NBA Cavs trade possible before draft

Cleveland has the 10th pick in tonight's draft.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Gund Arena was party central last year for the NBA draft.
The Cleveland Cavaliers used the No. 1 overall pick to select LeBron James, swept up the balloons and confetti and flung open the box-office windows.
There may not be much to celebrate this time.
Barring a trade, the Cavaliers will enter tonight's draft with the No. 10 overall pick. It's a position seemingly a little too far down in the first round to acquire an immediate impact player in what many experts consider to be a top-heavy draft.
"We feel really good about eight players," Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson said Tuesday. "But we don't think any of them are going to get to 10."
Possible picks
Among the players who could still be on the board for the Cavs are: Stanford forward Josh Childress, Saint Joseph's point guard Jameer Nelson and Oregon guard Luke Jackson.
However, with trade rumors running rampant from Orlando to Los Angeles and many points in between, Paxson was asked about the likelihood that he'll keep the club's first-round pick.
"Right now it's 50-50," he said.
Cleveland has made eight draft-day trades in the past 20 years, and with all the wheeling and dealing expected over the next few days, the Cavaliers could join the fun.
In recent days, rumors have surfaced about several deals involving the Cavs, who don't have a second-round pick.
Trade for Harrington
The hottest is the one that has Cleveland sending center/forward Tony Battie and the No. 10 pick to Indiana for forward Al Harrington.
Other speculation has the Cavaliers packaging the first-round choice, guard DaJuan Wagner and another player in a deal to Minnesota for Wally Szczerbiak.
Paxson hasn't ruled out anything.
"It's a really interesting draft," he said. "There's youth, there's strength in the wing position. There's uncertainty with the European bigs. At the same time, there are some other players we like and we're exploring some potential trades that could be tied into the draft or may be something after the draft."
The Pacers have the 29th pick but are desperate to move up, possibly to get Jackson, a left-hander with a soft shooting stroke whom Pacers president Larry Bird has compared to Chris Mullin.
Dealing for Harrington makes sense for the Cavs, who would prefer adding experience over taking another kid. The 24-year-old forward, who skipped college to enter the 1998 draft out of high school, had a breakout season in 2003-04.
Harrington averaged career-highs in points (13.3) and rebounds (6.4) as one of the league's top reserves. Following the season, he told Bird he wanted to be traded if he couldn't start.
The 6-foot-9 Harrington would move right into the Cavs' starting five along with James, Jeff McInnis, Carlos Boozer and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Pavlovic acquired
Paxson has already made one deal this week, acquiring forward Sasha Pavlovic from Charlotte after the Bobcats plucked Jason Kapono -- the Cavs' best outside shooter last season -- in the expansion draft.
While that deal didn't send a quiver through the league, there are some expected blockbusters that will. Paxson, though, doesn't see the Cavs making a run at Shaquille O'Neal or any other big names, who would come with equally big contracts.