Draft Predictions?

Actually I should start this out by saying I expect more shuffeling to take place before we even get to draft night. With the expansion draft taking place two days beforehand, it's nearly guaranteed that either Charlotte will have someone else's pick to play with, or a different team will have the #4 position, or both.

This draft is begging for trades, seeing how it's so weak and not many teams will want to commit 3-5 yr money to guys that simply aren't going to help. Okafur's good (went to my old HS in Houston!), but even with back problems aside, is he worth 4 million a year like Yao or LeBron? And he's one of the few "sure bets" this year!

Multiple pickers: Celtics (3), Utah (3), Atlanta (2),and Portland (2). Would you want to commit 7+ million, and 3 roster spots for bench players if you're the Celtics? They need immediate help and impact players. Neither of which are in abundance here.

Another interesting thing to watch - HS PF Hot Potato! Charlotte and Chicago have both said they won't touch a HS player. The Clippers have Brand (and Wilcox, and Ely) and the Wizards have Kwame. Who exactly is going to take Howard then? Would Atlanta try and trade up for him? It's going to be fun to see.

My (lottery) picks:

1 - ORL - E Okafur (PF) or trade
2 - LAC - L Deng (SF)
3 - CHI - trade (D Howard) or J Childress (SF)
4 - CHA - J Childress or trade (D Howard)
5 - WAS - A Biedrins (C)
6 - ATL - J Smith (SF) or trade (up for D Howard)
7 - PHO - M Andriuskevcius (C) or D Harris (PG)
8 - TOR - D Harris or S Livingston (PG)
9 - PHI - R Araujo (C) or L Jackson (SF)
10 - CLE - B Gordon (PG)
11 - GSW - T Splitter (C) or R Araujo (C)
12 - SEA - A Jefferson (PF) or T Splitter (C)
13 - POR - S Livingston (PG)

Evan