Everyone has players on their own board that they would like to be selected, and a lot of time and energy has been put into Eddy Curry and justifying his immense talents and how he was worth the lottery picks and the knicks won the deal. But progress is progress so lets take a quick look inside the draft prospects most fans would have wanted if we had our lottery pick and could do it again, or how we would have done it? TYRUS THOMAS ORLANDO -- The breathtaking athleticism was evident Monday when Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas met Shawne Williams a foot above the rim and stuffed the dunk attempt back to the floor. With Thomas, already one of the NBA's most dynamic shot-blockers, the unexpected has almost become the expected. Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas is driven to improve his jump shot. But it was a more mundane effort -- Thomas actually knocking down a couple of 15-foot jump shots --that had defenders shaking their heads in Monday's Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando. Thomas' improved outside shot hasn't come by accident. He said he's worked seven days a week so far this offseason, often staying in the gym until he makes 700 jump shots a day. "I just want to use this week to get a lot better and put to use all the work that I've been putting in," said Thomas, the fourth overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft. "Everything that I've been working on, from my midrange game to my back-to-the-basket game, I'm trying to make them better this summer." Indiana defeated Chicago 93-89 in the summer league opener Monday, but Thomas was clearly the best player on the floor. He made 6-of-13 shots and got to the free-throw line 10 times for 17 points overall. He also added seven rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals in one of the most complete performances of the day. And Thomas did it even though he had to retreat to the training room in the third period after getting banged on the hip during -- what else? -- a dazzling blocked shot. Somewhat undersized as a 6-foot-9, 215-pound power forward, Thomas knows that if he's going to become more of a scoring threat for the Bulls, he has to be able to hit the midrange shot. A threat to drive to the hoop at any time, Thomas made foes pay Monday when they backed off him and basically dared him to shoot. Knowing when to take that shot comes easier now that he's been in the league a year and played 72 games as a rookie, Thomas said. But that certainly wasn't the case this time last year. "It was more just getting the feel of the game and knowing how to take my game to another level," said Thomas, referring to the transition to the NBA. "I know I still have a lot of stuff to work on, and I'm just keep trying to keep getting better." LaMarcus Aldridge Fact is, even Oden would insist that we vote for Aldridge . . . if he were still here. It was Oden, after all, who unexpectedly pinned a "beast" tag on the slender Texas ex over the weekend. Not the sort of tag Aldridge is used to. Yet it's clear that Oden's new frontcourt partner -- who didn't look nearly this confident a year ago, when Aldridge was Portland's top-two pick in Vegas -- has been the Blazers' best player. I was pretty worried for Portland when I saw Aldridge at the '06 Vegas Summer League, but he has returned with a considerable combination of self-belief and constant energy while averaging 21.0 points and 11.0 rebounds through three games. Plus he never gives the impression that he's above summer-league duty, which easily could have been the case after Aldridge rebounded from the shoulder trouble that plagued him here last July to make the All-Rookie Team. Honorable mention: Brandon Roy. Word is that Roy badly wanted to play for the Blazers' summer squad again, even after his near-unanimous Rookie of the Year season, but his bosses apparently urged Roy to rest as a health precaution. How antsy is he? During Oden's second game, I saw Roy hiding a ball and dribbling it below his knees while watching from the Blazers' bench. Stacking up last years prospects: We love Balkman he is a player, and exactly what the knicks needed but the two below would have been great selections for the long term as we needed a pg and by all accounts balkman like chandler was a second round selection. Two way PG: Kyle Lowry 23pts 12-13ft Marcus Williams 28pts 6rbs 5ass So here we are one year later with 33 wins fighting for the 8th playoff spot, Curry is making 10 million and will likely opt out and be paid 15 by isiah, and randolf currys mirror on defense was brought in to make the push for the final slot which just got harder with the additions of Mo Williams and Rashard Lewis to the Florida teams, and the addition of Jason Richardson to Bobcats. And we are still searching for a pg that can make the entry pass. Everyone is so quick to point out Curry talents but in the end we are where we are. The draft is a crap shot there is no question, but GMs always pick potential over character, talent over smarts, draft big stiffs, is the drafting process really that hard?