Post-lottery draft buzz
posted: Thursday, May 25, 2006 | Feedback

Most people who have read my column over the past few years know that I'm not a fan of mock drafts, especially this early in the process.

A mock draft is just really our best guess at what a team will do with the pick. Considering there's still five weeks to go in the draft process, that means we're trying to figure out what a team will do even before it knows.

Only the other hand, one of the benefits of doing a mock draft is that my cell phone starts going crazy. I got calls from half the teams in the league offering and seeking info. But it's very dangerous for the next five weeks to take teams at face value. Teams have a lot of incentive to put out half-truths this time of year.

As I sifted through what I heard the past 24 hours or so, I found a few notes I think are worth passing on:

Toronto Raptors: It seems as though everyone is predicting LaMarcus Aldridge as the Raptors' pick at No. 1. The thinking I hear almost every time is that Aldridge fits a need at center, so they have to take him.

I think that's wrong.

GM Bryan Colangelo will likely fill his needs via trade, with the $13 to $15 million he has in cap room this summer as an important part of the bargaining. And he'll likely use his draft pick to get the player he wants.

All of the evidence points to Andrea Bargnani. For those who wonder why Colangelo would take Bargnani when he plays the same position as Charlie Villanueva, here's a thought.

Colangelo could package Villanueva and a player like Alvin Williams for a center. Two decent prospects look as though they'll be on the block this year -- Jamaal Magloire and Samuel Dalembert.

Magloire would be a local favorite. He is from Toronto and would give the Raptors a physical big man to put beside Bosh.

But Dalembert is a better prospect. He's younger, more athletic and a better shot blocker.

Neither guy has a great contract. Magloire is looking for a big extension this summer and Dalembert has five years, $55 million left on his contract.

Would the Sixers or Bucks pull the trigger on that deal? I think so. Villanueva's stock is very high around the league right now and both teams could use the move as a bit of a salary dump, as Williams' contract is only partially guaranteed, starting this summer.

The question is whether Colangelo is willing to spend that amount of cash to solve the Raptors problem in the middle? I think getting the No. 1 solves some of that. The team can draft Bargnani to play the three, put Dalembert at the five and still have a boatload of cap room to either pay a free agent point guard (Jason Terry and Speedy Claxton will be available) or find a team willing to trade one (Marko Jaric or Jamaal Tinsley, perhaps) for cap space or another prospect.

And don't count out the Raptors' 2005 second-round pick, Roko Ukic. Colangelo is a fan and could try to bring him over from Europe this year.

Portland Trail Blazers: It appears there's going to be a fire sale in Portland this summer. Multiple league executives say that just about everyone, with the exception of Martell Webster, will be available this summer as Nate McMillan and company try to clean house.

Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, Theo Ratliff and even Sebastian Telfair can be had. The 30th and 31st picks in the draft are also for sale. The price? The Blazers want another top-10 draft pick to go along with No. 4. The targets? They'd like to get a scorer like LaMarcus Aldridge or Adam Morrison with one pick and Brandon Roy with the other one.

The Timberwolves at No. 6, the Celtics at No. 7, the Rockets at No. 8 and the Warriors at No. 9 could all be potential trade partners. All four teams are looking for more immediate help than the draft can provide.

Speaking of the Blazers, check out the studs in this big-time workout scheduled to go down in Portland on June 15: Morrison, Rudy Gay, Roy and Randy Foye.

Will be interesting to see, with the Blazers falling to No. 4, whether they can still get all four of those guys in.

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks could also be in the Samuel Dalembert running this summer. They seriously considered making him an offer last summer but were fearful the Sixers would match.

Sixers GM Billy King told me on Tuesday it was unlikely he'd be willing to trade Allen Iverson to Atlanta, but Dalembert might be another story. Al Harrington, via sign and trade, could be the bait.