So let's make a deal. It's coming to that time in the NBA with the June 26 draft approaching, though firm offers are hard to find.

Jerry West reportedly is still upset that his Memphis Grizzlies had to give up the No. 2 pick to the Detroit Pistons in that long-ago Otis Thorpe trade, and he is eager to make a major move with competition all around him improving. The Pistons, by the way, said last week they will definitely pick Serbia's Darko Milicic, so the top two picks are set: LeBron James will go No. 1 to Cleveland. Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to the national title as a freshman, works out in Denver for the first time Monday. The Nuggets are listening to offers for the third pick but will probably take Anthony.

Teams drafting below the Nuggets are interested in trading. That's where West, long-daring trader, comes in. Memphis has the No. 13 pick in the first round, and West is trying to move up, apparently because he likes French guard Mickael Pietrus. Bulls general manager John Paxson, who has the seventh pick, goes to see Pietrus this week.

One Memphis possibility being talked about is a switch with the Miami Heat, which holds the No. 5 pick. Pat Riley doesn't want a rookie, and there is a long-discussed deal coming up again for 2001 No. 2 overall pick Stromile Swift, a shot-blocking power forward. But there's also been talk around the league the Grizzlies might be willing to part with Pau Gasol in a larger package.

Sources say Portland is trying to put together a package in which Gasol goes there or to Minnesota, if a third team gets involved, with perhaps a change of scenery for Rasheed Wallace or Zach Randolph.