NBA Draft 2003 Rundown

By Chris Tao

Lottery Picks

1 Cleveland LeBron James 6-8 SF St. Mary / St. Vincent (Ohio) - There is no question that Cleveland has a chance to reinvent itself. Finally, with local Akron high schooler LeBron James, the Cavs will climb out of the wasteland on ground even lower than the Nets' East Rutherford swamp. The Cavs have a player who is the biggest story in ten years and has a chance to become a global marketing icon. Gordon Gund, you're one lucky man.

2 Detroit (from Memphis) Darko Milicic 7-0 PF Serbia - A big man is what they needed. A big man is what they got. Darko will be great with the enforcer Ben Wallace. Darko can focus on offense, while Big Ben can get his back. If Darko plays well in his rookie season, the Pistons can make it to the Finals, regardless of the situation in New Jersey with Jason Kidd.

3 Denver Carmelo Anthony 6-7 Fr SF Syracuse - Carmelo Anthony is the best player currently drafted. LeBron and Darko were drafted for potential, but Carmelo's talent is obvious. He is a versatile and explosive player. No one can blame his whining or vows of revenge. Now if Denver will spend some of its free agent money, it can get close to the playoffs.

4 Toronto Chris Bosh 6-11 Fr PF Georgia Tech - Finally, undersized center Antonio Davis can move back to the power forward position. Although Bosh is not a true center, the lack of centers in the East makes Bosh's job a little bit easier.

5 Miami Dwyane Wade 6-5 Jr SG Marquette - The Heat probably should have went big with this pick. They already have Caron Butler and Eddie Jones, who are two good shooters. Coach Riley intends on using the 2-guard Wade as a point guard, an idea that may backfire. With Alonzo Mourning's return and recovery from kidney disease in doubt, Riley should have taken Chris Kaman.

6 LA Clippers Chris Kaman 7-0 Jr C Central Mich - The Clippers finally have a potential bona fide low post player. If they can keep Elton Brand, then the Clippers have a chance to move out of their current situation.

7 Chicago Kirk Hinrich 6-4 Sr SG Kansas - Chicago was smart in picking Kirk Hinrich because of Jay Williams' potential career-ending injury. The Bulls already have a talented young team. Now all they need is some guidance, discipline, and luck. Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler will be a formidable combo in a few years.

8 Milwaukee (from Atlanta) T.J. Ford 6-0 So PG Texas - T.J. will back up the Glove if the Glove stays in 'Waukee. But T.J. could start if Payton does not return. Ford will also start because Sam Cassell has been traded.

9 New York Michael Sweetney 6-8 Jr PF Georgetown - The Garden crowd was ambivalent about New York's pick. Some of New York's fans, shouting "FI-RE LAY-DEN", rejoiced at the pick and some fans were shocked. Scott Layden made up for any of his follies with his brilliant and lucky second round pick Maciej Lampe.

10 Washington Jarvis Hayes 6-7 Jr SG Georgia - Hayes will be groomed to be Jerry Stackhouse's successor. It may not have been the best choice for Washington. Stackhouse is Washington's only steady hand. Washington should have went big. But then again, they're still banking their future on Jordan draft pick Kwame Brown. Don't say 'bust' just yet. We could be saying 'Jermaine O'Neal' one day. Or maybe not.

11 Golden State Mickael Pietrus 6-6 SG France - ESPN analysts Tom Tolbert and Dick Vitale made an excellent point on the telecast? Why should the Warriors, who are chocked full of athletic swingmen, commit to another athletic freak? This was a big mistake. The Warriors probably should have traded down and picked a decent big man or traded up and got Chris Bosh or Chris Kaman.

12 Seattle Nick Collison 6-10 Sr PF Kansas - A great pick for Seattle because they added an experienced senior and guaranteed contributor. Seattle's lottery pick was further justified when they selected local Oregon product

13 Memphis (from Houston) Marcus Banks 6-2 Sr PG UNLV - He can potentially replaced the undisciplined Jason Williams. Houston could have used the pick, but Stevie Franchise had to leave Vancouver so Houston had to compensate the Grizzlies. Banks will be a great set up man for Pau Gasol and a great one-on-one player.

Draft Notes

- The steal of the draft was Maciej Lampe. Scott Layden, facing the ax from the fans, made a brilliant selection with the first pick of the second round. With each time David Stern didn't announce that Lampe was drafted, Lampe got more and more anxious and more willing to make a promise like Caron Butler did last year to punish the teams that he thought passed him up. The only thing that lifted Lampe's spirits were the cheers of the Knicks faithful, who chanted his name before the team made the first of its two second-round picks. "WE WANT LAMPE! WE WANT LAMPE!" "The fans were great. I thank them very much for supporting me," Lampe said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to pay them back one day." "I think some of the teams," he said, "made a mistake."

- Sofaklis Schortsanitis, also known as Baby Shaq, fell in the draft. His problems stemmed from the pre-draft measurements which showed him to be as short as 6'7". Nonetheless, he'll play for the L.A. Clippers. Baby Shaq and 375-lb Shaq in the same building? L.A.'s going to be crazy.

- Xue Yuyang could become the fourth Chinese player in the NBA. Dallas drafted Xue, and proceeded to trade him to Denver, where he will get more playing time.