NBA draft suspense will officially begin with Raptors

P With first three picks all but sealed, the intrigue will start with the fourth pick in Thursday's draft.

By Chris Sheridan ~ The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- "With the first relatively surprising pick of the 2003 NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors select ... ."

Wouldn't it be fitting if commissioner David Stern walked to the podium at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night and uttered those words?

With so much already seeming certain -- LeBron James going No. 1 to Cleveland, Darko Milicic slated for Detroit at No. 2 and Carmelo Anthony all but locked into the third spot for Denver -- the intrigue begins with the Raptors selecting fourth overall.

Unless, of course, the Raptors trade the pick.

"There's good possibility there might be some changes in the (top four) draft order. I'm having some good conversations with teams, so we'll see what happens," Toronto general manager Glen Grunwald said Friday. "I'm happy to stay at four, too, but we have a couple of holes to fill and there might be another way to do it."

One of the larger players on everyone's radar dropped off Thursday when 18-year-old, 7-foot-4 Siberian center Pavel Podkolzine withdrew his name from the draft. Interest in Podkolzine had been high since his impressive workout last month in Chicago.

Draft gets interesting

The consensus among draftniks is that picks 4-9 will be the most intriguing, with Georgia Tech freshman Chris Bosh, Marquette sophomore guard Dwyane Wade, Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich, Texas guard T.J. Ford, Georgia swingman Jarvis Hayes, Polish center Maciej Lampe, Central Michigan center Chris Kaman and Georgetown forward Mike Sweetney among the top prospects.

"After the top three, it gets a lot fuzzier for everyone involved," Cleveland general manager Jim Paxson said.

Selecting after the Raptors are Miami at No. 5, then the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Washington Wizards.

"After the first three, I think there's a pick that could be had," New York Knicks general manager Scott Layden said Thursday.

Seattle has the 12th and 14th picks, Boston has Nos. 16 and 20, Memphis has Nos. 13 and 27 and Detroit has the second and 25th picks.

Minnesota has a first-round pick for the first time in three years, while Sacramento will have to wait the longest to choose. The Kings aren't on the board until No. 56 -- the third-to-last selection.

New York will have two of the first 10 selections in the second round, and those picks have extra trade value because second-round picks -- unlike first-rounders -- do not receive guaranteed three-year contracts.

"I think during the draft it will become very valuable," Layden said of the 30th pick, which New York received from Denver in the draft night trade a year ago that sent Marcus Camby, Nene Hilario and Mark Jackson to the Nuggets for Antonio McDyess and Frank Williams.

Among the players selected in the second round over the past five years are Rashard Lewis of Seattle, Cuttino Mobley of Houston, Golden State's Gilbert Arenas, Manu Ginobili of San Antonio, Cleveland's Carlos Boozer and Milwaukee's Michael Redd.

Draft starts with Cavs

The Cavaliers will be making the first overall selection since 1986, when they chose Brad Daugherty of North Carolina.

They have said they will select James, the high school phenom from Akron who led St. Vincent-St. Mary's to three Ohio state championships in four years. The 6-7 forward is viewed as a can't-miss prospect, and his upcoming selection has already produced a long-missing buzz around the Cavs in Cleveland.

Milicic, who turned 18 Friday, is a 7-foot left-hander from Serbia who will provide the Pistons with some much-needed frontcourt offense. Detroit reached the Eastern Conference finals in the just-completed playoffs but was swept by New Jersey while scoring no more than 86 points in the four games.

Anthony, who led Syracuse to the NCAA championship as a freshman, was the Big East freshman of the year while averaging 22.2 points. He would join a Denver team that will undergo a major overhaul through free agency this summer as Juwan Howard's $20 million salary comes off the Nuggets' cap.