1. Houston - Yao Ming, C, China - For better or worse, the Rockets hitching their future to a 7-5 jump-shooter.

2. Chicago - Jay Williams, PG, Duke - Biggest no-brainer of the Draft.

3. Golden State - Mike Dunleavy, SF, Duke - Let me say that Dunleavy and the Warriors are not a good fit; Dunleavy is a complementary piece and the Warriors need somebody who can be a lead dog.

4. Memphis - Nickoloz Tskitishvili, SF, Georgia - Too much talk about Drew Gooden for me to believe it. West would never be so obvious. A trade is a possibility, but I see a European partner for Gasol

5. Denver - Caron Butler, SF, UConn - With Tskitishvili off the board and no real need for a post player, I see the Nuggets filling their swing position for years to come.

6. Cleveland - Drew Gooden, PF, Kansas - And they're happy to see him drop this low, whether to trade or to keep.

7. New York - Chris Wilcox, PF, Maryland - Sorta assuming that they won't make the deal for McDyess, and the Knicks will be very pleased to get him.

8. L.A. Clippers - DaJuan Wagner, G, Memphis - Whether going to Cleveland or not, a point guard -- and thus Wagner -- makes sense.

9. Phoenix - Jarred Jeffries, PF, Indiana - And they won't need all five minutes to do it.

10. Miami - Qyntel Woods, SF, NE MS CC - They need a small forward, and Woods is the best one left.

11. Washington - 'Nene' Hilario, PF, Brazil - Excellent value at the 11th pick; they can figure out how to slot him and Brown in the lineup.

12. L.A. Clippers - Amare Stoudemire, PF, HS - Another guy both the Clippers or the Cavs can use; highly unlikely he slips out of the lotto.

13. Milwaukee - Melvin Ely, PF, Fresno State - George Karl won't be waiting around for a player with 'potential'. Ely can play now, if Karl lets him.

14. Indiana - Curtis Borchardt, C, Stanford - You can never have too many big men, they have no pressing needs, and he'd be nice trade bait. Makes too much sense . . . maybe a deal here.

15. Houston - Bostjan Nachbar, SF, Slovenia - I'll defer to the experts on this one, and that seems to be the consensus here.

16. Philadelphia - Kareem Rush, F/G, Missouri - Call this one a hunch.

17. Washington - Jiri Welsch, G, Czech - Wizards need to replace Alexander, or this might just be headed to Denver as rumored.

18. Orlando - Frank Williams, PG, Illinois - And they pretend they didn't take a bust point guard (Jerryl Sasser) just a year ago.

19. Utah - Marcus Haislip, PF, Tennessee - Good value to maybe eventually replace Malone.

20. Toronto - Dan Dickau, PG, Gonzaga - Absolutely no hesitation here. Just what they need.

21. Portland - Jamal Sampson, C, Cal - Seems like a Whitsitt kind of guy to replace Davis in a year.

22. Phoenix - Casey Jacobsen, SF, Stanford - Fits the shooter hole on the Phoenix roster, and he will be a first-round pick.

23. Detroit - Rod Grizzard, SF, Alabama - Maybe, just maybe, they'll come to their senses on the awful offensively Michael Curry.

24. New Jersey - Carlos Boozer, PF, Duke - Odds are they trade out or take best player avaiable -- in my book, that's Boozer.

25. Denver - Luis Scola, PF, Argentina - Probably a project, but the Nuggest have nothing but time to develop players.

26. San Antonio - Dan Gadzuric, C, UCLA - Looking for the best available big man with Robinson ready to retire after the year and Malik Rose possibly on the way out.

27. Lakers - Tayshaun Prince, SF, Kentucky - An absolutely perfect fit for the Lakers' needs and system.

28. Sacramento - Nenad Krstic, C, Yugoslavia - They'll be content to allow him to develop overseas and avoid the guaranteed contract.