some bits and pieces by Chad:

# If Knicks GM Scott Layden is confident Chris Kaman won't be on the board at No. 9, he, too, will try to trade out of this year's draft. There isn't anyone else out there who can really help the Knicks. Reports they're high on Mike Sweetney or Sofaklis Schortsanitis are a bit silly. Given the abundance of power forwards (many of them undersized) already on their roster (Antonio McDyess, Kurt Thomas, Clarence Weatherspoon and Othella Harrington to name four), exactly how is Sweetney or the 17-year-old Schortsanitis supposed to help Layden reach his stated goal of making the playoffs next year?

More draft rumblings
# Several top European prospects are expected to arrive in the U.S. this week to begin workouts. Yugoslavia's Alexsandar Pavlovic and Slavko Vranes arrived in New York this weekend to begin working out with Darko Milicic. They'll start individual workouts next week. Spain's Maciej Lampe will also be here soon. His team, Universidad Complutense, was eliminated this weekend. Lampe played well in the series, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. He'll arrive in Chicago this week and begin training with Tim Grover at Hoops Gym.

# Several top draft prospects, including Dwyane Wade and Leandrinho Barbosa, are earning early draft buzz. Wade got rave reviews for a workout in Chicago on Friday. "He's got an unbelievable first step," one Bulls source told Insider. However, the Bulls are looking for a wing player who can shoot the ball, and Wade really meets neither description. The day before Barbosa came in and impressed Bulls brass with what the same Bulls source called "amazing athleticism." Barbosa also worked out in Milwaukee to strong reviews. "He's very long and active," a Bucks source told Insider. "He's got the chance to be really good; I'm just not sure how long it will take."

# BYU's Travis Hansen has been working out alongside Duke's Dahntay Jones. Hansen is considered the more complete player, but Jones may be the best athlete in the draft. So how did the two stack up in workouts? "Jones is an amazing athlete," one NBA team told Insider, "but what amazed us is how well Hansen hung with him. I'll be shocked if Hansen isn't drafted in the first round. Jones may be too. They're both playing really well."

# With that little prediction, we'll have to increase the number of first-rounders to 50 to get everyone in. The most interesting was the Charlotte Observer, which wrote a piece marveling over why Josh Howard isn't a mid-first-rounder. The story blamed the Internet (when in doubt ...) for Howard's slip.

Posted by martin:

some bits and pieces by Chad:

# If Knicks GM Scott Layden is confident Chris Kaman won't be on the board at No. 9, he, too, will try to trade out of this year's draft. There isn't anyone else out there who can really help the Knicks. Reports they're high on Mike Sweetney or Sofaklis Schortsanitis are a bit silly. Given the abundance of power forwards (many of them undersized) already on their roster (Antonio McDyess, Kurt Thomas, Clarence Weatherspoon and Othella Harrington to name four), exactly how is Sweetney or the 17-year-old Schortsanitis supposed to help Layden reach his stated goal of making the playoffs next year?

well, I guess the only thing I don't like about this logic is that the Knicks have too many overpaid player at all of the positions between 1 and 4, so why would the draft any young talent? There are really no centers to draft or trade for that would make an impact this coming year, so you might as well draft the best talent and hope for the best a couple of years down the road.

I agree, either we draft the best talent or the player with the most upside and see how he develops, outside of the first 5 that may go, we are looking at a lot of young players who will need some time to develop, I rather draft a kid with a ton of upside and wait..

I am not sold on sweetney, or the so called baby shaq(rolling eyes) until I see him play. Sweetney still worries me with his size. collison is a fine player but not what we need... I say stock pile on young talent give them a real chance to play and go from there..