NBA draft talk is wildly exciting, since there appears to be no consensus as to what the Bulls will do with the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft, and whether or not the Heat will even keep the No. 2 pick. (Please, someone in Miami debunk this Heat-taking-OJ Mayo-second poppycock. Unless the Carlos Boozer-to-Miami business has a kernel of truth, Mayo over Beasley is crazy.)

Trade scenarios are very talk radio, but how about this: the Bulls send Kirk Hinrich ($10 million) and Drew Gooden ($7 million) to Indiana for Jermaine O’Neal ($21 million). The Pacers would be taking on the expiring deal of Gooden, and acquire a point guard who doesn’t have an affinity for weapons. Sure, they’d have to find a new home for Jamaal Tinsley and his bloated contract, or tinker with playing the two at the same time, although Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy both played well enough last year at the two and there, respectively. O’Neal and Ty Thomas or Joakim Noah on the backline could be formidable.

Chad Ford, who currently leads all media members in NBA draft rumor-mongering, floats this: the Cavs send Z, Sideshow Bob and the No. 19 pick to Indiana for Jermaine O’Neal. The Pacers would add a Rik Smits clone, and have a much cheaper (and less offensive-minded) alternative to the expensive Troy Murphy. But this one completely favors the Cavs, who would finally have a potential 20-10 guy to pair with LeBron. O’Neal’s been broken down the last four years, but he’ll only be 30 in October. And there’s no way they’ll get a big man of his potential in free agency (barring something batty with Elton Brand) or the draft.

Other things to think about:

* In response to the LeBron-Jay Z business: But why wasn’t anyone clamoring with be with Michael Jordan in DC and Charlotte?
* Baron Davis or Monte Ellis could wind up on the Knicks because both want to play for D’Antoni.
* If the Hornets Bobcats made a promise with the 9th pick to 7-footer DeAndre Jordan, that must mean our guy Roy Hibbert’s not going in the lottery.