First Round Mock Draft

Houston won the lottery and will have the first overall pick in NBA Draft. The question is whether they will move the pick, possibly to Golden State, who fell to third or will they keep the selection. The following is a look at my projected first round.

1	Houston	Yao Ming	China	C
2	Chicago	Jason Williams	Duke	PG
3	Golden State	Mike Dunleavy	Duke	SF
4	Memphis	Caron Butler	Connecticut	SF
5	Denver	Dajuan Wagner	Memphis	PG
6	Cleveland	Drew Gooden	Kansas	PF
7	New York Knicks	Curtis Borchardt	Stanford	C
8	Los Angeles Clippers	Nikoloz Tskitishvili	Italy	PF
9	Phoenix	Chris Wilcox	Maryland	PF
10	Miami	Qyntel Woods	Northeast Mississippi (MS) CC	SF
11	Washington	Jared Jeffries	Indiana	SF
12	Los Angeles Clippers	Chris Marcus	Western Kentucky	C
13	Milwaukee	Maybyner Hilario	Brazil	PF
14	Indiana	Kareem Rush	Missouri	SF
15	Houston	Bostjan Nachbar	Slovenia	SF
16	Philadelphia	Melvin Ely	Fresno State	PF
17	Charlotte	Frank Williams	Illinois	PG
18	Orlando	Amare Stoudemire	Orlando (FL) Cypress Creek HS	PF
19	Utah	Marcus Haislip	Tennessee	PF
20	Toronto	Dan Dickau	Gonzaga	PG
21	Portland	Jiri Welsch	Czech Republic	SG
22	Phoenix	Dan Gadzuric	UCLA	C
23	Detroit	Tito Maddox	Fresno State	PG
24	New Jersey	Roger Mason	Virginia	SG
25	Denver	Boris Diaw	France	SG
26	San Antonio	Rod Grizzard	Alabama	SF
27	Los Angeles Lakers	Carlos Boozer	Duke	PF
28	Sacramento	Sam Clancy	USC	PF

Houston could move down, since they don't need Jay Williams with Steve Francis, Moochie Norris and Cutino Mobley in the backcourt. Golden State, who was hoping to land Ming or Williams, could be willing to move up. Ming has the most trade value and could be the top selection.

Chicago has to love being in a no-loss situation, knowing that they have either Ming or Williams.

Golden State used Erick Dampier and Adonal Foyle in the middle and could use Ming. However, Williams would create some excitement in the backcourt. Larry Hughes and Gilbert Arenas, who had a nice rookie season, are not true playmakers.

Memphis has a solid frontcourt with Stromile Swift, Pau Gasol, Shane Battier and Lorenzen Wright. Caron Butler would give them depth at small forward and Battier can play some minutes at shooting guard.

Denver could go big with Curtis Borchardt or small with Dajuan Wagner. The Nuggets are thin in the backcourt with Voshon Lenard, Tim Hardaway and Kenny Satterifeld, so Wagner could be the pick. If he does not go there, he could slide. Drew Gooden and Qyntel Woods are other possibilities.

Cleveland would grab Gooden, if he is there. Tyrone Hill has one year left on his deal and Chris Mihm has not lived up to expectations.

New York could grab Wagner, who would be a local favorite. However, the Knicks will be paying $15 million to point guards Mark Jackson, Charlie Ward and Howard Eisley. They may move Marcus Camby in the offseason, so size could be important. New York could take Chris Wilcox or go foreign, but they might grab Borchardt.

The Clippers drafted Marko Jaric two years ago and that move could pay dividends next season when he joins the team. They could take a chance on Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who is being compared to Dirk Nowitzki.

Phoenix wants to upgrade the power forward position, manned by Tom Gugliotta and Bo Outlaw and would quickly snap up Wilcox, if he is available.

Miami used Kendall Gill and Jimmy Jackson, two true shooting guards at small forward, so they would grab Qyntel Woods, if he is still on the board. Borchardt could be the pick, if he is still available.

Washington's top six scorers were point guard or shooting guard, so they need some frontcourt help. Jared Jefferies is a versatile player who would be a nice addition.

The Clippers have two picks in the lottery and they could get an insurance policy at center, if they do not ink Michael Olowokandi to a long-term deal. Chris Marcus would give them a shotblocking big man.

Milwaukee is hoping to get back in the playoffs after a down season. They could gamble on the athletic Hilario over fellow power forward Melvin Ely and Amare Stoudemire.

The Pacers could take Kareem Rush as an athletic swing man who would soften the loss of Jalen Rose and future retirement of Reggie Miller.

Houston loves good outside shooters and Bostjan Nachbar fir that mode.

Philadelphia may want to upgrade their power forward combo of Derrick Coleman and Corie Blount and take Ely over Stoudemire.

Charlotte may need to improve their third-guard situation, manned by Bryce Drew and take Frank Williams, who could play a little at both guard spots.

Orlando power forward Horace Grant is not getting any younger, so the Magic need size and could not pass on local product Amare Stoudemire, if he is still around.

Utah would like to go big as well as they need a replacement for Karl Malone. Marcus Haislip was one of the most improved players in the country.

Toronto could stand to upgrade their point guard spot and Dan Dickau would give them a good outside shooting threat.

Portland has good depth and could use a future replacement for Scottie Pippen like Rod Grizzard or Chris Jeffries. However, they might go to the foreign market and take Jiri Welsch.

Phoenix needs to upgrade their center play and Dan Gadzuric's ability to run the floor makes him an intriguing prospect with the penetration skills of Stephon Maybury.

Detroit 's pick could go to Atlanta. Both teams need point guard help and could take Tito Maddox, who did not play this season.

Kerry Kittles bounced back after missing the entire 2000-01 season, but Roger Mason Jr. may be too good to pass on, despite the Nets adding Brandon Armstrong last year.

Denver may go to with Boris Diaw of France as an long-term answer at the shooting guard.

San Antonio need an athletic scorer and if Rod Grizzard's knee is O.K., he could be the pick.

The Lakers could use a physical presence to take the pressure of Shaquille O'Neal and Carlos Boozer could be a nice late first round pick.

The Kings had the league's best record and best offense, but they still could use defensive help. Sam Clancy is a good shotblocker, although questions about him being a "tweener" and concerns about his kneecap injury, could cause him to slip out of the first round.

There will plenty of changes to this mock draft as the workouts and the Chicago camp will cause players' stock to rise or fall.

Check out MonterDraftNews.com to get further inside the NBA Draft.