With an eye to the draft, here are the potential lottery picks of Knick interest on display this first day of the NCAA Tournament, as well as what time they're playing.

C Brook Lopez- Stanford (vs. Cornell)- 5:00 p.m.

F Michael Beasley and G O.J. Mayo- Kansas State vs. USC- 7:10

C DeAndre Jordan- Texas A&M (vs. BYU)- 7:25

G Jerryd Bayless- Arizona (vs. West Virginia)- 9:40

G Russell Westbrook and G Darren Collison- UCLA (vs. Miss. Valley St.)- 9:55

All games are on CBS. Enjoy, and get them draft picks.

With this season securely gone to shit, our one source of hope is the upcoming lottery and NBA draft. At the moment, the Knicks are the fifth-worst team in the NBA. New York currently has about an 8.8% chance of winning the first pick, and will more likely draft around the fifth spot. So, for the moment, let's put aside any aspirations of acquiring Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.

The first question for a bad team at the draft is whether to address specific needs or to just select the best player available. There are risks to both. Drafting by position, you might pass over a star. Drafting by player, you might be faced with a bad fit. So what of New York? The Knicks suck, no doubt, but we've got sufficient and quality personnel at several positions. This is open to discussion, but I'm of the belief that the right kind of help at the two most specialized positions, point guard and/or center, could do wonders in improving this team. Assuming that Stephon Marbury is out of the long-term equation and the EZ Money tandem has been deemed a failure, there's room at both positions. Let's look at some of the available guys.

Point Guard- In a point guard, I'd like to see a real leader with a positive attitude, good IQ, and an ability to distribute and defend, even at the expense of athletic ability and size. A few guys that might fit  the need:

Jerryd Bayless, Arizona
D.J. Augustin, Texas
Darren Collison, UCLA
Ty Lawson, UNC
Russell Westbrook, UCLA

I'm particularly interested in Westbrook, who isn't even projected in the first round in some mocks, but has shown marked improvement and might see a jump in value with good play in the tournament.

Center: I'm of the opinion that the Knicks could use a tall, mobile center with a defensive mindset to play comfortably alongside Randolph or Lee. Shooting ability and general offensive skills other than passing are less important. Some possibilities:

Brook Lopez, Stanford
DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M
Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
Hasheem Thabeet, UConn

Now, not all these guys exactly fit my descriptions, and some of them are probably long shots at the 5 spot. I do feel that each of them reflects part of what I'd like to see on an improving Knick team. A look at a number of the up-and-coming teams of the past few years (New Orleans, Utah, Portland for starters) leads me to believe that focused drafting is the cheap, painless way to improvement. I open it up to you guys, though. Are the needs I mentioned in tune with your own feelings? Are there any players I left out/wrongfully included? Are some guys (Gordon, Mayo for instance) too good to pass up, regardless of need? Which need is the most dire? I'm sure most of you know more of today's college players than I do, so offer up your thoughts. We'll be more talking more and more on the draft in the next couple of months, so keep an eye on college and foreign ball, tool around with the lottery machine, and feel free to share what you know.

It's hardly the biggest news right now, but Chandler is the Knicks' draft pick.

Here's his press conference transcript, in which he says almost nothing of value.

Chandler seems like a good kid and a capable player. Not sure how much we're actuallly gonna see of him, but I suppose I'm relatively happy with the pick. There are more important things to worry about at the moment.

It's NBA Christmas, kids, and the presents start opening at 7 p.m. Let's go over a few things quickly.

-I won't exactly be "live-blogging" the draft, but I will do some notes and put them up afterwards, much like a regular game.

-I'm participating in a live mock draft at TrueHoop. Basically, when the Knicks are on the clock, I make a selection. When they make their real-life pick, I write a quick reaction. Should be fun.

-Here's a quick last-minute look around the mocks to see who the Knicks might be taking:

• NBADraft.net: Wilson Chandler
  
• HoopsHype: Daequan Cook
  
• Inside Hoops: Wilson Chandler
  
• Draft Express: Wilson Chandler
  
• Sports Illustrated: Daequan Cook
  
• Fox Sports: Marco Belinelli
  
• About.com: Morris Almond
  
• College Hoops Net: Wilson Chandler

Anyway, this is your official draft thread. Comment along the way, and I'll be here to do the same. Enjoy NBA Christmas!

UPDATE: Since I'm tragically uninformed and chronically indecisive, use this thread to name the guys you'd like to see picked at 23, for my use in the TrueHoop draft. Posting and Toasting needs you.

If you've been following the mocks and the news as closely as I have, you've surely come across the name Wilson Chandler in connection with the Knicks. Immediately, some questions arise:

• Is this Chandra Wilson post-op?
• Why do so many second-round draft prospects have reversible names? Wilson Chandler and Coleman Collins are not making things easier for us. I'm calling this the "Kennedy Winston Effect". (Or is it Winston Kennedy?)
• And lastly...What's a Wilson Chandler?

• The basics: Wilson Chandler is a 6'7'', 220 lb. swingman out of DePaul. His birthday is unknown (huh?) and he comes from Benton Harbor, MI.
• That NBADraft.net profile compares Chandler to Joey Graham, and lists his "strength and athleticism" as his best asset. He's also a good rebounder and an improving shooter. His weaknesses are the aforementioned jumpshot, which is still developing, a questionable motor, and a tendency to hoist from the outside.
• Chandler was originally projected as a second-round pick, but he has drawn an enormous amount of interest from the Knicks organization. This Alan Hahn blog entry sums up most of the story. Chandler's a DePaul guy, which is intriguing with Mark Aguirre and Quentin Richardson already in the organization. He's also a typical Isiah Thomas guy- 6'8''-ish and prone to leap out of the Garden. So it sounds like the Knicks were all but ready to guarantee the kid a jump up to the 23rd spot. However, Chandler sprained his ankle and had to cancel his workout, and although he has rescheduled his tryouts with other teams, he has yet to rain check for the Knicks. It's all very confusing.
• With that said, I'm not really buying the notion of Wilson Chandler in orange and blue. We have more than our fill of guys with loads of athleticism but insufficient skills. I think this 23rd pick should be used on a specialist role player, be it a shooter like Almond, a swatter like Chong Williams, or a foreign person like Belinelli or Splitter (and yes, I consider "foreign person" a role.)
• To finish things off, here's a grainy video of Wilson Chandler doing his thing. He's number 22 in white.

That stroke does look pretty nice. Anyway, that's it for now. Share your thoughts on Wilson Chandler in the comments. 5 days 'til draft day!

He pretty much wrote his own post for TrueHoop. Almond shares some of the struggles of the workout process:

Sounds like a likeable guy, and an articulate one too (which makes sense I guess, since Rice is a very good school). I gotta admit I'm pulling to see Mo'Nuts in orange and blue come June 28th. Unless Sean Williams writes an entry for TrueHoop. Or Posting and Toasting. That'd be cool.

I made my pick based on our poll. Morris Almond was taken at 22.

With the 23rd pick in the SB Nation and Friends NBA Mock Draft, the Knicks select Sean "Chong" Williams from Boston College. The Knicks could use a shooter (Almond was my top choice, and I'm a little hesitant to pass on Belinelli), but they will also benefit from having a shot-blocking specialist to spell Eddy Curry. Chong's issues both on the court (focus) and off the court (the herb) make him a bit of a risk, but we've already got Rowdy Randolph Morris as a steady prospect. Whatever. I already regret passing on Belinelli but I don't feel like typing up another explanation paragraph.

I have a tendency to immediately discount foreign draft prospects. Call it the curse of Frederic Weis. However, in a recent visit to Hooplah..Nation, I got a look at this video of a guy who's projected to go in the Knicks' range: Marco Belinelli of Italy.

How 'bout that shit, eh? Mind you, he's 190 pounds, which is preposterous for a 6'6'' guy. That's about how much Stephon Marbury's head weighs. Belinelli is also noted as a weak and rather slow defender, so the kid obviously needs some work. At least he knows what's up:

"I'm a strong shooter and I can get to the basket,'' Belinelli said in clear, though heavily accented English. "But I have to get stronger and more physical. Right now, I'm too little for the NBA."

Thought: What would you call a three-guard lineup with Stephon Marbury, Mardy Collins, and Marco Belinelli? The Tri-Mar squad?

One other thing: Nick Young and Acie Law (the current front-runner in the poll) have already been taken in the SB Nation Mock Draft. I'm gonna narrow down the poll a little bit so we can zero in on some top choices for the 23rd pick, which should come within a few days. In the meantime, let us hear anything you know or think about Marco Belinelli in the comment section. Peace.

UPDATE: There's plenty more of Belinelli on Youtube if you're interested.

The Knicks have continued workouts over the last few days and, while most of the players weren't likely first round prospects, a few big names stopped by:

• Today: Jared Jordan of Marist stopped by. 23 might be a bit early for Jordan, but sharp, savvy point guards tend to make it in this league no matter what. Look out for him.
• Yesterday: Two legit possibilities- Daequan Cook and Marco Bellinelli- matched up. Apparently Cook is a friend and former teammate of Isiah's son. Might be meaningful.
• Wisconsin's Alando Tucker and Colorado State's Jason Smith came by on Saturday
• BC's Jared Dudley and UNC's Rayshawn Terry worked out last Friday.

The 2007 SB Nation NBA Basketball Mock Draft of Basketball Players to the NBA of 2007 is underway and rolling. The first three picks are already up at Indy Cornrows. (It isn't up yet, but Mike Conley went fourth to the Grizz.)

Anyway, this mock draft is far more serious than I anticipated, and the Knicks' pick is a hot commodity. Some assorted things:

• The poll in the sidebar (which will be there right up to draft time) indicates that P&T nation (all 12 of us...except really 11 since I voted twice. Shhh.) like Chong Williams for the 23rd pick in the draft. I think Williams is a good fit, but if we're gonna draft him, I think we also need to go after a shooter. Any trade ideas?
• I got one trade offer from Prada at Bullets Forever, who's desperately trying to get Brenda Haywood and/or Etan Thomas and/or Antonio Daniels off the Wizards' hands. I don't know that any one of those guys would fit here, so I kindly rejected. If you have reason to feel differently about that offer, or have any other ideas for offers (we need a shooter!), let me know. I wasn't planning any wheeling and dealing myself, but I'm open to suggestions. This shit is for real.
• I didn't actually "reject" the Wizards deal. I offered Steve Francis in return. I bet that's what Isiah does when he doesn't like an offer. (Insert "Isiah's never seen an offer he didn't like" joke here.)