| CNNSI.com Mock NBA Draft: First Round |
| Pick |
Team |
| 1 |  | New Jersey -- Chris Mihm, C, Texas |
| Tough call, but with Jayson Williams hurt, N.J. lucks into the opportunity to scrap its entire arsenal of medicore big men (Jamie Feick, Jim McIlvaine, Evan Eschmeyer). |
2 |  | Vancouver -- Kenyon Martin, PF, Cincinnati |
| Best-groomed prospect in the draft gives Vancouver an awesome young frontcourt of Martin and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. |
3 |  | L.A. Clippers -- Stromile Swift, PF, LSU |
| Tough choice between Swift and Marcus Fizer, but the sophomore Swift has more upside and better defensive instincts. |
4 |  | Chicago -- Joel Przybilla, C, Minnesota
|
| A bit of a project, but the 7-foot-1 Przybilla could ultimately become one of the league's superior shot-blockers. |
5 |  | Orlando -- Marcus Fizer, PF, Iowa State |
| Shocked the draft's second-best player would drop this far, Orlando gets a sure thing knowing it has two more lottery picks to gamble. |
6 |  | Atlanta -- Courtney Alexander, SG, Fresno St.
|
| Forget the Isaiah Rider comparisons -- Hawks need instant offense and this 3-point bomber could instantly add 15 points a night. |
7 | | Chicago -- Mateen Cleaves, PG, Michigan St. |
| A tough call for Jerry Krause between prepster Darius Miles or a much-needed floor leader, knowing there's a steep drop-off at point after Cleaves. |
8 |  | Cleveland -- Iakovos Tsakalidis, 7-1, Greece |
| Cleveland needs a center bad -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas hasn't been healthy since the '80s. |
9 |  | Houston -- Darius Miles, SF, East St. Louis |
| Another young star to team with Steve Francis as part of the Rockets' nucleus for the future, Miles can play most spots on the floor. |
10 | | Orlando -- Mike Miller, SF, Florida
|
| Orlando loves the versatile home-state star and would consider taking him at No. 5. Thrilled to get him this low. |
11 |  | Boston -- DerMarr Johnson, SG, Cincinnati |
| Boston's more immediate need is inside and should try to trade up to get Mihm or Przybilla. If not, Johnson is a big-time scorer who can run in Pitino's style. |
12 |  | Dallas -- Jerome Moiso, C, UCLA |
| Ducking the temptation to put token unknown foreigner here, Don Nelson gets much-needed rebounding help from someone who could play the 4 or the 5. |
13 | | Orlando -- Etan Thomas, C, Syracuse |
| Probably a bit of a stretch to go lottery, but the shot-blocking Thomas is a nice add after nabbing Fizer and Miller. |
14 |  | Detroit -- Morris Peterson, SF, Michigan St.
|
| With Grant Hill likely gone, Detroit doesn't have to look too far for its new wingman and instant hero. |
15 |  | Milwaukee -- Mamadou N'diaye, C, Auburn |
| Interior defense is definitely a need for the Bucks, who won't get much else with this pick but do get a 7-footer with mega-wing span. |
16 |  | Sacramento -- Quentin Richardson, SG, DePaul |
| The Chicago star has the talent to go much higher but doesn't fill the needs of most higher teams. Sacramento, however, drools at the thought of adding "Q" to the backcourt. |
17 |  | Seattle -- Ernest Brown, C, Indian Hills CC |
| Definitely a project -- Brown didn't even dominate junior college. But Seattle has to be tiring of Vin Baker and its general weakness inside. |
18 | | L.A. Clippers -- Erick Barkley, PG, St. John's |
| No question the Clippers will take a point guard here, even if Barkley doesn't slip. Missouri's Keyon Dooling is another option. |
19 |  | Charlotte -- Desmond Mason, SG, Oklahoma St. |
| Assuming Eddie Jones stings elsewhere next season, Charlotte will need a new bomber. Mason made 43 percent of his 3-pointers. |
20 |  | Philadelphia -- Jason Kapono, SF, UCLA |
| Toni Kukoc is nice but not the outside shooter Philly needs. Kapono has the most upside of a horde of risky candidates, including Ohio State's Michael Redd and UCLA's JaRon Rush. |
21 |  | Toronto -- Keyon Dooling, PG, Missouri |
| Another team hoping to land a starting point guard in this draft -- trading up for Cleaves or Barkley not out of the question. |
22 |  | New York -- Jamaal Magloire, C, Kentucky |
| Hoping to avoid a repeat of the Frederic Weis debacle, NY taps the SEC rather than overseas for a competent big man. |
23 |  | Utah -- Hanno Mottola, PF, Utah |
| Aging Utah would be wise to tap Karl Malone's eventual replacement in this draft. Hometown star Mottola is a 4 who can also play the wing. |
24 | | Chicago -- DeShawn Stevenson, SG, Fresno HS |
| After passing up Miles earlier, Chicago can afford to take a chance on the league's other prepster with Ron Artest already in the fold. |
25 |  | Phoenix -- Jason Collier, C, Georgia Tech |
| No question Phoenix will take a big man; only question is whether to take the experienced but soft Collier or a foreign project (see 27, Pacers). |
26 | | Utah -- Chris Carrawell, SG, Duke |
| With Jeff Hornacek retiring, Utah would be thrilled to get a proven shooting guard like Carrawell. Only problem: He's not the 3-point bomber Hornacek was. |
27 |  | Indiana -- Soumalia Samake, C, Cincinnati (IBL) |
| Rik Smits' health is becoming more suspect by the week. We're guessing Donnie Walsh has been down I-74 to see this 7-2 sensation at some point. |
28 |  | Portland -- Dan McClintock, C, N. Arizona |
| Hard to pinpoint a specific need on the ultra-deep Blazers. McClintock would be a surprise first-rounder but could crack their rotation after some grooming. |
29 |  | L.A. Lakers -- Donnell Harvey, PF, Florida |
| Harvey, who's been labeled "Rodman without the tattoos," could eventually be a major upgrade at power forward, and LA has time to wait on the freshman to mature. |
