NBA DRAFT ROUND 1

TEAM; PLAYER; P; HT; WT; FROM; IT’S A FACT; THE WORD FROM THE TIMES’ MARK HEISLER

1. Toronto; Andrea Bargnani; F; 6-11; 245; Italy; Averaged 10.6 points in 19 minutes; 43.3% three-point shooter.; Only makes sense in Suns-type scheme but no one else in top five would have taken 6-11 three-point shooter.

2 Chicago-a; LaMarcus Aldridge; F-C; 6-10; 234; Texas; 15 points, 9 rebounds per game; 17 double-doubles.; Gift for the Trail Blazers, who traded No. 4 pick and Viktor Khryapa for top-rated big man in draft.

3. Charlotte; Adam Morrison; F; 6-6 1/2 ; 198; Gonzaga; Junior led nation in scoring (28.1). Had five 40-plus games.; Michael Jordan surprises everyone by taking the superior player over Rudy Gay, the gifted one.

4. Portland; Tyrus Thomas; F; 6-7 1/4 ; 217; Louisiana State; SEC freshman of year averaged 12.3 points, 9.2 rebounds.; Spectacular athlete with biggest upside but has a long way to go because he doesn’t have much game yet.

5. Atlanta ; Shelden Williams; F; 6-7 1/2 ; 258; Duke; ACC defensive player of year; 18.7-point, 10.6-rebound averages.; At least GM Knight, who took Marvin Williams over Chris Paul, will leave them well-stocked with Williamses.

6. Minnesota-b; Brandon Roy; G; 6-5 1/4 ; 207; Washington; Shot 51% from floor, 81% from line. Averaged 20.2 points.; Portland gets him too, giving Trail Blazers draft’s top-rated big man and top-rated guard.

7. Boston-c; Randy Foye; G; 6-2 1/2 ; 212; Villanova; Second in Big East in scoring (20.5). Tough rebounder (5.8). ; Minnesota-bound. Looks like a smaller version of Mitch Richmond but they need three of him.

8. Houston; Rudy Gay; F; 6-7; 222; Connecticut; Sophomore averaged 15.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.; Will end up in Memphis. Talented underachiever gets major vote of confidence: Jerry West thinks he’s for real.

9. Golden State ; Patrick O’Bryant; C; 6-11; 249; Bradley; Sophomore has 7-6 wingspan, 13.5-point, 8.3-rebound averages.; GM Mullin, who never does what he’s supposed to, confounds everyone by doing what everyone said.

10. Seattl ; Mouhamed Saer Sene; F; 6-11; 237; Belgium; Has 7-8 wingspan; shoots 70% from floor, 35.3% from line.; Great prospect, but with Robert Swift and Johan Petro, they now have 21 feet of projects at center.

11. Orlando; J.J. Redick; G; 6-4; 190; Duke; All-time leading scorer for Duke, ACC. Averaged 26.8 as senior.; Nice-looking little nucleus of future: Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and this crack shot.

12. New Orleans ; Hilton Armstrong; F-C; 6-9 1/2 ; 240; Connecticut; Started 56 of 131 college games. Averaged 3.2 blocks a game.; Not a prodigy but has big body and can block shots so he’s still an upgrade for the little Hornets.

13. Philadelphia-d ; Thabo Sefolosha; G; 6-6; 200; Switzerland; Shot 41.5% on three-pointers; more than 50% from the field.; First Swiss to go in first round. His stock rocketed at the end and Bulls traded up before Pacers could.

14. Utah; Ronnie Brewer; G; 6-5 3/4 ; 223; Arkansas; Father Ron starred at Arkansas (’78 Final Four), with Trail Blazers.; Slasher who has been compared to Josh Howard. Like Howard, everything depends on improved shooting.

15. New Orleans; Cedric Simmons; F; 6-8 1/4 ; 223; North Carolina; Scoring up 8.3 points (11.8), FT% 13.3 (67.8) as sophomore.; Poor man’s Tyrus Thomas. Not as spectacular and will need time, but he’s a major athlete.

16. Chicago; Rodney Carney; G-F; 6-4 1/2 ; 205; Memphis; Lead team in scoring (17.2) and to first Final Four since 1985.; Bound for 76ers, who are spinning like a top after shopping Iverson, looking for point guard, settling for him.

17. Indiana ; Shawne Williams; F; 6-7 1/4 ; 227; Memphis; Conference USA freshman of year averaged 13.2 points.; Everything fell just right a year ago when Granger dropped, but after pining for Sefolosha, they settle.

18. Washington ; Oleskiy Pecherov; C; 6-10; 220; Ukraine; Chosen MVP in 2004 Global Games (23.8 points, 10.0 rebounds).; Big guy who can shoot, but they never seem to be able to address their crying need, big, tough guys.

19. Sacramento ; Quincy Douby; G; 6-2; 175; Rutgers; Top scorer in the Big East (25.4), sixth in the nation.; They were looking for athletic big man or backup point until this sharpshooter came in and dazzled them.

20. New York; Renaldo Balkman; F; 6-8; 208; South Carolina; Led team to consecutive NIT titles. Junior was tourney MVP in 2006.; Isiah Thomas, who likes to live on the edge, throws complete unknown into teeth of Knicks fans’ hopes.

21. Phoenix-e; Rajon Rondo; G; 6-1; 170; Kentucky; Averaged 2.3 steals in two seasons, 4.9 rebounds as sophomore.; Boston-bound, but why? Celtics, who just got Telfair, pick up yet another young point guard.

22. New Jersey; Marcus Williams; G; 6-3; 205; Connecticut; Career 7.3 assist average highest in school history.; Thought to be top-rated point guard, he started tumbling when No. 7 Celtics got Telfair, wound up here.

23. New Jersey ; Josh Boone; F; 6-10; 237; Connecticut; Had 22 career double-doubles, averaged 2.0 blocks as junior. ; Projected in lottery a year ago, but after lame junior year, uninspiring workouts, fortunate to go this high.

24. Memphis ; Kyle Lowry; G; 6-0; 175; Villanova; Second team All-Big East as a sophomore (11.0 ppg; 3.7 apg).; With Damon Stoudamire coming off injury, Bobby Jackson leaving, they get a gift as this athletic point guard drops.

25. Cleveland ; Shannon Brown; G; 6-4; 205; Michigan; Scored double figures in 61 of 97 games, 13 with 20-plus.; Nice pick this far down. Could play in backcourt with Larry Hughes and move Eric Snow to bench.

26. LAKERS; Jordan Farmar; G; 6-0 3/4 ; 171; UCLA; All-Pacific 10 as sophomore, leading Bruins to national title game.; Unfortunately for Lakers fans, moves for very young players the only ones that are available now.

27. Phoenix-f ; Sergio Rodriguez; G; 6-2; 170; Spain; At 19, averaged 8.9 points in Spanish ACB, country’s top league.; The Trail Blazers must have gotten so used to having three point guards around, they felt they had to replace Telfair.

28. Dallas ; Maurice Ager; G; 6-3 1/4 ; 203; Michigan State; Averaged 19.3 points. Selected to All-Big Ten Tournament team.; Good enough prospect that you can say the Mavericks’ cast of thousands is now up to 1,001.

29. New York; Mardy Collins; G; 6-6; 220; Temple; Fourth-leading scorer in school history (1,919 points). ; Was Thomas trying to see if he could get Knicks fans to rush the stage? This was no sexy pick, either.

30. Portland; Joel Freeland; F; 6-10; 225; Spain; At 19, averaged 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds in Spanish EBA.; Portland has quite enough rookies now. Willowy English power forward will stay in Europe or be traded.

a-Chicago trades second pick, LaMarcus Aldridge, to the Portland Trail Blazers for the fourth pick, Tyrus Thomas, and Viktor Khryapa; b-Minnesota acquires rights to Randy Foye from Portland for the rights to Brandon Roy; c-Boston acquires Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and second-round 2008 draft pick from Portland for Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau, and seventh pick, Randy Foye; d-Philadelphia trades the rights to Thabo Sefolosha, a second-round 2007 draft pick, and cash considerations to Chicago for the rights to Rodney Carney, the 16th pick; e-Phoenix trades Brian Grant and the rights to Rajon Rondo for future first-round pick; f-Phoenix trades the rights to Sergio Rodriguez to Portland for cash considerations.