With its teams having 4 of the 14 lottery picks, the Southeast Division has a chance to improve in a hurry. The Hawks, Bobcats, and Magic have the opportunity to add some quality young players to their rosters. A good draft could propel a team to the upper echelon of the division to challenge Miami and Washington for playoff spots. A poor draft could lead to a team winning a handful of games and picking high in the lottery again next year with no apparent improvement (see: Hawks, Atlanta). Which will it be?

The duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade were good enough to earn the Heat 59 wins and the # 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this past season. However, the two-man show did not get the support it needed to overcome a balanced Pistons team in the conference finals. It is evident that Dwyane Wade is the future of the Miami franchise and that Shaq will continue to dominate in the paint for a couple more years, but Miami could upgrade the supporting cast at nearly every other position. Udonis Haslem (10.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg) plays the role of blue collar worker who keeps possessions alive and does a lot of the dirty work down low, which is the perfect compliment for Shaq. However, both Haslem and Alonzo Mourning are free agents and Miami has little to no cap room with which to entice them, especially if other teams make gaudy offers to the two big men. As a result, Miami may be looking to replace one or both of them with a big body who will hustle, defend and rebound. Wayne Simien, Ronny Turiaf, and David Lee would be good options with the 29^th pick.

If they don’t go big, look for the Heat front office to address the backcourt. Wade has been fantastic on the wing, but he could use some help on the perimeter. Eddie Jones is 34 years old and averaged a career low 12.7 points this past season. As Jones continues to age, Stan Van Gundy will need another young shooter to stretch the defense (Rashad McCants, Rudy Fernandez, Francisco Garcia, Salim Stoudamire). Point guard Damon Jones was solid last season, but is a free agent and will likely leave for a big contract that Miami will be unable to match. The Heat would love to pick up Roko-Leni Ukic or Jarrett Jack to replace Jones if they are still available, but the next available point guards (John Gilchrist, Nate Robinson) are probably a stretch at # 29.

In typical professional sports fashion, Larry Hughes had a huge season in his contract year and is now primed to earn big bucks as a free agent. If the Wizards can lock him up to a long-term deal, they will have their backcourt set for the foreseeable future. Hughes, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Jarvis Hayes would lock up the guard and wing positions, with Juan Dixon and Steve Blake providing depth off the bench. With one of the better backcourts in the Eastern Conference, the Wizards already have what it takes to get back to the playoffs.

The frontcourt, however, is another story and is the main reason the Wizards were swept by Miami in the 2^nd round. Kwame Brown has used up all his chances in DC and has effectively been run out of town. That leaves an undersized frontcourt of Brendan Haywood, Etan Thomas and Jerrod Jeffries. Unfortunately the Wizards do not have a first round pick and will have to add depth at # 49. Brandon Bass and Jawad Williams are the best big bodies that may be available at that point in the draft, which will not make a significant improvement to the frontcourt. Ernie Grunfeld may be better off trading the pick or taking a shot on a project that can be developed over a couple years such as high-schooler Andray Blatche or Slovenian big man Uros Slokar.

Orlando is reasonably well-stocked with talent on the perimeter, but lacks size and pure shooters. Cuttino Mobley adequately filled the sharpshooter role until he was shipped to Sacramento mid-season. Steve Francis, Grant Hill, Doug Christie, and Jameer Nelson all prefer to score off the dribble, leaving the Magic in need of someone who can stroke it from behind the arc and keep the defense honest. In addition, they could use a big, defensive-minded point guard to pair with the undersized Francis and Nelson. They would love to get a guy who can fill both needs like Deron Williams or Gerald Green, but neither is likely to be on the board at # 11. It is more likely that the Orlando front office will go after high school sharpshooter Martell Webster, Antoine Wright, Raymond Felton, or Joey Graham.

Dwight Howard appears to be the long-term answer in the paint, having averaged a double-double in his rookie season. It would not be a bad move, however, to draft another quality big man to take some of the pressure off of their young star. Current centers Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie don’t fit well with the up-tempo style that Francis, Hill, Nelson and Howard like to play. It may be a reach at # 11, but don’t be surprised if Orlando takes an athletic big man that can run the floor like Chris Taft, Sean May, Channing Frye, or Hakim Warrick.

A couple months removed from being an expansion team, the Bobcats have one mission: add young talent. The Bobcats were somewhat robbed in the draft lottery, coming out with the # 5 pick despite having the 2^nd worst record in the league. Fortunately they still have 2 lottery picks, which should significantly upgrade their talent going forward. Bernie Bickerstaff and the Bobcats front office love Marvin Williams and Chris Paul and will be tempted to package the # 13 pick to move up a couple spots in the draft to get one of them. In my opinion, they would be wise to stay put and get two future starters out of this draft since they have needs at multiple positions.

Last year’s # 2 overall pick, Emeka Okafor, was solid as a rookie, averaging a double-double. Primoz Brezec was a serviceable compliment to Okafor last season in the paint and Charlotte won’t find an immediate upgrade in the lottery unless they trade up for Bogut. Instead, they would be wise to keep their picks and secure their backcourt of the future. Brevin Knight was solid last year at the point, but is not the long term solution and is a free agent. And even if Chris Paul is off the board at # 5, the Bobcats should be able to snag Deron Williams to be their franchise point guard. Then they can focus on a shooting guard such as Antoine Wright or Martell Webster at # 13. If Paul and Williams are not available at # 5, look for Charlotte to take high school shooting guard Gerald Green with their first pick and then a bigger wing player such as Danny Granger, Joey Graham, Charlie Villanueva, or Ike Diogu at # 13. They could then re-sign Knight for a couple seasons while the young players develop. Either way, the Bobcats are in good shape for a two year old franchise.

Once again Atlanta finds itself selecting near the top of the lottery after another dreadful season. In short, when Tyrone Lue (13.5 ppg) and Tony Delk (11.9 ppg) are your 2^nd and 3^rd leading scorers, you know you need help. The only bright spot appears to be the development of Al Harrington, who thrived in his first season in Atlanta. Other than Harrington, the Hawks could use an upgrade everywhere, primarily at point guard and in the paint. The wing positions have not been locked down either, but the Hawks have used 5 draft picks in the last two seasons on players that play either the 2 or the 3. They are praying that one or two of the likes of Josh Childress, Josh Smith, Boris Diaw, and Donta Smith will develop into a quality starter on the perimeter.