Will the Magic keep the pick? Will they trade it? And if they do keep it, who will they take?

We gave you the opportunity to ask the team yourselves.

NBA.com held a live chat with Magic Senior Vice President Pat Williams, moments after he won the first pick in the 2004 NBA Draft Lottery. Here's what Williams had to say about Orlando's plans for the pick.

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bri (san francisco): how does it feel to get the number 1 overall pick again?

Pat Williams: You never get tired of winning the No. 1 pick. This is the fourth year; it's an enormous thrill. An enormous rush. Exciting ... Gratifying ... And humbling. It's a humbling feeling. And I think more than anything to a franchise, it gives you hope. And without hope in sports, you can't really make it. In fact, that's what you're selling mostly. Hope.

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all."
--Emily Dickinson

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Nater (Palatine): Just about everyone lists UCONN's Emeka Okafor as this year's top prize? Is he at the top of your wish list?

Pat Williams: He's certainly at the top of the list, it appears. Howard and Okafor seem to be the consensus first two picks. We've got a month to study and really dig into both of them. And make the right decision. We will be very thorough. You're going to come away with a good player. It's a question of who has the best chance here.

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Nolan (New York City): Is the team looking for an impact player for next season or a developing franchise player?

Pat Williams: Okafor is a seasoned, proven college winner. Howard is a comer. That's what we're talking about. But I've learned you don't want to pass on a youngster; it could come back to haunt you. Twelve teams passed on Kobe; 15 on Jermaine O'Neal, six or seven passed on Garnett. That's not a good feeling, so you have to be careful. Real careful.

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Chris (Richmond): At this stage in draft preparation, what's the likelihood you trade the draft pick?

Pat Williams: History says that the No. 1 pick is not traded. In '86 we traded the top pick to Cleveland; that deal didn't work, they got Brad Duagherty, we got Roy Hinson and cash. That didn't work. In '93 we got Penny Hardaway for Chris Webber and three first-round picks. We basically traded Webber for four firsts -- Hardaway being one of them, Brad Miller being the fourth. My council is: Tread very carefully in those waters. I'd bet 90 percent of No. 1 picks turn out to be superb players.

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Nater (Palatine): What do you see as your team's biggest area of need?

Pat Williams: We've got to get bigger; we need help up front. We need a center very badly. We need a point guard. I think those are the two biggest areas. They're difficult areas to fill; I don't know if there's a center in this draft. Okafor's not a center; Howard's more of a power forward, and at No. 1 you're not going to take a point guard. So I'm not sure we can solve our needs in this draft. We need to draft talent, we'll sift it out later.

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Prav (Orlando): Mr. Williams, first I want to say that you can't lose and we Orlando fans love you for that. Anyway, is T-Mac's impending opt-out clause going to be a factor in dictating what is done with the pick?

Pat Williams: No, there's not a problem with Tracy. We're talking to his people. We both want the same thing: We want to get better. What Tracy wants is what we want. This fortune we got tonight is a nice step in getting better. So what else do we have to do? Maybe we pluck one at 30. Maybe there's a Carlos Boozer of this year. Could this be the year Grant Hill is healthy? After 20 months of rehab, could it be? Is this good news tonight the forerunner of more good news?

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Nick (Lindsay Ont Can): are you going to consult tmac or any other players on who you are going to draft?

Pat Williams: I don't think that's the case. We have three key people: John Weisbrod, Dave Twardzik and Otis Smith. This is their first draft collectively for the Magic, so it's very important for them. Dave and Otis have pounded the planet looking at prospects. We've done our homework and there's a lot more to do in the next four weeks. But we will be ready.

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linda (daytona beach): pat, did you bring any special lucky charms with you?

Pat Williams: Actually, I didn't. When I heard the Smarty Jones horseshoe thing I was intimidated. Then I heard about Diana Taurasi being here and that scared me. But then I calmed my nerves when I thought about the fact that we had one thing that they didn't: Lots of ping-pong balls. Linda, given a choice between a Smarty Jones horseshoe and a lot of ping-pong balls, you take the ping-pong balls. Billy King would've traded that horseshoe for the ping-pong balls. And that was a real horseshoe. It had dirt in it. I would've liked to have had that horseshoe. That would've been one to keep. But this ping-pong ball (bounces it on desk) goes right into our trophy case. Most teams have trophies in their trophy cases. We have ping-pong balls.

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adam (NJ): I am glad to see the magic with this pick. If the magic had to pick a player right now who would they pick and why?

Pat Williams: Okafor and Howard are the players on top of everyone's list. A point that needs to be made is a lot of these guys can still pull out. And many will. The draft board will change. So we have to wait for the process to play out.

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Moderator: Any last words to the Magic fans, Mr. Williams?

Pat Williams: I would just like to say that I have been invited to become the mayor of Secaucus. If we could play all of our games in Secaucus, good things would happen.

To the fans, we appreciate your loyalty to the franchise, and we appreciate your prayers. And a lot of prayers were going up. We're all very excited, and this news is a forerunner for a nice turnaround for this franchise.