CNNSI Says Hayes/Delfino Celtics Picks

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

An interesting Mock Draft, though I don't see the logic in the Celtics
taking two
SF/SG.  However I am a Carlos Delfino fan as he is a hard nosed defender

with offensive skills reminiscent of Ginobelli. Needs to improve his
outside
shooting a wee bit.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/2003/draft/news/2003/05/22/mock_draft/

1   SG  LeBron James  Akron, Ohio  6'8"  240  18
I guess this means Milt Palacio won't be starting next year. Methinks
Jeff Van Gundy has suddenly become much more amenable to coaching the
Cavs as well. Of course, given Cleveland's history, James will blow out
his knee in August.

2   PF  Darko Milicic  Serbia  7'0"  245 18
Detroit doesn't necessarily need additional frontcourt help, but
Clifford Robinson is no spring chicken, and the Pistons are reportedly
in love with Milicic. It could also set them up to trade Zeljko Rebraca
or Corliss Williamson for a more traditional small forward.

3   SF  Carmelo Anthony  Syracuse  6'8"  220 19
This is exactly what Denver needs: a scorer whom they can run the
offense through. Denver may have been the worst offensive team in
history last season, and their top scorer (Juwan Howard) is a free
agent.

4   PF  Chris Bosh  Ga. Tech  6'11"  220 19
The Raptors are so thin at so many spots that they're basically looking
at the best player available, and Bosh certainly fits the bill. Speaking
of thin, Bosh is built along the lines of Joe Smith, but will have to
play right away because the Raptors' bench is nonexistent.

5   C  Chris Kaman  C. Michigan  7'0"  255 21
The Heat will be more than happy to finally get a real center, which
they haven't had since Alonzo Mourning had his kidney problems. T.J.
Ford is another possible pick here, but it's a lot easier to find a
cheap point guard in free agency than it is to find a center.

6   PG  T.J. Ford  Texas  5'11"  165 20
Andre Miller had his bags packed several months ago, and Keyon Dooling
is a woefully inadequate replacement. If the Clippers keep the pick
(they might not given the general roster-nuking that's likely this
summer), Ford is easily the best point man available, and he could make
the Clips a terror in transition.

7   SG  Mickakl Pietrus  France  6'6"  200 21
It goes without saying that the Bulls will take a shooting guard here
after a year of watching Trenton Hassell misplay the position. Pietrus,
originally from the French island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, is an
athletic slasher who should handle the guys whom Jalen Rose can't (or
won't) cover.

8   PF  Maciej Lampe  Poland  7'0"  240 18
Lampe is a seven-footer with perimeter skills who scouts insist on
comparing to Dirk Nowitzki, which makes me wonder why guys like this are
always compared to Nowitzki instead of, oh, say, Brad Lohaus. At any
rate, he looks to be this year's Nikoloz Tskitishvili and won't pay
immediate dividends.

9   SG  Dwyane Wade  Marquette  6'4"  200 21
Consider this one a placeholder. If Kaman and Lampe are both gone by the
time the Knicks pick, one has to think they'll try to deal this pick to
a team that fancies Wade in return for some frontcourt help. They're too
scarred from the Frederic Weis disaster to take a chance on Russian
giant Pavel Podkolzin.

10   PG  Leandrinho Barbosa  Brazil  6'4"  190 21
Barbosa is a combo guard much like Wade, and the Brazilian has slowly
been climbing the draft charts over the past month. With Tyronn Lue a
free agent and Juan Dixon coming off an unimpressive rookie year, he'll
have a chance to start right away for the post-Jordan Wizards.

11   C  Pavel Podkolzin  Russia  7'4"  300 18
The biggest draft risk in several years, Podkolzin is enormous, and
unlike most people his size he isn't a spaz, but he's been injured with
alarming frequency at an age when most people are virtually
indestructible. Golden State could use some more size and at this point
in the draft it's probably worth the the risk.

12   PF  Mike Sweetney  Georgetown  6'8"  260 20
The Sonics need a point guard in a bad way and are certain to take
either Luke Ridnour, Barbosa or Kirk Hinrich. But if two of them are
available, they may as well wait until their pick at No. 14, since one
is certain to still be on the board, and instead grab some power forward
help here. Sweetney is the post-up threat they have lacked since Vin
Baker turned into a 300-pound money sink.

13   PF  Sofoklis Schortsianitis  Greece  6'9"  275 18
The Grizzlies have been in need of frontcourt help for a long time,
especially at power forward, where they need some bulk to prevent Pau
Gasol from getting killed. Originally from Cameroon, Schortsianitis has
his detractors -- there's some debate over his real height -- but an
18-year old kid who is this huge has to have some appeal to Jerry West.

14   PG  Luke Ridnour  Oregon  6'2"  175 22
The Sonics will take either Ridnour or Hinrich with this pick to solve
their gaping void at point guard. My money is on Ridnour, a local kid
(from Blaine, Washington, just south of the Canadian border) whose deep
shooting fits in perfect with Seattle's system.

15   PG  Kirk Hinrich  Kansas  6'3"  190 22
The Magic would like to go big here, but with Sweetney and Schortianitis
off the board they'll turn to their point guard problems instead. Jacque
Vaughn wasn't a solution and Darrell Armstrong will be 35, and Hinrich
is easily the best player available at this point, which makes it an
easy call.

16   SF  Jarvis Hayes  Univ. of Georgia  6'7"  220 21
The Celtics badly need some athleticism on the wings -- and preferably a
little scoring help for Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker too. That's not
always available this late in the draft, but Hayes has some skills and
is probably the best athlete left on the board.

17   SF  Viktor Khryapa  Russia  6'9"  210 20
The Suns have had good success gambling on young guys with NBA bodies
(see Stoudemire, Amare). Khryapa doesn't necessarily fill a need, but
the Suns have an outstanding young nucleus with Marbury, Marion and
Stoudemire and can afford to wait a couple of years if it means getting
a star performer.

18   SG  Reece Gaines  Louisville  6'6"  185 22
Now that the Courtney Alexander experiment is a confirmed failure, the
Hornets are in the market for someone who can help out David Wesley with
bigger guards but also step in for Baron Davis and run the point. Gaines
fits the bill perfectly, and while he isn't as athletic as some of the
other guards in this draft, he'll make up for it with his size. Carlos
Delfino could also go here.

19   PF  Anderson Varejco  Brazil  6'10"  230 20
If you haven't seen this guy, you're in for a shock: picture Carrot Top
playing hoops. Varejco was once considered a top-five pick but his stock
has dropped faster than Bill Clinton's trousers since an unspired
performance at the Euroleague Final Four. Utah needs to replace Karl
Malone sooner or later -- perhaps as early as this summer -- and Varejco
looks like a better alternative than Scott Padgett.

20   SG  Carlos Delfino  Argentina  6'7"  191 20
Boston's second first-round pick should be a best-player-available type
of choice, and Danny Ainge could pull the trigger on a second import
here. Delfino is part of the new wave of South American players along
with Barbosa, Varejco and last year's imports Emanuel Ginobili and Nene
Hilario. He'll provide depth for a backcourt that desperately needs it.

21   SF  Travis Outlaw  Starkville, Miss.  6'9"  190 18
Atlanta's bench last year was a joke and they're badly in need of a
talent upgrade across the board. With that in mind, they'll take the
chance on Outlaw and let him develop. Part of me wants to see him in
Phoenix, however, where he could join Bo Outlaw as the league's first
all-scofflaw frontcourt.

22   SG  Aleksandar Pavlovic  Serbia  6'7'  207 19
The Nets' draft plans partly depend on Jason Kidd. If he's staying, then
they're in a salary cap pickle and will likely draft a player who will
stay in Europe -- much as they did with vowel-deprived Nenad Krstic last
year. Pavlovic is still young and could still benefit from another year
overseas, so he'll be the pick here.

23   PF  Nick Collison  Kansas  6'9"  250 22
Portland is turning over a new leaf with the departure of Bob Whitsitt,
so whoever the Blazers draft this year is going to have a record that's
cleaner than an Olsen twins movie. The Blazers could use Collison since
their offseason plans are likely to involve trading Rasheed Wallace,
Ruben Patterson or both.

24   C  Zaur Pachulia  Rep. of Georgia  6'11"  260 19
The Lakers are the biggest example of teams using a new drafting trend:
the "stay in Europe and off our salary cap" pick that teams on the
luxury tax line will be making at the end of the first round. When he
does arrive, look for Hollywood hippies to market his sweat as "Pachulia
oil."

25   PF  Zarko Caparkaba  Serbia  6'11"  230 22
The Kings are already paying luxury tax, and I'm sure they're not
excited about throwing out millions more so David West or Mario Austin
can wave a towel on the bench. Thus, they'll continue their Serbian
import program by taking Cabarkapa, and let him develop another year or
two overseas until their cap situation clears up enough to bring him in.

26   PF  Mario Austin  Mississippi St.  6'8'  265 21
Minnesota needs frontcourt help in a big way, and while there aren't any
centers available here (unfortunate, since Rasho Nesterovic may bolt),
it's a deep draft in power forwards. Austin is similar in build to Gary
Trent, but is probably even stronger and doesn't pull his hamstring
every five games.

27   SG  Boris Diaw  France  6'8"  201 21
With their second first-round pick, the Grizzlies will take the best
player available and go for the athletic but erratic Diaw. Incidentally,
am I the only one who wonders how there's one French guy named "Mickakl"
and another named "Boris" in this draft? Can a French guy named "Bjorn"
be far behind?

28   PF  David West  Xavier  6'8"  232 22
San Antonio doesn't need much, especially with a treasure trove of cap
space coming this summer. However, the front line still looks a little
thin with the retirement of David Robinson. West is undersized, but with
the success the Spurs had with Malik Rose, they should be willing to
gamble this late in the draft.

29   SF  Ndudi Ebi  Houston, Tex.  6'9'  206 19
The Mavs would like to go big here, but you have a better chance of
finding Atlantis than you do of finding quality size this late in the
draft. That's why they'll gamble on Ebi, who has height and could put on
the requisite muscle while the Mavs let him develop. I can't wait to see
David Stern pronounce this guy's name, so I hope he goes in the first
round (the NBA brings Russ Granik out of the bullpen for Round 2).