1. Cleveland: LeBron James, 6-8, 240, small forward, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, Akron, Ohio. Now all he has to do is prove it.
2. Detroit: Darko Milicic, 7-0 3/4, 250, center, Serbia-Montenegro. He’s supposed to make Pistons fans forget about Bob Lanier.
3. Denver: Carmelo Anthony, 6-7 1/2, 233, small forward, freshman, Syracuse. The next chapter in the continuing search for a star.
4. Toronto: Chris Bosh, 6-11 1/2, 225, power forward, freshman, Georgia Tech. If they’re patient, he could prove to be terrific.
5. Miami: Chris Kaman, 7-0 1/2, 252, center, junior, Central Michigan. Pat Riley always starts with a center, though he’s had better than this.
6. Los Angeles Clippers: Mickael Pietrus, 6-6, 210, shooting guard, France. Big-time, athletic defender who doesn’t know the Clippers are a bad place to be.
7. Bulls: Dwyane Wade, 6-4 3/4, 212, shooting guard, Marquette. Chicago guy. Solid pick. He could one day become a star if he shoots better.
8. Milwaukee: Kirk Hinrich, 6-3 3/4 186, point guard, senior, Kansas. Getting ready to step in for aging Gary Payton and Sam Cassell.
9. New York: Maciej Lampe, 6-11, 240, power forward, Poland. Not the next Patrick Ewing, but a big guy.
10. Washington: Reece Gaines, 6-6, 205, point guard, senior, Louisville. Someone to run and score with Jerry Stackhouse.
11. Golden State: T.J. Ford, 6-0, 162, point guard, sophomore, Texas. Supposed to have star power, if not a shot. Need a point if Gilbert Arenas leaves. But Ford may need surgery on a neck problem.
12. Seattle: Nick Collison, 6-10, 255, power forward, senior, Kansas. Good, coachable big guy who’ll play for 15 years.
13. Memphis: Brian Cook, 6-10, 240, power forward, senior, Illinois. Not a big need, but Jerry West likes his overall talent.
14. Seattle: Jarvis Hayes, 6-7, 220, small forward, junior, Georgia. Maybe the best overall shooter in the draft.
15. Orlando: Luke Ridnour, 6-2, 167, point guard, junior, Oregon. Looking for a point guard again.
16. Boston: Marcus Banks, 6-2, 200, point guard, senior, UNLV. Also in need of a point guard.
17. Phoenix: Zarko Cabarkapa, 6-11, 235, small forward, Serbia-Montenegro. An athletic talent who can shoot the basketball.
18. New Orleans: Michael Sweetney, 6-8, 262, power forward, junior, Georgetown. They can use his post-up strength with P.J. Brown perhaps leaving.
19. Utah: Alexsandar Pavlovic, 6-7, 210, small forward, Serbia-Montenegro. They’ve scored before with international players, such as Andre Kirilenko.
20. Boston: Kendrick Perkins, 6-10, 285, center, Ozen High School, Texas. Worth risking the team’s second pick for a future big man.
21. Atlanta: Leandrino Barbosa, 6-3, 176, point guard, Brazil. Good prospect at point guard.
22. New Jersey: Zoran Planinic, 6-7, 195, shooting guard, Croatia. Can also play point guard, and Nets are worried about Jason Kidd.
23. Portland: Zaur Pachulia, 6-11, 240, center, Turkey. You need size to compete in the West.
24. Los Angeles Lakers: Steve Blake, 6-3, 172, point guard, senior, Maryland. Point guard who can shoot for Phil Jackson’s offense.
25. Detroit: Carlos Delfino, 6-6, 230, small forward, Argentina. Good shooter from South America, the next Yugoslavia for prospects.
26. Minnesota: David West, 6-9 1/4 226, power forward, Xavier. Good scorer around the basket
27. Memphis: Boris Diaw-Riffiord, 6-8, 203, small forward, France. All-around athletic talent.
28. San Antonio: Sofoklis Schortsanitis, 6-9, 285, power forward, Greece. Known as “Baby Shaq.” Maybe he can handle the Daddy.
29. Dallas: Ndudi Ebi, 6-9, 195, small forward, Westbury Christian High School, Houston. Athletic talent and shot-blocker whom the Mavericks can allow to develop.
