Former Philadelphia 76ers president Pat Croce has a pretty strong personal opinion on the NBA?s upcoming decision to vote for or against the relocation request of Charlotte Hornets co-owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge for New Orleans.

"It?d be great if they denied it because that would be great for the fans of Charlotte," Croce told Charlotte radio station WFNZ-AM 610 during Monday afternoon?s "Primetime with the Packman" show.

But Croce, now a co-host for the NBA on NBC studio show, also understands that the league cannot and will not force Shinn and Wooldridge to sell their team.

Croce knows that Forbes magazine has valued the Hornets at $135 million and local racetrack owner Bruton Smith among others feels the franchise is actually worth that.

He also knows that the NBA has privately told power brokers in Charlotte that three criteria must be met for the team to stay: A new arena deal, a solid ownership group and an offer of at least $200 million.

And while Shinn recently told BET network founder Robert Johnson the team wasn?t for sale, Croce reacted with surprise when told by show host Mark Packer that he was certain Johnson?s offer to buy the Hornets was for more than $200 million.

"I don?t think Ray and George should be forced to sell at a bargain price," Croce said. "But if Robert Johnson?s offering $200 million. ... I mean, that?s a competitive price."

Croce wouldn?t speculate about how the vote of current NBA owners might go ? they are to vote by the April 8-9 Board of Governors meeting in New York ? but he?s confident that group is aware of the battle lines in the ongoing Hornets? controversy.

Fifteen of the league?s 29 owners would have to vote in favor of the Hornets? request for the team to be allowed to move.

"It?s not like the fans there (in Charlotte) don?t like basketball," Croce said. "There?s got to be something that can be done to resurrect the love for the game that everybody knows is down there."

Croce also spoke confidently about Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the relocation committee who is to present his findings about Charlotte and New Orleans at the Board of Governors meeting.

"Jerry Colangelo is a fans-first owner," Croce said. "And he?d love to look out for the fans? interest in Charlotte."

Lineup switch

For the past month, Charlotte Hornets coach Paul Silas had hoped a bigger lineup featuring Jamal Mashburn at off-guard and George Lynch at small forward, and David Wesley coming off the bench would spark a late-season surge.

But after the configuration started off 1-3 upon Wesley?s return from an ankle injury, Silas changed back to the lineup that led Charlotte to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

He returned to Baron Davis at the point, Wesley at off-guard, Mashburn at small forward, P.J. Brown at power forward and Elden Campbell at center.

And, if Sunday night?s 88-82 victory is any indication, Silas may stay with that group for the foreseeable future.

"We did it just to get the lineup back to where it was last season," Silas told the Charlotte Observer. "It worked in spots and didn?t in other spots.

When David is going, it gives us another option out there that the defense has to be concerned with. I thought it went a lot smoother tonight."

The unit will go after a second straight victory tonight in Los Angeles against the two-time defending champion Lakers.

Charlotte?s next home game is 7 Thursday night against Utah.

Early draft watch

Gastonia?s Kris Lang of North Carolina and several prospective NBA players are preparing for the upcoming pre-draft camps in Portsmouth, Va. (April 3-6) and Chicago (June 4-7).

With that in mind, here?s a tenative list of the top players by position regardless of class. Virtually all of the players on the list, which is a compilation of the views of NBA general managers and scouts, are underclassmen and obviously may not choose to leave college early.

The top prospects:

n Point guard ? 1. Jason Williams, Duke junior. 2. Dujuan Wagner, Memphis freshman. 3. Frank Williams, Illinois junior. 4. Troy Bell, Boston College junior.

n Off-guard ? 1. Kareem Rush, Missouri junior. 2. Casey Jacobsen, Stanford junior. 3. Rod Grizzard, Alabama junior. 4. Preston Shumpert, Syracuse senior.

n Small forward ? 1. Mike Dunleavy, Duke junior. 2. Jared Jeffries, Indiana sophomore. 3. Jason Kapono, UCLA junior. 4. Qyntel Woods, Northeast Mississippi Community College sophomore who has signed with Memphis.

n Power forward ? 1. Drew Gooden, Kansas junior. 2. Amare Stoudemire, Cypress Creek High (Fla.) senior. 3. Carlos Boozer, Duke junior. 4. Sam Clancy, Southern Cal senior. 5. David West, Xavier junior. 6. Lonny Baxter, Maryland senior.

n Center ? 1. Yao Ming, China. 2. Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky senior. 3. Curtis Borchardt, Stanford junior. 4. Dan Gadzuric, UCLA senior.

n Top foreign players ? 1. C Yao Ming, China; 2. PF Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Italy; 3. C Fatih Solak, Turkey; 4. G Jiri Welsch, Czech Republic; 5. PF Luis Scola, Argentina; 6. PG Juan Carlos Navarro, Spain.

Langdon?s shot

With Bimbo Coles out for the season, Cleveland has no true backup to starter Andre Miller.

The situation has forced shooting guard Trajan Langdon to the point guard position, a position Langdon, the former Duke star, hasn?t played since high school.

"I came into this league as a shooter and a scorer," said Langdon, widely considered a bust after being drafted out of Duke in 1999. "I played some point in high school but I was a scoring point. I was a shooter in college. I wanted to develop and become a combo guard."

Langdon doesn?t have the penetrating skills most point guards have and he?s still working on his decision making, but Cavaliers assistant Keith Smart said that will all come in time.

"You can work on a lot of drill work, but the only experience that will help is game experience," Smart said. "Trajan has the ball handling down and he can shoot, but you can?t simulate an actual game unless you play. I had to make the same transition when I left college for the NBA, and it took me almost five years to understand everything that went along with playing the point guard position."

Added Langdon: "I still consider myself a shooter and a scorer, but different times in the game call for different things. If the shot?s there I?ll take it., but teams won?t always give me that chance. I?m still looking for my shot if it?s there, but I have to remember to get everyone involved."

Duke-UNC rivalry?

It normally would be considered just a simple practice casualty.

But the conspiracy theorists in Boston have had fun with a recent practice injury involving former Duke star Roshown McLeod and former North Carolina star Joseph Forte.

McLeod recently needed three stitches over his left eye after colliding with Forte during a scrimmage. McLeod said he was just helping out on the play and the contact was incidental.