It's getting close to casting some people adrift on Survivor: Raptors Coach.

General manager Glen Grunwald, who'll conduct a couple of pre-interview interviews in Chicago this weekend, expects to have a final group of three to five in place by June 9.

And, according to sources close to Grunwald, if someone from that group wows the selection panel in the formal interview process, the team will have a replacement in hand for Lenny Wilkens by the time the June 26 NBA draft rolls around.

However, if none of that group catches the fancy of a panel of interviewees expected to include Grunwald, team president Richard Peddie, Maple Leaf Sports board chairman Larry Tanenbaum and, perhaps, Raptor consultant Jack McCloskey, the general manager would invite a few more candidates in for a grilling.

Grunwald, who returned from Florida yesterday after meeting with about eight Raptor players taking part in some informal workout sessions, has maintained a public silence about the particulars of his search, which began when Wilkens was let go a day after the 24-58 regular season ended.

However, his search has been exhaustive, at least in the preliminary stages. Aside from the well-known candidates ? Craig Neal, Brian James, Kevin O'Neill, Dwane Casey, Mike Woodson and Sidney Moncrief ? he has also spoken to former NBAer Sam Vincent and will talk to former head coach and current Minnesota assistant Randy Wittman later this week.

Michael Olowokandi anyone? Or his buddy, Elton Brand? Does Rasheed Wallace pique your interest? How about Kwame Brown? Brad Miller? Got an interest in Shareef Abdur-Rahim?

Welcome to the world of Toronto Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald, possessor of the No.4 selection in the June 26 draft and the host of a new reality show: NBA Let's Make A Deal.

Grunwald, trying to dream up ways to improve his roster through some kind of trade, certainly has any number of possibilities to explore.

"I'm open to all discussions," he said.

Okay, so let's discuss.

Does Grunwald package his No.4 pick and a player to obtain a more proven NBA big man?

Mike Dunleavy was interviewed yesterday by the Rockets, sources said, and, in all likelihood, he'll meet with the Cavaliers within the next few days as well.
As noted, the job was Jeff Van Gundy's and then Paul Silas' to lose and that seems to be what's happening; both may be pricing themselves out by letting it be known through their agents (no financial negotiations have taken place) they want mad bread; $7M per and $5M per, respectively. Van Gundy also is intent on gaining at least some control concerning personnel moves.

Unless Herb Kohl unexpectedly changes his mind, Ernie Grunfeld is no longer in contention for the Blazers' GM job. The Bucks owner denied Portland permission to talk to his top executive; the same message was transmitted to Washington and Charlotte.

One of LeBron James' first games as a pro will take place in a gym not much bigger than some of the ones he played in during his high school career at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

The Cavaliers, who plan to select James with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft on June 26, have agreed to play an exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 23 in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Cavaliers spokesman Tad Carper said the teams have signed to play the game, which will take place in 5,000-seat Mile One Stadium, home of the St. John's Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League.

About the only positive development for Canadian basketball after the Toronto Raptors' disappointing showing at Thursday night's draft lottery is that fans in Newfoundland will be among the first to see LeBron James in action as a National Basketball Association professional.

The Cleveland Cavaliers emerged as the big winners for positioning in the NBA draft on June 26, earning the No. 1 selection. The Cavaliers have made no secret that they will take James, the 18-year-old Ohio high school basketball star who has already signed a $90-million (U.S.) endorsement deal with Nike.

The Raptors, who came into the lottery with high hopes of snagging one of the top three draft positions, ended with No. 4 behind the Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons at No. 2 and the Denver Nuggets at No. 3.

While the Raptors saw their hopes of drafting James vanish with the drop of the lottery ping-pong balls at NBA Entertainment headquarters in Secaucus, N.J., they will have one of the first opportunities to gauge if the 6-foot-8 multimillionaire will live up to all the hype.

The search for a new Toronto Raptor coach may be slowing down but it's also widening.

General manager Glen Grunwald, who said he might have to "decelerate" the coaching search to concentrate on the draft, would like to talk to current Dallas Maverick assistant Sidney Moncrief, a source told the Star.

However, the Mavs have so far been reluctant to allow Grunwald to contact the 42-year-old former NBA standout because Dallas is facing San Antonio in the Western Conference final.

Grunwald, the source said, was going to try again over the weekend to convince the Mavericks to let him at least contact Moncrief by phone.

LeBron James has money, oodles and oodles of money. Vince Carter wants to make sure the NBA prodigy has a tough mind, too.

With James and his family set financially for generations thanks to a $90 million (U.S.) endorsement deal with Nike, Carter warns that complacency had better not set in with the 18-year-old prodigy who has yet to take part in as much as an NBA practice.

"That's when a player has to be strong in the mind and have a love for the game," Carter said here before last night's draft lottery. "If you have $90 million and you haven't even played a game yet, what do you have to lose?

Vince Carter, the Toronto Raptors on-camera representative at the National Basketball Association draft lottery, shook his head slightly and did his best to hide his dismay.

The Raptors, who could not win for losing this past National Basketball Association season, were burned again last night when they slipped out of the top three and into the No. 4 slot for next month's draft.

Gone are Toronto's chances at grabbing Ohio high school phenom LeBron James, the consensus No. 1 pick for the draft who will now be selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the big winners in last night's draft lottery after grabbing the top seed.

The Raptors hopes at getting the other two players most expect to be among the top three picks -- Carmelo Anthony, the Syracuse Orangeman freshman, and Darko Milicic, the highly regarded Yugoslav star -- have also gone up in smoke.

Maybe it would be bad luck anyway.

Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald said yesterday the team has not printed up a No. 23 Toronto jersey with "James" written on the back for use at the NBA draft lottery in Secaucus, N.J., tomorrow night.

"I don't think we're in a position to do that right now," Grunwald said.

The thing is, the Raptors will be in a position to do exactly that if they win the lottery. They have a 15.7% chance of snaring the top pick and the consensus No. 1 choice is high school phenom LeBron James.

The Raptors are set to replace Lenny Wilkens with Kevin O'Neill, who spent one year with the Knicks as an assistant and is currently Rick Carlisle's top aide in Detroit. Toronto senior VP and GM Glen Grunwald talked to Jeff Van Gundy, O'Neill's boss in New York, along with Detroit's Joe Dumars. O'Neill got glowing recommendations. He's never been an NBA head coach, but the Raptors think he fits. Unlike the laid-back Wilkens, he's a fiery workaholic who isn't afraid to speak his mind. We'll see how that goes over with Vince Carter. O'Neill comes cheap, a major consideration because the Raptors are still on the hook for around $7 million with Wilkens. That's why they weren't interested in Van Gundy or other established coaches. The 46-year-old O'Neill's only previous head coaching experience came on the college level at Northwestern, Tennessee and Marquette.