draft scuttle

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don't know if anyone other than Ray and I is interested. (For Pete's sake, I
just lumped myself with Ray!) Pretty quiet out there. Anyway, ESPN.com's
Andy Katz gives updates daily leading up to the draft. He seems more plugged
in than any other analyst. I thought today's update was interesting-not that
it had anything to do with the Celts. I love Jared Jeffries' game, so I'm
not surprised to see his stock climbing. My prediction as this year's slider
is Drew Gooden-a little too Antawn Jamison for teams at the top of the
lottery.

Here's Katz's latest:

Two weeks until draft night, individual workouts began again Wednesday. And
the hottest names aren't Yao Ming, Jay Williams or Mike Dunleavy. Instead,
Nikoloz Tskitishvilli is becoming another Pau Gasol in the draft by taking
on a meteoric rise in the final few weeks. Like Gasol, who went No. 3 in
2001, Tskitishvilli is climbing and could go as high as No. 3 to the
Warriors or more likely to the Grizzlies at No. 4. It doesn't matter that
this is a 19-year-old who isn't the star for Benetton Treviso in Italy.
Tskitishvilli isn't the only player ascending. Teams are starting to be real
high on Indiana's Jared Jeffries, a player the Wizards covet at No. 11, but
who won't get past the Suns at No. 9. Further down in the draft, Kentucky's
Tayshaun Prince is on the move and the Rockets could be interested at No.
15. Division II Shaw University guard Ronald Murray is also become a hot
name and might slip into the late first round or higher. So, too, could
Valparaiso's Lubos Barton, two players who seemed to have helped themselves
out of Chicago more than was originally thought. Caron Butler and Curtis
Borchardt could each slide because of Mike Dunleavy, if he stays in the
draft, and Tskitishvilli's and Jeffries' climb -- even though neither Butler
nor Borchardt are hurting themselves with anything they have done. But the
movement in the lottery and a particular team's pressing need might force
both down.