Inside the NBA draft: Shooters — small forwards, shooting guards

Editor's note: No. 2 in a three-part series

Next: Floor generals (point guards/combo guards)

Cream of the crop

The best of the bunch here includes Arizona shooting guard Andre Iguodala, Duke small forward Luol Deng and Stanford small forward Josh Childress. All are expected to be high lottery picks. Not far behind should be Nevada's Kirk Snyder, Oregon's Luke Jackson and New Jersey high school star J.R. Smith. Jackson might be the best shooter of all, though his defense is somewhat suspect.

Jazz time

The Jazz have long had their eye on Sergey Monya, who stands 6-foot-8. They project him as a shooting guard who can play with Russian countryman Andrei Kirilenko, their All-Star small forward. Don't be surprised if Utah uses either its No. 14 or No. 16 pick on him. The Jazz also have kept close tabs on Smith, Snyder, Jackson, prepster Dorell Wright and Russian Viktor Khryapa. They also like Oklahoma State's Tony Allen; his awkward shot is improving, but even No. 21 might be a bit high for the Big 12 Player of the Year.

Utah now

The Jazz love streak-shooting sixth man Raja Bell and very much want to re-sign pure shooter Gordan Giricek, a restricted free agent who finished the season as their starting shooting guard. Kirilenko isn't going anywhere, and captain Matt Harpring should return from a knee injury to re-claim minutes at the 3 spot. The wild card: Will Utah lose 2003 first-round pick Sasha Pavlovic in tonight's NBA Expansion Draft? If so, the need to land one more top shooter increases exponentially.

Local ties

University of Utah product Nick Jacobson is a pure shooter likened to Fred Hoiberg. He has worked out for a few teams, including Cleveland, but probably isn't getting the respect he deserves. In fact, the NBA's official draft guide doesn't even mention Jacobson. He could sneak into the tail end of the second round, but it's more likely the ex-Ute gets an invite to some club's summer camp.

Fantasy pick

It turns out 6-7 Croatian Marko Tomas did not withdraw his name from draft consideration after all, the Jazz acquire a second-round pick to get him, and he arrives with a jumper as good-looking as "That Girl" Marlo Thomas.