It's never too early for Jazz to 'feel a draft'

For the Jazz, this is frequently a time of year to look ahead.

Not now, though.

Not with Utah making its first trip to the NBA Western Conference finals since 1998.

Largely lost in all the resulting hullabaloo: talk of the June 28 NBA Draft, now less than one month away.

With that in mind, perhaps it's appropriate to peek toward the future, even if just for a moment.

Based on projected picks by various Internet mock drafts, prognosticators are guessing that Utah — which selects No. 25 overall in the draft's opening round — will try to land a shooting guard/swingman type.

Among those being attached to the Jazz in cyperspace, at least for now: Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars, Southern Cal's Nick Young, Rice's Morris Almond, Arizona's Marcus Williams and 6-foot-6 Italian shooting guard Marco Belinelli.

One Web site, InsideHoops.com, had been projecting that the Jazz would wind up with swingman Brandon Rush, but the University of Kansas swingman withdrew his name from draft consideration late last week.

A change in league rules this year dictates that the Jazz and other NBA teams won't be allowed to begin bringing prospects into their own facilities for workouts until sometime after a June 4-8 pre-draft camp in Orlando.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com