---

A weak draft? Eight teams who'd disagree

A lot of players have yet to declare, and the lottery balls have yet to be determined but there are already a bunch of prospects out there that make for good speculation. Based on the current standings, Atlanta, Charlotte, New Orleans, Utah, Portland, Golden State, Milwaukee and Toronto have the worst records in the NBA, with Orlando falling fast. Let's focus on the lowest 8 and see if we can match the current prospects to the team with the best fit.

Hawks

With Josh Smith and Josh Childress already blossoming at the GF position, and Boris Diaw in the mix, Atlanta would not benefit from having Marvin Williams Jr. whatsoever. They would be better suited taking Andrew Bogut or Chris Paul, but since no sane GM is going to take a 5'10 PG over a 7-0 no-brainer with the #1 pick I'd say the Hawks are a lock to take the Utah Center.

Hornets

At one point Bernie Bickerstaff was vocal about the teams desire for a point guard, but after the breakout season that Chris Hart has had, and the unbelievable games Brevin Knight has contributed, it wouldn't make much sense to have another 5'10 PG on the team. With Okafor and Brezec in the middle and Melvin Ely and Malik Allen in the teams' plans, I'd say Bogut is also out of the question. With Kareem Rush, Keith Bogans, Jason Kapono, Matt Carroll, Tamar Slay, Theron Smith and Gerald Wallace they have a gazillion GF on the team, not a franchise player in the bunch (although Wallace is a definite keeper). Junior would be the type of impact scorer that they desperately need so I would expect them to draft him if he's available.

Bobcats

New Orleans on the other hand, already has Jamaal Magloire, David West, Chris Andersen, Jackson Vroman and PJ Brown so even though they are a west team, it wouldn't make much sense for them to draft another big. They have JR Smith and that's about it in terms of wing scoring. Claxton and Dickau are a competent duo at point so I wouldn't expect them to draft Chris Paul. If Junior enters the draft then he would be the one the Hornets would take.

Jazz

What started out as a promising season for Utah, has turned into an absolute nightmare. All things considered however, it couldn't have worked out better for them since they are probably a lock to get a top 3 pick. They have Boozer, Okur, Kirilenko, Borchardt and Humphries locked up for the next decade so they won't need to draft a big until 2010. Eisley is a free agent, Lopez might have to retire and walk-on Keith Mcleod is better off as a reserve. Of all the teams in need of a point guard, Utah is the most needy, and it's an absolute LOCK they would take Chris Paul.

Trail Blazers

Portland never dreamt they would be in this position, yet here they are with the third-highest payroll and the 5th worst record. GM John Nash has done nothing to dispel the myth of the 'Jail Blazers' and instead locked up a couple of knuckleheads (Miles and Randolph) and helped Theo Ratliff remain one of the leagues most over-paid players. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Damon Stoudamire and Nick Van Exel are all free agents at the end of this season, and I'm positive that they'll all be sporting opposing jersey's next season. Unfortunately for the Blazers, even with 40mil getting lopped off their payroll this summer, the extensions to Ratliff and Randolph will keep them above the cap for years to come. Ruben Patterson and Derek Anderson make a combined 46mil over the next 3 seasons, basically meaning the Blazers will have to look to the draft for new blood.

With Sebastian Telfair as the 'future' of the team, I would say that Chris Paul is out of the question. And with Darius Miles and Patterson taking up space at the SF position I would say Marvin Williams jr. is a longshot. Assuming they don't get the #1 pick, I would also eliminate Andrew Bogut from the equation since they an absolute sleeper in Joel Przybilla to go along with Theo Ratliff and last year's pick 7-3 Korean, Ha Seung-Jin. Zach Randolph and Travis Outlaw are more than adequate for the 4 spot, making the only glaring hole in their lineup the shooting guard position. Derek Anderson is no longer an impact player and the Blazers will no doubt be trying to ship him out of town for the next 3 seasons.

Taking their passed history under scrutiny, and looking at the talent available, I would suspect that the player the Blazers are most-likely to draft is Golf Shores Academy product, Gerald Green. This high school senior is touted as the 'next' T-Mac because of his sick athleticism and lax demeanor. That has 'Jail Blazer' written all over it.

Bucks

Milwaukee is paying Alan Henderson (DAL) Jason Caffey (FA) and Anthony Mason (FA) a combined 20.2mil this season, but all are off the books come 2005/2006. With only 6 players under contract and nearly 25mil in cap space, the vault is officially open and Michael Redd is going to cash in along with anyone else the bucks have their sites set on. Since the trade of Mike James, Maurice Williams has been averaging 14pts 7ast and has proven he can play at this level. The Bucks are expecting TJ Ford to make a comeback next season, and could resign Erik Strickland as insurance so they're pretty much set at PG. With Mason and Redd under contract the Bucks are good for scoring and should instead do something to improve their depth in the middle. Joe Smith is competent yet unspectacular, but Calvin Booth is outright horrendous. Dan Gadzuric is a good defensive player, and would give Ratliff a good go 1-vs-1 but he simply can't score they way they need him and would be better suited coming off the bench in my opinion. Toni Kukoc is probably going to try to sign his final pact with a championship contender, (Lakers, Heat, Pacers) which means Milwaukee will be looking to add an athletic, scoring big man who can take some of the pressure off of Desmond and Redd. Look no further than Tiago Splitter, who many are justifiably comparing to Pau Gasol. At 6'11, 240 the body size is almost identical, and the fact the kid can shoot from anywhere on the court, post up and take his defender off the dribble makes him a perfect fit for the Bucks.

Warriors

Golden State was a lock to get a top 5 pick until they traded for Baron Davis. They are 8-7 since the trade and 4-2 since he entered the starting lineup in place of Derek Fisher. At 24-45 The Warriors aren't going to make the playoffs but they'll certainly catch Portland (24-45) and Milwaukee (27-42) and hopefully my Raptors (29-40) along the way, falling out of the top 5. Foyle is vastly overpaid and better-suited for spot duty, so GSW would LOVE to add Bogut to a lineup with Baron, J-Rich, Dunleavy and Murphy. Unfortunately that won't happen unless they trade Dunleavy and their top 8 pick. It's important to note that the Warriors also have projects Andris Biedrins and Zarko Cabarkapa in the wings so drafting 7-3 Martynas Andriuskevicius is absolutely out of the question That said, I have absolutely no confidence in Chris Mullin's abilities as a GM so all bets are off.

Raptors

Now for my home team, which I regrettably have to preface with an excuse for their poor showing this season. Contrary to their record, Toronto has more talent and depth than lots of teams with better records, but with a new coach every year, a bad draft and a plethora of dressing room issues (most notably the Vince Carter situation) the Raptors have not been able to get into a groove. This year is as much an experimentation as any for Toronto and I consider the Raps the "best-bad-team" in the league.

With Jalen Rose and Chris Bosh regularly combining for 50pts and Rafer and Donyell adding 15 each, the Raptors have no trouble outscoring teams so losses are getting harder and harder to come by. The departure of Donyell Marshall is going to create a big whole in the Raptors offence, but fans shouldn't despair. Some of us have long resented the fact that Marshall is nothing more than an oversized Small Forward who thinks the term 'pick-and' always ends in 'pop!' Marshall simply doesn't address the Raptors needs for interior defense from the PF position. Marshall is no doubt a great 3pt shooter, but he gives the Raptors plenty of what they already excel at (scoring), and nothing of what they actually need (size, defense).

Still, the Raptors will no doubt be looking for ways to replace his bench scoring, and I suggest that moving Rafer Alston to the second unit to play alongside Matt Bonner and Morris Peterson is the solution. Alston is a very good player and after Kirk Hinrich, his 14ppg 6.5apg for 3million a season makes him the best "bang for the buck" PG in the league. That said, he is a firecracker that needs open reign to perform at his best but Coach Mitchell is looking for a pass-first point guard who can defend his position against larger players.

There are only so many shots available when Jalen and Bosh are on the court, so Rafer's penchant for shooting 3's early in the shot clock only detract from the goals of the team. It is my estimation that the Raptors need to look for an unselfish point guard who can run the half-court offence and fast break equally well. They needn't look any further than Illinois' Deron Williams. Anyone who has been keeping up with this kid knows he is has a NBA-ready game to go along with his 6'3 215lb frame. Comparisons to Andre Miller and Jason Kidd are accurate, granted he falls somewhere in between. The Raptors shouldn't hesitate to draft the kid who could very well take his team to the NCAA championship. He may not be as good 1-on-1 as Chris Paul, but he certainly has the size, the temperament and the abilities to be a factor in the NBA.

Toronto has an outside shot for a top 3 pick, but I would be confident that drafting Deron Williams #5 and an all-American big man like Chris Taft or Ronny Turiaf with Philly's pick would be a franchise-changing event. With stability, confidence, and two first round picks this summer, 2005/2006 will no doubt yield much better, more consistent results for the Raptors and Toronto could very well find themselves challenging for the #3 seed next season.

There are plenty of prospects yet to declare and a handful that have yet to back out but like I always say "being listed on the draft board is better than being at home bored, listlessly watching the draft." All the teamson this list should be looking forward to the draft with great anticipation. But for Orlando, New York, New New Jersey and the Clippers they are going to have to rely on the agility of their GM's and the free agent market to improve their fortunes for next season.