Katz (ESPN) Says Tsak In His Latest Mock Draft

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Mock draft No. 2: Grand Kenyon 
  By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

The only certainties that seemed to come out of the Chicago pre-draft
camp were the first two picks. The consensus among scouts -- and the
players themselves -- has Cincinnati senior forward Kenyon Martin moving
ahead of Texas junior center Chris Mihm for the first pick. LSU
sophomore forward Stromile Swift has started to secure the second spot.

 CRAWFORD CLIMBING 
 The talk at the Chicago pre-draft camp last week was less about the
first round and more about which team will land Portland's Jermaine
O'Neal in a trade.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Blazers were looking at trading with
Chicago, Dallas, Boston or Orlando. And what was the potential goal of
the trade? Possibly Michigan freshman point guard Jamal Crawford.
Portland assistant Tim Grgurich knew Crawford when he was at Seattle's
Rainier Beach High School and Grgurich was with the Sonics. Grgurich was
the one who tipped off Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian about Crawford
when the Bulldogs signed him during his first senior year.

Crawford was granted a fifth year of high-school eligibility and
eventually signed and played last season with Michigan. Crawford played
in only 17 games because of an NCAA suspension. But he averaged 16.6
points and his 6-foot, 6-inch wiry frame is tantalizing to NBA scouts
who see a multi-faceted point guard.

Crawford's playmaking skills and perimeter jumper were on target during
the Chicago drills. He was off during the first game, going 1-for-9 from
the field. But he was 5-for-8, scoring 12 points in his team's second
game. He missed the third game with a pulled groin.

But Crawford measured at 6-4 ½ without shoes, with a wing span at 6-10.
Those numbers put him ahead of many of this year's point guards, who all
seem to be on the dimunitive side. Trying to project where Crawford goes
in the draft is the hardest part of picking the first round. Not knowing
what will happen with O'Neal makes it even tougher. 
After the top two, the first round could go a number of ways. High
school senior Darius Miles, Fresno State senior guard Courtney
Alexander, Iowa State junior forward Marcus Fizer and Greek center
Iakovos Tsakalidis will control the rest of the draft. Where these four
players fall will determine the rest of the order. But Miles, Fizer and
Alexander could go anywhere from Nos. 3 to 9. Tsakalidis could land
anywhere from 4 to 12.

None of them played in Chicago, but all were present for the physicals
over the weekend. A number of players helped themselves by being at the
Chicago camp, but weren't able to crack ESPN.com's second mock draft.
They might get into our third version after next week's deadline for
underclassmen to withdraw (June 21) or the fourth and final mock draft
the day before the June 28 draft.

Names you won't see below but could easily be in the first round by the
end of the month are: UCLA freshman forward Jason Kapono, Connecticut
junior point guard Khalid El-Amin, Oklahoma State senior forward Desmond
Mason, Saint Louis senior guard Justin Love, Italian forward Marko
Jaric, Stanford senior forward Mark Madsen, Greek forward Antonis Fotsis
and Ohio State senior point Scoonie Penn.

Here's our latest list:

1. New Jersey -- Kenyon Martin, 6-9, Sr., Cincinnati: The Nets need a
power player inside, especially with Jayson Williams' leg in question.

The Nets likely will get offers from the Magic for a trade for Martin.
But the Nets would be smarter to hold onto the pick. Putting Martin next
to Keith Van Horn makes the Nets one of the toughest frontcourts to
defend in the East. Martin has moved ahead of Chris Mihm because of his
potential for more of an impact next season. He's also more coveted than
Mihm at this juncture.

  
LSU's Stromile Swift has risen to the No. 2 spot. 
2. Vancouver -- Stromile Swift, 6-9, So., LSU: The Grizzlies have fallen
for Swift and won't let him slip past No. 2 if the Nets choose Martin.
Swift answers the Grizzlies' needs for a shot blocker and rebounder.
Adding Swift could help convince Shareef Abdur-Rahim to stay in
Vancouver. Swift said he has gotten the best vibe from the Grizzlies.

3. Los Angeles Clippers -- Marcus Fizer, 6-8, Jr., Iowa State: The
Clippers could shock the draft and pick Darius Miles. They could play it
safe for a shooting guard and take Courtney Alexander. But the safest
pick, thus far, is Fizer. He's a power player who can give the Clippers
some size and production inside as Michael Olowkandi continues to
develop. Fizer isn't opposed to playing for the Clippers.

4. Chicago -- Chris Mihm, 7-0, Jr., Texas: The Bulls covet a center and
have the pick of Mihm, Joel Przybilla and Iakovos Tsakalidis with this
pick. Portland could be looking to trade with the Bulls for Jermaine
O'Neal. But O'Neal can't play in the post as consistently as Mihm. The
Texas center is the safest choice for the Bulls. He also has the
outgoing personality that meshes well with Elton Brand in the Bulls
quest to regain their place as the Second City's favorite team.

5. Orlando -- Darius Miles, 6-9, HS, East St. Louis (Ill.): Doc Rivers
is the perfect coach for Miles -- a player's coach who can teach, but
also deliver the necessary discipline. The Magic could ship this pick to
New Jersey for Martin or send Miles to Portland for O'Neal. If the
Clippers take Miles or Alexander, look for the Magic to draft Fizer.
Miles doesn't think he'll drop past five. He might know something no one
else does yet.

6. Atlanta -- Mike Miller, 6-8, So., Florida: Miller is only working out
for Atlanta, Chicago and Orlando, which gives an impression that he
thinks he's going somewhere between Nos. 4 and 7. Miller is a scoring
small forward with defensive deficiencies. But he's a fit for Hawks GM
Pete Babcock and Atlanta coach Lon Kruger. If the Hawks pass on Miller,
they'll probably grab either Alexander or DerMarr Johnson.

7. Chicago -- Courtney Alexander, 6-5, Sr., Fresno State: Alexander
believes he's the top shooting guard in the draft, perhaps the best
player in the draft. He might be, but he's not going in the top two.
Alexander could land as high as No. 3, but he might drop to seven. He's
the perfect fit for the Bulls, who need a scorer on the wing. Playing in
Chicago would be a dream for Alexander, who models his game after his
idol MJ.

8. Cleveland -- Joel Przybilla, 7-0, So., Minnesota: The Cavaliers need
a big man with the unknown availability of Zydrunas Ilgauskas for next
season. Tsakalidis is a possibility here, but Przybilla won't slip past
the Cavaliers -- if he's not taken by Orlando or Chicago. His stock has
risen as he takes off body fat and adds muscle while working out in the
Bay Area.

9. Houston -- DerMarr Johnson, 6-9, Fr., Cincinnati: The versatile
shooting guard would slide in next to Steve Francis and in place of or
substituting for Cuttino Mobley. Johnson won't slide past Houston if
he's still available. Johnson could go as high as No. 3. His upside and
ability to play three positions make him a tantalizing pick.

 OTHER RUMBLINGS 
 Sources at UCLA told ESPN.com that Jason Kapono is leaning toward going
back to school unless he can get a guarantee from the Lakers that he
would be taken in the first round. Kapono skipped out on the Chicago
pre-draft camp, but hasn't hired an agent.

Khalid El-Amin and Scoonie Penn (who didn't show up in Chicago) are
battling to be the fifth or sixth point guards taken in the draft. Four
seem to be locks for the first round: Jamal Crawford, Hofstra's Speedy
Claxton, St. John's Erick Barkley and Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves.

Justin Love continues to be one of the surprises of the draft camps, but
he's still a 6-1 shooting guard in a point-guard's body. Mason could
easily work his way into the first round with impressive workouts,
especially for teams that need athletes. Mark Madsen continues to be a
hard-working, productive forward at the draft camps and will either go
late in the first or get a guaranteed deal from a team high in the
second round.

Marko Jaric was more aggressive than Antonis Fotsis in Chicago but might
be too much of a tweener at 6-7 to be a lock in the first. Meanwhile,
Fotsis wasn't strong enough to consistently battle underneath.

Of course, there will probably be one or two picks like Utah's selection
of Andrei Kirilenko last season. The Russian forward wasn't a regular on
mock first round lists leading up to the first day. 
10. Orlando -- Quentin Richardson, 6-6, So., DePaul: Richardson might be
the hardest player to figure in the draft. He could be packaged in a
trade if the Magic takes him. He could also be used as bait to land
free-agent-to-be Tracy McGrady. Richardson could go as high as No. 7 to
Chicago, but he could also drop to the mid-teens. Richardson has
scheduled workouts with Dallas, Cleveland, Boston, Detroit, New Jersey,
Chicago, Orlando and Atlanta. The New Jersey workout is likely in case
he's packaged in a trade with the Nets.

11. Boston -- Iakovos Tsakalidis, 7-1, AEK Greece: Tsakalidis'
representatives told ESPN.com in Chicago that he can get out of the
final year of his contract with AEK. But the buzz in Chicago was that
Tsakalidis would be hard to get next season. Boston might be willing to
try to wiggle him out of the deal. The Celtics need a wide body inside.
If they don't go with Tsakalidis, it's probably because they couldn't
get him next season.

12. Dallas -- Olumide Oyedeji, 6-10, DJK Wurzburg: The Celtics could
upstage the Mavericks and take Oyedeji at No. 11. If they don't, the
Mavericks will have a tough choice between Oyedeji and UCLA's Jerome
Moiso. Both are rebounding forwards, but Moiso might be ready to help
out sooner. Oyedeji is playing on the same team as Mavericks forward
Dirk Nowitzki, giving them another connection with the Nigerian.

13. Orlando -- Jamal Crawford, 6-6, Fr., Michigan: This is the wild-card
pick. The Magic need to take a point guard with one of their three
picks, but they could easily pick one up in a trade or trade this pick.
If they keep it, the options are Crawford, Mateen Cleaves, Speedy
Claxton or Erick Barkley. The early favorite is Crawford with a chance
at being traded to Portland.

14. Detroit -- Jerome Moiso, 6-10, So., UCLA: The Pistons will take some
flak if they pass on Cleaves and Morris Peterson, but their first need
is for an inside presence. Moiso would be hard to pass up if he's
available. He could become a Theo Ratliff-type player after the Pistons
let him go to Philadelphia.

15. Milwaukee -- Etan Thomas, 6-9, Sr., Syracuse: The Bucks covet a
rebounder, even though they're going to re-sign Darvin Ham. Thomas won't
get past the Bucks if he's available. They would grab Moiso if he's at
No. 15, too. If the Bucks can't land either one of these players, then
they'll go with the best available athlete or scorer. They still need to
sign Tim Thomas this summer.