averaging 22.7 points and 10 rebounds per game.
4. Toronto- Chris Bosh (6-11, 210, Georgia Tech) Thesedays every prospect is compared to someone who is already in theLeague. And Bosh has been drawing a lot of comparisons to KevinGarnett and his long, above-the-rim style of play.
5. Miami- Dwayne Wade (6-5, 212, Marquette) If Pat Rileywere smart he'd trade this pick or go with Maciej Lampe, but Rilesdoesn't put much stock in foreigners and Wade is a safe pick.
6. LA Clippers- T.J. Ford (6-0, 162, Texas) Ford couldfall a couple of more picks if the Clippers go after a post player,but Ford is the most proven point guard in the draft and the Clipsneed a floor general.
7. Chicago- Mickael Pietrus (6-6, 200, France) Bulls justcan't pass on "Euro-Jordan." Pietrus' game of attacking the laneand taking his man off the dribble suits the NBA style.
8. Milwaukee- Kirk Hinrich (6-4, 190, Kansas) Hinrich isa fundamentally sound, scoring point. He won't blow you away thoughand his stock has been falling lately.
9. New York- Maciej Lampe (7-0, 240, Poland) We don'tthink Lampe will fall this far, but we couldn't find a definitespot where he would go. His game is a lot like Milicic's, but helacks the aggressiveness.
10. Washington- Chris Kaman (7-0, 255, Central Michigan)Unlike most American-born centers, Kaman can score withconsistency. His defense, or lack thereof, is why he falls thisfar.
11. Golden State- Nick Collison (6-10, 255, Kansas) Whilehis teammate Hinrich has been falling, Collison has impressed someteams in private workouts. They like his size and understanding ofthe game.
12. Seattle- Mike Sweetney (6-8, 260, Georgetown)Sweetney thought about withdrawing from the draft, but decided tostay in at the last minute. He wouldn't have done so unless he hadgotten an assurance from some team that he would go high and he hasimpressed the Sonics brass.
13. Grizzlies- Sofoklis Schortsanitis (6-10, 314, Greece)We doubt the Grizzlies will keep this pick. Look for them to tradewith Toronto or Miami, but if they do stay at 13, West may take achance on "Baby Shaq" He's the most physically imposing player inthe draft and uses his size to his advantage. After all, West andthe Griz need to add size more than any other team in the NBA.
