Peter May of the Boston Globe printed his Top 5 at each position in yesterday's paper. Here they are, with some of his comments: Centers <ul> [*]Chris Mihm (legitimate pivot man, but, well, is he another Danny Schayes?) [*]Joel Pryzbilla [*]Iakovos Tsakilidis (may be the best of the bunch but is still a work in progress) [*]Jamaal Magloire [*]Mamadou N'Diaye [/list] Power Forwards <ul> [*]Kenyon Martin [*]Stromile Swift (If Martin is No. 1, Swift is 1A) [*]Marcus Fizer [*]Etan Thomas (One of the better shot blockers and a two-time Big East defensive player of the year ... His game has been compared to that of Antonio Davis ... Could go as high as No. 9 to Houston) [*]Jerome Moiso (Has skills, but questions abound about his toughness) [/list] Small Forwards <ul> [*]Darius Miles (Will not go past Orlando at No. 5) [*]Mike Miller (stock has risen to the point where Chicago may take him at No. 4 over Miles) [*]Desmond Mason (bit of a dropoff ... excellent defender ... will flourish in the open court) [*]Chris Carrawell (How can you go wrong with this guy? ... should go in the high teens or early twenties) [*]Hanno Mottolo [/list] Shooting Guards <ul> [*]Courtney Alexander (Some team is going to luck into this guy) [*]DerMarr Johnson (think of Lamar Odom without the passing/point guard skills ... could co as high as No. 5; likely won't be around when the Celtics choose at No. 11) [*]Quentin Richardson [*]DeSwawn Stevenson (could be as high as No. 10 ... the work "potential" will get tossed round freely) [*]Morris Peterson (stock has slipped to the point where he may go behind Mateen Cleaves) [/list] Point Guards <ul> [*]Keyon Dooling [*]Jamal Crawford (biggest problem: no one has seen him in a full-blown workout, allegedly because of an injury ... could go in the teens) [*]Mateen Cleaves (No, he can't shoot. No, he's not real big. All he does is win ... pass on him at your own peril) [*]Speedy Claxton (Fastest man in the draft ... in the teens) [*]Erick Barkley (if he isn¹t gone by 18 or 20, he could slip into the second round) [/list] In today's paper, he printed his mock draft: <ol> [*]Kenyon Martin [*]Stromile Swift [*]Darius Miles [*]Chris Mihm [*]Marcus Fizer [*]Mike Miller [*]DerMarr Johnson [*]Joel Przybilla [*]Jerome Moiso [*]Courtney Alexander [*]Keyon Dooling [*]Etan Thomas [*]Olumide Oyedeji [*]Jamal Crawford [*]Desmond Mason [*]Quentin Richardson [*]Jamal Magloire [*]Mateen Cleaves [*]Morris Peterson [*]Hidayet Turkoglu [*]Speedy Claxton [*]Donnell Harvey [*]DeShawn Stevenson [*]Marko Jaric [*]Mamadou N'diaye [*]Jason Collier [*]Erick Barkley [*]Iakovos Tsakalidis [*]Hanno Mottola [/list=a] Personally, I find it odd that ranks Etan Thomas over Jerome Moiso but has the Rockets picking Moiso. Of Moiso, Celtics director of player personnel Leo Papile said "When you say that, my ears perk up." Sounds like we can't go horribly wrong with either, but I wouldn't be surprised if we moved up or down. I would love to trade down a few spots and take Thomas. I think Rudy might go with toughness and teamwork over flash and potential. Orlando, with three picks, could send us one in a deal involving our trade exception. However, I think NJ will trade the No. 1 pick to Orlando in a deal involving multiple trades and picks. They need to replace Williams (Mihm at #5), Kittles (Johnson or Alexander at No. 10), and pick up a good forward to play alongside Van Horn. Orlando will then take Stromile Swift first, sending Vancouver into a tizzy. Kenyon Martin could end up in Houston yet. It'll be an interesting draft. Is it 7:30 yet? ------------------ If you don't remember the ABA, you don't know basketball.
