The NBA draft is today.

Wednesday, June 28, 2000

The NBA draft is today. The results are down the road.

Bart Burcham, assistant basketball coach at Ironton, has surveyed the field for Wednesday night’s NBA draft and he said the impact won’t be felt for several years.

"Players are coming out early, and there are a lot of young guys who you won’t know how good they are for two or three years from now," Burcham said.

He also thinks the draft lacks an immediate impact player which could cause teams to trade down.

"There’s no real franchise guy, but they can go 14-to-16 and get a good player. But it’ll be a while before they know how well this draft is. This should be a draft where Kobe Bryant would have been the first pick," said Burcham.

"Kenyon Martin fills an immediate need. He and (Marcus) Fizer are both real good players. Fizer is a Karl Malone-type player. But there’s no Allen Iverson in the draft."

Here are Burcham’s first-round predictions:

1. New Jersey: Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati. It doesn’t matter if there is a trade, Kenyon will be the first pick.

2. Vancouver: Stromile Swift, LSU. He’s young and he could use another year or two in college. He’s just a sophomore. He’ll give them a good starting five.

3. LA Clippers: Marcus Fizer, Iowa State. If they don’t take him, they’ll take .

4. Chicago: Darius Miles, E. St. Louis High School. He’s a 6-9 shooting guard or small forward. He’s like Scottie Pippen. He played in one of Michael Jordan’s camps and Jordan said if he had the top pick he’d take Miles.

5. Orlando: Mike Miller, Florida. They’re in love with him. I don’t think he’s ready, but they liked him in their workout camps.

6. Atlanta: DerMarr Johnson, Cincinnati. This may be a stretch, but Atlanta wants a shooter. They don’t need a big man.

7. Chicago: Chris Mihm, Texas. They could take him at four, but I don’t think they’ll pass on Smiles.

8. Cleveland: Joel Przybilla, Minnesota. He’s a shot blocker and the Cavs are looking for a big man.

9. Houston: Jerome Moiso, UCLA. A 6-10 forward who’s thin. They’ll go for a big guy with Charles Barkley retiring.

10. Orlando: Courtney Alexander, Fresno State. A 6-5 guard who is one of the top scorers in the country.

11. Boston: Quentin Richardson, DePaul. A 6-6 shooting guard. He can shoot and rebound, too, which is why most teams like him. But they may take a point guard.

12. Dallas: Keyon Dooling, Missouri. He’s one of the two guys who’s stock is skyrocketing. He could go to Boston or Orlando before this pick.

13. Orlando: Jamal Crawford, Michigan. He sat out most of the year, but he’s a 6-6 point guard who can score. He could go as high as No. 4.

14. Detroit: Mateen Cleeves, Michigan State. He’s not that tall, and he’s not that good of a shooter, so he won’t go any higher.

15. Milwaukee: Etan Thomas, Syracuse. He’ll probably play power forward. He’s a shot blocker.

16. Sacramento: Morris Peterson, Michigan State. They traded for Nick Anderson and he didn’t pan out, so they need a shooter.

17. Seattle: Desmond Mason, Oklahoma State. He’s another one who is climbing. He wasn’t in the first round a couple of weeks ago.

18. LA Clippers: Speedy Claxton, Hofstra. They’re looking for a point guard. They might take Erick Barkley of St. John’s.

19. Charlotte: Chris Carrawell, Duke. He’ll be a guard since Eddie Jones is going to Miami as a free agent.

20. Philadelphia: Hidayet Turkoglu, Turkey. A 6-8 forward. He’s along the same line as Toni Kukoc.

21. Toronto: Erick Barkley, St. John’s. They need a point guard bad. If they don’t go for a point guard, that tells you they’re going to sign Jalen Rose as the point guard.

22. New York: Donnell Harvey, Florida. He’s not bad, but he’s just young. He’s a Dennis Rodman who can score. He can flat rebound.

23. Utah: Lavor Postell, St. John’s. They’re looking for a shooting guard with Hornacek retiring. He’s probably the best one left.

24. Chicago: Primoz Brezec, Slovenia. He’s a 7-footer and he and Turkoglu had to be guaranteed they’d go in the first round or they’d stay in Europe.

25. Phoenix: DeShawn Stevenson, Washington Union High School, Fresno, Calif. A 6-5 guard who signed to play college ball, then opted for the NBA. They’re looking for a backup guard to Rex Chapman which gives them time to develop him.

26. Denver: Mamadou N’diaye, Auburn. Another 7-footer. Orlando wants him, but not this high.

27. Indiana: Jason Collier, Georgia Tech. Indiana is going to play the same style, and he can step out and hit the 3-pointer like Rik Smits does, and he’s a 7-footer.

28. Portland: Jamaal Magloire, Kentucky. They’re deep enough and they’re going to try and trade for Tracy McGrady. If they can’t do that, they’ll take Magloire. He’s outplayed Mihm in some of the camps. He’ll be bonus.

29. LA Lakers: Mark Madsen, Stanford, or Hanno Mottola, Florida. They’re looking for another rebounder besides Shaq and A. C. Green.