Lottery stuff and Andy Katz mock draft

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

I was surprised at how much I was rooting for the Cavs to win the lottery
last night. I'm not sure it's overstating at all to say it may have saved
the franchise. You have no idea how low interest is in the NBA here in Ohio.
It's a wasteland. But with LeBron, that changes. I saw LeBron play a high
school game here in Columbus this season and the 17,000-seat arena was sold
out. It was a regular-season high school game in Columbus, Ohio. That's his
impact. Suddenly, not only are the Cavs going to be a hot ticket in
Cleveland, Akron, Canton, but also in Columbus and Pittsburgh-two pretty big
markets. Just a great day for the Cavs. Plus, it was nice to see Jerry West
squirm when that Grizzlies card appeared. He went from dreaming of LeBron,
to losing the pick to the Pistons.

Anyway, the top three appear set with LeBron to Cleveland, Darko to Detroit
and Anthony to Denver. Those seem like great fits for all three teams
(Denver, with Hilario, Tskitishvili, Anthony and, if the rumors are true,
Arenas, is loading up with talent. 

After that, it's a crapshoot. Toronto could use help everywhere. Katz has
them taking Kaman, but I could just as easily see them taking Ford or Bosh.
You'd have to think Miami would like T.J. Ford. Riley hasn't been wild about
small guards in the past, but he needs a point guard (if he's not sold, how
about the Celts offer Antoine, 16 and 20 for Brian Grant and Ford?). Who
knows what the Clippers would do? Rumor has it they want Ford, but if he's
not there, it's anybody's guess. 

Andy Katz put together the below mock draft. He has been the most accurate
of the mock drafters the last couple of years, mainly because he actually
seems to do some homework and report what he hears rather than just
repeating what all the "experts" keep hearing each other say. In this case,
he doesn't have Lampe or Pietrus rated as lottery picks. His only foreigner
is the Russian, Victor Kryapa. Also of note is the fact that Ford, Hinrich,
Ridnour and Gaines, the top four American point guards, all are off the
board in his mock. And that's before he even gets to Orlando at 15, which is
in the point guard market. So if you're convinced the fifth or sixth best
point guard in this draft is the answer to the Celtics' problems at that
position, by all means just stand pat. Now, I'm well aware that sometimes a
lesser rated player is better than a higher rated player, but if that's your
plan, you're in trouble. No, I think the Celtics need to make a bold move
for a point guard, whether it be move up in the draft or trade for an
established player (Andre Miller, Jay Williams).

Anyway, here's the Katz mock:

Mark


1. Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James, G, H.S.
(Akron, Ohio)
2. Detroit Pistons
Darko Milicic, F, Yugoslavia
3. Denver Nuggets
Carmelo Anthony
F, Fr., Syracuse
4. Toronto Raptors
Chris Kaman
C, Jr., Central Michigan
5. Miami Heat
T.J. Ford, G, So., Texas
6. L.A. Clippers
Chris Bosh
F, Fr., Georgia Tech
7. Chicago Bulls
Dwyane Wade
G, Jr., Marquette
8. Milwaukee Bucks
Kirk Hinrich, G, Sr., Kansas
9. New York Knicks
Nick Collison, F, Sr., Kansas
10. Washington Wizards
Victor Kryapa, F, Russia
11. Golden State Warriors
Luke Ridnour, G, Jr., Oregon
12. Seattle Supersonics
Michael Sweetney
F, Jr., Georgetown
13. Memphis Grizzlies
Reece Gaines
G, Sr., Louisville