Inside the NBA draft: Big Men

Cream of the crop

Italian 7-footer Andrea Bargnani? Big Texan LaMarcus Aldridge? Neither? The question of who will be taken No. 1 overall in Wednesday's NBA Draft is as open-ended as it's been in years, though Bargnani and Aldridge certainly are two of the leading candidates. Aldridge is surely a top-five pick in any event, though Bargnani could slide a bit if he doesn't go No. 1 to the Toronto Raptors. LSU's Tyrus Thomas (the top-rated power forward, according to NBA scouting), Duke's Sheldon Williams and North Carolina State's Cedric Simmons all follow as likely lottery picks. Behind Bargnani, 7-foot Mouhamed Saer Sene of Senegal might be the next-best big man from overseas. Bradley's Patrick O'Bryant and UConn's Hilton Armstrong probably are the top two pure centers from American colleges, with O'Bryant pegged as a probable lottery pick and Armstrong projected as a mid first-rounder.

Jazz time

With the No. 14 overall pick, Bargnani and Aldridge both are far out of the Jazz's reach. Simmons canceled a planned workout in Utah, assuming he'll be gone before 14. Williams did come to town to audition, but scouts suspect he'll be long gone before 14 as well. The Jazz, however, have had both Sene and O'Bryant in to work out twice. They seemingly like Armstrong, too, so don't count him out. They'll probably only go big, though, if one of the shooting guards they really covet is not available when it's their turn to choose. In the second round, where Utah owns picks Nos. 46 and 47, possibilities include Ukranian Oleksiy Pecherov (if he falls hard from the first round), Gonzaga's J.P. Batista and University of Denver center Yemi Nicholson.

Utah now

It turns out Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer both are really power forwards, albeit with completely different games, leaving the Jazz quite a hole to fill at center. Greg Ostertag is retiring, Jarron Collins will be and unrestricted free agent (who could be re-signed) and Mark Eaton remains unavailable due to a bad back, prompting the most recent trade of forward Kris Humphries and rookie big man Robert Whaley to Toronto for ex-BYU center Rafael Araujo. Where, oh where, is Karl Malone when a team really needs him? And no wonder Sene seems like the next coming of Dikembe Mutombo.

Fantasy pick

The Jazz select 6-7 power forward (huh?) Paul Millsap of Louisiana Tech with their No. 47 overall second-round pick. Upset because he did not fall to Dallas at No. 58 — he already has an apartment in the Big D, and his new SUV is waiting to be washed by Mark Cuban — Millsap plays with a chip on his shoulder and finishes his career, which concludes with one season in Los Angeles after 32 in Utah, just 26,000 points shy of overtaking another certain Louisiana Tech product for second place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.