Who goes #1? The smart money says its going to be LaMarcus Aldridge, if Toronto keeps the pick – with the smarter money saying the pick is dealt, or at least the player selected with the pick is dealt, at some point before the draft is over. Adam Morison continues to be the hottest name in the class, but the odds he goes #1 are pretty slim, unless Toronto nabs him for someone else, like Portland. The Bulls are not expected to keep the player they grab at #2, the question becomes how far down is the real players the Bulls seek – its rumored the Lakers and Rockets both have a deal on the table with Chicago, the question is who does Chicago trigger the deal with.  The Charlotte Bobcats may keep the player they draft at number 3, and the smart money says its Rudy Gay, although its believed Bernie Bickerstaff and company are putting the hard sell on Adam Morrison as the next Bobcat draft pick, something Michael Jordan is said to be less than interested in. The dark horse to Charlotte is Tyrus Thomas.

The Houston Rockets may be closing in on a deal, although it’s a lot further away than many in the press want you to believe. In an odd turn of events the Rockets brought in Brandon Roy and Tyrus Thomas for workouts and meetings late in the week, leading many to believe the Rockets were getting into a deal with Chicago. The Rockets say they simply wanted to see both players and there was nothing in the works as of yet, league sources peg Houston as a team desperate to add an impact player and wanted to gauge Roy and Thomas first hand before moving to the table. Should Brandon Roy go #2 as some are expecting he will, the odds he stays in Chicago are pretty slim. Houston could be the team that grabs him, especially if Chicago’s player of choice is still there when Houston drafts at #8 – Roy himself told a group of reporters that he’d been told Houston was trying to move up to grab him.

The Miami Heat are shining atop the NBA world. Now the also-rans and never-have-beens will get a day in the sun on Wednesday at the league draft in New York.

This draft is good, if not great, with the top six players still generally considered to be (in alphabetical order) Texas sophomore forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Italian forward Andrea Bargnani, Connecticut swingman Rudy Gay, Gonzaga guard/forward Adam Morrison, Washington guard Brandon Roy, and LSU freshman forward Tyrus Thomas.

That leaves a potential group of solid players - including Villanova guard Randy Foye, Bradley center Patrick O'Bryant, North Carolina State forwardCedric Simmons, Connecticut guard Marcus Williams, Duke guardJ.J. Redickand forward Shelden Williams, Arkansas guard Ronnie Brewer, and Memphis guard Rodney Carney and swingman Thabo Sefolosha, who played in Italy last season - as possible selections for the Sixers, currently picking 13th.

President Billy King has made it clear that he's willing and hoping to move up and down. But, like other teams, Philly is finding the trade waters somewhat muddied.

Yes, the Sixers are asking around to see what the markets are for Allen Iverson andChris Webber, but they're buyers in a seller's market. Several other high-salaried veterans, including Bucks center Jamaal Magloire, Portland forwardsZach Randolph and Darius Miles, Utah forward Carlos Boozer, and Denver forward Kenyon Martin,are also being shopped, and most teams, still concerned about exceeding the luxury tax (or, at least that's their excuse to fans), are reluctant to pull the trigger for those kinds of big-ticket players.

Toronto, picking first overall, controls the top half of the draft. New president and general manager Bryan Colangelo will start things moving one way or another, depending on whether he picks Bargnani, Aldridge or even Morrison. However, Morrison would be a long shot at one and has been penciled in by many teams to go to the near-hometown Portland Trail Blazers with the fourth pick.

It's more likely that the Raptors have narrowed their choices to Aldridge and Bargnani, the 7-footer from Benetton Treviso who is compared to Dirk Nowitzkiwith his outstanding shooting range. Bargnani is the type of high-scoring, versatile player that Colangelo relied upon when building the Suns, and his Benetton GM, Maurizio Gherardini, was officially hired by the Raptors last week as vice president and assistant GM.

But Colangelo has had to wage a PR campaign on Bargnani's behalf with his own star forward, Chris Bosh, who isn't certain Bargnani is ready to contribute right away. Coming off a 27-55 season, Bosh is impatient - "Chris would like to be in the playoffs sometime soon," a close associate of Bosh's said - and holds a hammer. He can become a free agent in two years.

Colangelo has feelers out for any number of trade scenarios. He has rising free agent guard Mike James, whom the Raptors won't keep but can include in sign-and-trade deals next month, to package with the pick in potential deals. The most recent rumor, late Friday, involved James going to Dallas in a package for guard Marquis Daniels, but Colangelo wouldn't comment when reached Friday afternoon.

Many teams had Charlotte, picking third, going for Roy, the smooth Washington shooting guard who may be the most ready to step in and play right away. But the addition of Michael Jordan to the Bobcats as their basketball czar may change that; one person who has worked with Jordan in management decisions in recent years thinks Jordan may go for Gay, the talented Connecticut forward.

However, the draft's majordomo this year is agent Arn Tellem, who is back in the swing of things after being less involved with NBA players in recent years. Tellem represents several of the top players expected to go in the top half of the lottery, including Aldridge, Roy, Redick and Shelden Williams. Tellem has pulled Aldridge and Williams out of scheduled workouts, a hint that both have been made promises by teams in the top five, believed to be Chicago for Aldridge and Atlanta for Williams.
"Every one of his guys has a landing spot he's comfortable with," said a top-five executive who has discussed Tellem's intentions with him.

But Tellem may have a problem with Redick, who had been projected by many teams to go eighth to the Rockets until disclosure this month of a disc injury that may or may not require surgery. A league source said that Redick had received injections in the last week that have allowed him to work out for teams in Los Angeles. One team considering Redick believes there's a 70 percent chance he won't need surgery; another thinks he "absolutely" needs it.

If the Bulls have committed to Aldridge with the second pick, Thomas could fall. That may explain Thomas' last-second visit to Houston on Friday; a source indicates that the Rockets have explored moving up to as high as five by trading forward Juwan Howardand the eighth pick to Atlanta for the fifth pick, which would be a logical spot for Thomas to be selected if he isn't taken second.
At six, Minnesota needs point guard help, and the Wolves could do much worse than Marcus Williams, who is inconsistent but is quicker than anybody in the draft with the basketball. The Celtics pick next, and given that Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale and Celtics GM Danny Ainge are old teammates that have already done deals with one another, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some kind of swap on draft day.

The Rockets, picking eighth, are desperate for perimeter shooting help, and they may have also hedged their bets on Redick by bringing in Roy for one more look yesterday. Houston is also believed to have interest in Brewer.

The Warriors, picking ninth, may have interest in O'Bryant - generally considered the best pivotman in the draft - whose outstanding NCAA tournament has helped push him into the top half of the first round. Golden State also will have Brewer and Sefolosha in for final workouts before Wednesday.

Unless we are getting TMac, which we obviously aren't...there is no one I want from Houston.

Very interesting. A few places I've been have indicated the Bulls have trades almost done, yet its really not being reported much in Chicago.

I'd have to think the Chicago people close to the Bulls, that cover them on a daily basis, would have better contacts so I'm going to say BS. That said, I do think our pick will be coveted and Pax will be willing to move or so I guess (I really don't think he has one guy on his board standing way out and if he's able to get someone like Stromile to help him out and still get a high 1st rounder, he'll do so).