By John Denton
Florida Today

Cleveland won the draft's big prize with LeBron James; how did everyone else do? A look at the draft's winners and losers.

Winners

Cleveland Cavaliers: Now that they have LeBron, the pressure cranks up. He appears to be a can't-miss prospect, so Paul Silas better make sure he doesn't.

Detroit Pistons: Darko Milicic must become a star, or he will forever be known as the Sam Bowie to Carmelo Anthony's Michael Jordan.

Denver Nuggets: Carmelo's silky smooth game will finally give Denver something to believe in.

Miami Heat: Pat Riley made a genius move in picking Dwyane Wade and got a steal in Jerome Beasley.

Milwaukee Bucks: Getting T.J. Ford allows them to unload Sam Cassell and let Gary Payton walk in a sign-and-trade. Let the rebuilding begin.

Washington Wizards: Jarvis Hayes was a lights-out shooter during workouts, while the stock of Steve Blake soared after he outplayed Kirk Hinrich.

Boston Celtics: In Marcus Banks, Boston got the fastest rising point guard in the draft. Kendrick Perkins gives the Celtics some much-needed size.

Orlando Magic: In Reece Gaines, Zaur Pachulia and Keith Bogans, the Magic got three players who should play next season. That, in itself, is a dramatic improvement.

New Orleans Hornets: In David West, they get a long-armed, active forward who will be a solid replacement for P.J. Brown.

Utah Jazz: Aleksandar Pavlovic was considered one of the best shooters in the draft. Picking Alabama's Maurice Williams was smart for a team in need of a point guard.

Atlanta Hawks: This could be the finest draft the Hawks have had in years. With 6-foot-9 point guard Boris Diaw-Riffiod, the Hawks can afford to play Jason Terry at shooting guard. Travis Hansen is a sleeper from the second round who could be solid.

Phoenix Suns: Trading for Leandrinho Barbosa at the end of the first round could be a stroke of genius. Picking Zarko Cabarkapa over Brian Cook likely won't be.

New Jersey Nets: Byron Scott actually said they had Zoran Planinic rated as the best point guard in the draft. He's a big guard who's insurance if Jason Kidd leaves.

Los Angeles Lakers: Brian Cook has the talent and size to become the starter at power forward, while Luke Walton's smarts will earn him time on the floor next season.

Houston Rockets: They were able to snag Senegal 7-footer Malick Badiane in the second round. Houston knows a thing or two about developing African centers.

Sacramento Kings: No picks after trading for former Wake Forest star Darius Songalia earlier in the week. They didn't need the additional salaries.

Losers

Toronto Raptors: They had the fourth pick (Chris Bosh) in a three-star draft. Also, they were unable to unload Jerome Williams' and Antonio Davis' contracts.

Los Angeles Clippers: Sad-sack franchise is playing defense. Chris Kaman is there in case Michael Olowokandi leaves; Sofoklis Schortsanitis is Elton Brand's replacement.

Chicago Bulls: Just how does point guard Kirk Hinrich fit in with rising star Jamal Crawford? They still have a major hole at shooting guard.

New York Knicks: A team that already has Kurt Thomas (6'9"), Antonio McDyess (6'9"), Othella Harrington (6'7") and Clarence Weatherspoon (6'7") drafts another undersized post player in Michael Sweetney (6'8").

Golden State Warriors: Mickael Pietrus is a talent, but he plays the same position as Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy and Jiri Welsh.

Seattle SuperSonics: Nick Collison and Luke Ridnour were "need" picks, but will either player ever be a star?

Memphis Grizzlies: They basically traded two first-round picks for marginal players (Troy Bell, Dahntay Jones) that they could have gotten in the second round.

Indiana Pacers: No first-round pick, but grabbed James Jones in the second round. Do they need another small forward, though?

Philadelphia 76ers: No first-round pick, and they did little in the second round to address their depth problems at point guard and small forward.

Portland Trail Blazers: High schooler Travis Outlaw was a second-round pick in the eyes of most and just isn't ready to contribute.

Minnesota Timberwolves: A team that needs help now took a high schooler (Ndudi Ebi) who's three years away and a collegian (Rick Rickert) who left school too early.

San Antonio Spurs: They could have added another big body to replace David Robinson and Kevin Willis, but traded their only pick to the Suns.

Dallas Mavericks: Dallas still has a gaping hole in the middle and passed on big bodies such as Mario Austin, Malick Badiane and Zaur Pachulia to take Josh Howard.