A Rough Draft, Any Way You Look at It

Question: What’s the difference between Wednesday’s NBA draft and a summer camp for high school stars?

Answer: I give up, what?

The differences are dwindling, with three preps expected to go in the top five along with two freshmen--which would make a total of two years in college among them--and no one sure which of them is best.

None of them is “ready,” but these days “willing” is more relevant, assuming they’re big and athletic enough.

Take Dominguez High’s willowy Tyson Chandler, measured at 6 feet 11 1/2, 224 pounds at the Chicago pre-draft camp. Michael Cooper, who saw him frequently last winter while doing color commentary for Fox, suggested he wasn’t close to being ready . . . but Tyson is expected to go in the top five.

With the Eastern Conference playing largely without centers, teams are even more desperate for big men, however tender. Besides, after years of top prospects leaving college early, what else is left?

Everyone likes Duke’s Shane Battier, who could be the only college senior in the lottery, but everyone knows he’s no franchise player.

As a general manager said last week, this is “the opportunity of a lifetime” to snare a next-generation big man . . . or to make a total fool of yourself.

“The younger the player, the bigger the guess,” says San Antonio Spur personnel director Sam Schuler. “If you can watch a kid through four years of college, you can pretty accurately predict how he will do in the NBA. On the other hand, there is a fear of the unknown. What if the 18- or 19-year-old turns out to be really good?”

With teams additionally anxious to avoid the luxury tax, rebuild and/or trade up, shopping players such as Gary Payton and Stephon Marbury, things are more fluid than ever.

I’ll call this my mock, mock draft. Most of the ranges should be close, anyway, I hope.

1. Washington--Everything depends on Michael Jordan’s decision on returning . . . with insiders now guessing he will. As president, Jordan wants to trade but wants a star like the New Jersey Nets’ Marbury, the Chicago Bulls’ Elton Brand or the Seattle SuperSonics’ Rashard Lewis. It looks as though Jordan will keep the pick and take 6-11 Kwame Brown, a prep from Georgia, a do-everything forward like Milwaukee’s Tim Thomas, but even bigger.

2. Clippers--Going big in case Mike Olowokandi isn’t the answer: 6-10 1/2, 301-pound Eddy Curry, a prep from suburban Chicago. Once an aspiring gymnast, he’s light on his feet with great hands. Questions are toughness and inclination to dominate. On the other hand, how does a team that faces Shaquille O’Neal four times a season stay off this junior version?

3. Atlanta--Rodney White, North Carolina Charlotte. Fast-rising powerhouse of a small forward who goes 6-7, 240 and is skilled enough to play in the backcourt.

4. Chicago--Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall. General Manager Jerry Krause has vowed to go big but can’t pass up Griffin, a 6-9 small forward with better skills, if not all the athleticism, of prep classmate Darius Miles.

5. Golden State--Chandler. He may start as a small forward, but he’s a fine athlete, worked out well everywhere he went and has a mountain of potential.

6. “Vancouver”--Memphis-bound team President Dick Versace is challenged enough in the best of circumstances. He wants to deal Mike Bibby and Mike Dickerson, who don’t get along with Shareef Abdur-Rahim, in an economy/harmony drive. What he really wants is to avoid taking a pratfall in front of his new fans and makes the safe pick: Battier.

7. New Jersey--Trying to dump Keith Van Horn, shopping Marbury, starting yet another rebuilding cycle. The Nets take Michigan State’s Jason Richardson, who has a major upside if he learns to shoot.

8. Cleveland--Hoping to get Zydrunas Ilgauskas back, no longer inclined to rebuild for the distant future, the Cavaliers take a 6-8 shooting guard, Arkansas’ talented Joe Johnson.

9. Detroit--Vladimir Radmanovic. He was an unknown 6-10 Yugoslav until he worked out at Chicago. Now people say he might even be better than Peja Stojakovic.

10. Boston--Multiple picks (10, 11, 21) mean the Celtics can gamble in a gambler’s draft. General Manager Chris Wallace, a noted talent spotter, finally free from the Curse of Rick Pitino, takes a flier at getting the big man they need: 6-10, 315-pound DeSagana Diop (pronounced suh-GAH-nuh jop), a native of Senegal who finished high school in the United States.

11. Boston--Talking up Troy Murphy’s Irish roots but more likely to go for Flier II, 6-8 Kedrick Brown, a junior college player from Florida who didn’t work out for anyone.

12. Seattle--SuperSonics are rebuilding under Starbucks magnate Howard Schultz, who’ll learn how much tougher this is than hawking designer coffee. They are trying to dump Vin Baker, shopping Payton, won’t re-sign old Patrick Ewing, need a center but don’t like their choices. So they take Spain’s 7-0 Pao Gasol, who isn’t a center but is supposed to be the next coming of Dirk Nowitzki.

13. Houston--Plan A is free agent Chris Webber. With Hakeem Olajuwon leaving and Kelvin Cato in their doghouse, the Rockets need someone big too: Brendan Haywood , a 7-footer from North Carolina who has it all but hasn’t done much with it.

14. Golden State--With their second pick, Warriors go big again: Murphy, the 6-10 power forward from Notre Dame.

15. Orlando--Plan A is clearing salary-cap room for free agent Antonio Davis. Plan B is trading up--Magic is offering rookie-of-the-year Mike Miller--for a young, big guy. If these players are still available, Orlando will take a longshot: Stephen Hunter, a 6-11 twig from DePaul, who went on a weight program after he left and bulked all the way up (?) to 224.

16. Charlotte--The Hornets are eager to find a sucker, er, taker for Derrick Coleman, who is under contract for two more seasons at $18 million. They’re also open to upgrading their center position now occupied by Elden Campbell. They go big: Arizona’s Loren Woods.

17. Toronto--With Davis on his way out, Raptors go big with Michigan State’s Zach Randolph, a young wide-body, hoping he’s not a young Tractor Traylor.

18. Houston--More help for the frontline: Stanford’s 6-10 Jason Collins.

19. Portland--General Manager Bob Whitsitt wants to find a coach, a taker for unhappy Dale Davis, get 50 pounds off Shawn Kemp and too many more things to list here. In the meantime, he’ll take Arizona’s athletic Richard Jefferson.

20. Cleveland--Villanova’s 6-9 Michael Bradley, another skilled, but not dominating, big forward.

21. Boston--Kenny Anderson is on his way out, or would be if the Celtics could find someone to take the last two seasons, worth $17.5 million, on his contract. They take Jamaal Tinsley of Iowa State, who is sort of a young Mark Jackson.

22. Orlando--Omar Cook, a young point guard from St. John’s with possibilities, although shooting isn’t currently one of them. Coach Doc Rivers didn’t think much of Troy Hudson, last season’s backup.

23. Houston--Kirk Haston, Indiana, a 6-10 forward who can shoot, as Rockets finish rebuilding their frontline.

24. Utah--With DeShawn Stevenson’s availability in question, Jazz needs another young guard: Joseph Forte, a small (6-3 1/2, 185) but hard-nosed North Carolina shooting guard.

25. Sacramento--With no blue-chip big men left, Kings take Arizona’s Gilbert Arenas, a short (6-3 1/2) but talented shooting guard.

26. Philadelphia--Larry Brown, who loves talent, takes Alabama’s Gerald Wallace, who may be the best athlete in the draft, handles the ball well, but, as a shooter, can’t hit the ocean from a boat.

27. “Vancouver”--With Bibby ticketed to ride sooner or later, Grizzlies need a young guard to groom: Jeff Trepagnier, USC, an athlete who showed pros he has enough game in the pre-draft Desert Classic.

28. San Antonio--Brian Scalabrine, USC. With defenses double-teaming Tim Duncan, Spurs are always looking for shooters.

Note: The first round has only 28 picks, reflecting Minnesota’s penalty from the league for its secret deal with Joe Smith, and the Lakers have no picks.