Random thoughts as the NBA draft approaches:

SECOND-ROUND SLEEPERS

* Miami did a great job by making a trade (with Minnesota) for point guard Mario Chalmers, who started for the Heat as a rookie. In 2003, then-Orlando GM John Gabriel made the most of his second-round picks when he selected Zaza Pachulia (42rd overall) and Keith Bogans (43rd). Former Golden State GM Garry St. Jean drafted future All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas in the second round (2001, 31st overall). And the late Randy Smith was a seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Braves in 1971 (104th overall). He was drafted because he was a local college star at Buffalo University, but went on to play 12 years in the NBA, winning the All-Star Game MVP in 1978.

* Washington forward Jon Brockman is someone who could slip into the second round this year and become a steady rotation player in the NBA. Brockman is undersized (6-foot-7) but a hard-hat type of player. He will create extra possessions by getting loose balls and setting solid screens, and will not hurt his team. He's a great rebounder who loves to chase his own misses. Other second-rounders who could find themselves in an NBA rotations are power forwards Jeff Pendergraft of Arizona State and Goran Suton of Michigan State.

* An example of how the postseason college tournaments can help: Jermaine Taylor, a guard out of Central Florida, moved himself up to the early second round after his strong play at the Portsmouth Invitational.

* Two potential sleepers who may not get drafted but could find their way into an NBA rotation: Tennessee-Martin guard Lester Hudson and Syracuse guard Paul Harris.

* Hudson grew up in Memphis and has a great NBA body with just 3.4 percent body fat. The negative is he's 24-years old.

* Harris is strong and has had some very good workouts. His workout with New Jersey was particularly solid. He could be a P.J. Tucker-type, or a smaller version of Boston's Bill Walker.

MORE DRAFT NOTES

* Charlotte has three draft picks, and Bobcats coach Larry Brown believes his team needs some "stars."

* I was Chuck Daly's assistant in Orlando, and he did not like watching individual workouts. He preferred watching game tapes of players in 5-on-5 situations, where prospects played in real games and were trying to win. Chuck loved watching former NBA point guard Jason Williams on tape when Williams was at Florida -- and asked why we would even need to watch him in a 2-on-2 setting.

* Jerry West ran things when I worked in Memphis under Mike Fratello, and Jerry had a great eye for talent. One night he flew from Memphis to Jackson, Tenn., and when he returned he said he had just seen a future NBA All-Star play in a high school game. That player? Current Golden State guard Monta Ellis.

* When I was in Orlando, John Gabriel was great under pressure in the draft room. He was unbelievable at shutting out the chaos in the room and handling incoming calls and trade scenarios. It was when he was at his calmest and best.

* Former Golden State GM Garry St. Jean had great trust in his scouts. That's because he had sat in the head coaching chair and could really envision how a player would fit and what his future role would be. Saint said Troy Murphy would be a good pick-and-pop guy, and he is. He said Mickael Pietrus would be a great on-ball defender, and he is.

* Former Atlanta GM Pete Babcock worked so hard at the draft and had a rule with coaches: If you want to be part of the draft process, you have to watch as much film as the scouts. That meant prep work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the days leading up to the draft. As for workouts, Pete loved the "Superman Drill," where players would dunk two balls to test conditioning and mental toughness. He liked to see who would quit first.

* The first draft room I was a part of was the L.A. Clippers when Barry Hecker was the player personnel director (he's now an assistant coach with Memphis). Barry believed if you had an opinion on a player it should be a STRONG opinion -- not a meek, wishy-washy opinion.

* When with Minnesota, coach Bill Musselman did not believe in psychology testing. He believed in getting tough-minded players who had good awareness and a high will to win. He believed you couldn't teach speed but you needed speed to win. He believed 85 percent of the league was equal in talent, so it was important to analyze mental toughness and competitiveness, and determine the mistake vs. the non-mistake player. Who surrounds our superstars is very important. Character does matter.

* It was a big mistake in Orlando many years ago when the Magic were turned off by high schooler Rashard Lewis because he was weak in the weight room. He's just one example that sometimes very good prospects slide in the draft because of perceptions formed on non-basketball issues.

* When I was with Atlanta, Joe Johnson almost fell asleep at a pre-draft lunch with the Hawks. He was just that tired from all the traveling around to the many team workouts.

* I love this quote from Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti, as it is so true: "Decisions in the NBA follow you, and each one you make limits options that may present themselves in the future." This will hold true for each pick come Thursday night.

Eric Musselman is the former coach of the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, and a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News.

Also see Eric Musselman's NBA Draft position-by-position rankings on PBN.