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The general consensus is that the 2005 Draft crop that the Sonics and the 29 other NBA teams will choose from next Tuesday is deeper than any other in recent memory. That opinion was reinforced by Sonics General Manager Rick Sund and Director of Player Personnel Dave Pendergraft when they briefed the Seattle media on their draft preparations Friday.

"This is an opportunity that might not come along again, in terms of having the amount of talented players, regardless of position, at 25," said Pendergraft, who heads the Sonics amateur scouting. "Without a doubt, I think we'll get an asset, a guy you won't throw back in the pond, at 25. I feel very confident that with our second-round picks, we'll find guys who are keepers."

"One luxury we have is one of our free agents we want back, Damien Wilkins. He takes a little bit of pressure off of us in this draft." Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

"You're going to get a pretty good player at 25, potentially, but the player at 48 might be as good as the player at 25," said Sund. "The guy at 25 might be as good as the player at 10. It's one of those type of drafts, I think, which doesn't happen very often. Which means there may be a lot of players from this draft who may be in the league five or six years from now."

In addition to their first-round pick, 25th overall, the Sonics also have picks 48 and 55 in the second round. And with the depth of talent available, potential changes stemming from the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement and the nine incumbent Sonics expected to become free agents, it's possible all three picks could make the Sonics roster next season.

"It used to be if you had two second-round picks, you would say, 'Let's take one player that we think has the opportunity to make our squad next year and let's take one European player who needs to get additional experience in Europe,'" explained Pendergraft. "Now we might find two guys in the second round that can make our ballclub."

At the same time, both Sund and Pendergraft cautioned from expecting too much too soon from the Sonics first-round pick, particularly if the Sonics are able to bring back virtually all of the core of last year's 52-win team.

"If they do, they're really good," said Sund. "You've got to be pretty good as the 25th pick to come in and push someone out if we have the core of our team back. Even if you had the 10th pick, I'm not sure you could do that."

Making that process more difficult is the fact the Sonics 2004-05 rookies could push for more playing time next season. Center Robert Swift will vie for a spot in the rotation after spending his first year developing at practice, while forward Damien Wilkins (a restricted free agent) played a key role down the stretch.

"I think we can get guys that conceivably they can come in and get in the rotation next year," said Pendergraft. "But then again, one luxury we have is one of our free agents we want back, Damien Wilkins. He takes a little bit of pressure off of us in this draft. We feel confident that he's found a home here. He's like a draft pick we have in the bag."

Sund pointed out this is one off-season where the Sonics could have benefited from the NFL's off-season timeline, which puts the majority of free agent activity prior to the draft. Under the NBA's system, the Sonics can't even attempt to guess what will happen. Coach Nate McMillan has been using that as a selling point to potential draftees.

"Nate's point was, 'Hey, if you come in here and impress us, we can use help at any one of your positions,'" said Sund. "We're not focusing that we've got to have a guard or anything like that."

A best player available strategy fits with Pendergraft's stated goal of "maximizing the pick" in terms of getting as much as talent as possible.

"The numbers game has smiled on us this year," he said. "I think we can get just as talented a player at 25 as some of the mid-fist-round guys, perhaps even late lottery. You can go point guard through center, I think you can get an asset."

The draft process has been slightly changed within the past week by the NBA and its Players Association agreeing to a new CBA. A 19-year-old age limit will affect future drafts - and may have helped this one because high school seniors feared an age-20 limit would keep them in college two years - but for now the more important provisions might be the creation of a true minor league in the NBDL with the option for teams to send players down and a change in rookie contracts that guarantees only two seasons to rookies.

"You only have a two-year really binding commitment; you'll swing for the fences a bit more," explained Pendergraft. "You're not really bound for the four years. That helps. It helps that perhaps we'll have, for the first time, a true minor-league system where you can take a project and you don't just sit him on the bench the whole year on IR; now you can get them some playing time."

That may help the stock of the last high schoolers to go directly to the NBA.

"I think some of the high school kids who looked like they could slide in the draft, I think they've resurfaced, particularly if teams have two picks," said Sund.