The battle for the 2005 NBA title is far from over, but the contest for the 2006 trophy got under way this week as NBA draft season launched into high gear. The deadline for underclassmen, high-school players, and foreigners under the age of 22 to declare their eligibility for the June 28 draft has passed, and the league will release the official list later this week. The lottery to determine the order of the first 14 picks is Sunday afternoon, and the 17 teams whose 2005 championship hopes are already dashed are scouring the boards in search of future starters.

Due to the looming possibility of a league-wide age limit, there has been a rush among young players to enter this year’s draft, making it the deepest in years. As many as 86 players, mostly collegiate underclassmen, have declared their eligibility, hoping to be one of just 60 picks – two each for the NBA’s 30 teams. (Some players who declare themselves eligible don’t sign up with an agent, which allows them to withdraw and maintain their NCAA eligibility; expect 30-40 of them to renounce their availability by the June 21 deadline.)

Beyond the top three collegians – Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul, Utah center Andrew Bogut, and North Carolina forward/center Marvin Williams – there is little consensus on who this year’s impact players will be. This sets up what should be a volatile draft, with teams making and breaking last-minute deals to move up and down the board as the first round progresses.

Both the Knicks and the Nets are well-positioned to take advantage of this action, having stockpiled on picks in the course of their respective roster reconstructions. Although the local teams share a common need in the pivot, they enter the draft season at very different stages of roster development, and that will affect how they use their allotted picks.

The Nets own the no. 15 pick in the first round and the no. 13 pick in the second. Their needs are simple: a center who can round out a superb starting five, and a player who can provide some offense off the bench.

Big men taken toward the middle of the first round are always gambles. Many turn out to have height but no game. This year, there will likely be more quality European big men available at the no. 15 slot than usual, as many NBA teams have started to shy away from foreigners who are labeled the next Dirk and instead become the next Darko.

Unlike many in the league, the Nets have done well in this department in the past. Nenad Krstic, who was taken with the 22nd pick two years ago, turned in a fine rookie campaign in 2005. The Nets will likely monitor the progress and availability of French 7-footer Johan Petro, Macedonian phenom Peja Samardziski, or Serbian pivotman Mile Ilic, all of whom could potentially fill the vacuum in the middle of the Nets’ offensive attack.

The Nets are also armed with several picks in coming seasons, which they can package with either of this year’s picks in order to move up the board and snag that final starter. Expect them to scour the second round for the best available sharpshooter.

Despite boasting Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, and Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup, the Nets are still a dismal offensive team, thanks mostly to a bench full of players who can’t shoot. The team ranked 27th in Offensive Efficiency at 98.3 points per 100 possessions this season. Consequently, the Nets’ second pick should be a player who can fill it up from outside. They would like a sharpshooter like 19-year-old Croatian scoring machine Marko Tomas or Olympic stud Rudy Fernandez of Spain, but they may have to move up to get either player.

Across the river, the Knicks’ draft will be a major step in Isiah Thomas’s rebuilding of the team. Working with a roster full of overpaid, underperforming veterans whose contracts expire in the next 24 months, Isiah seems committed to building around Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Trevor Ariza, and Michael Sweetney.

Since only four roster spots are set for the future, the Knicks’ needs could be summed up in one word: talent. With two first-round picks – nos. 8 and 30 – Thomas will have to be shrewd to maximize the fit for this team. The ideal, of course, would be to win the lottery (they stand a 3.5% chance) and take Utah’s Bogut, but there’s a 96.5% chance that won’t happen.

Some mock drafts have the Knicks taking Pittsburgh forward Chris Taft, which is fine if the 6-foot-10 collegian can adequately play the pivot. A more intriguing choice would be New Jersey high-school entrant Andrew Bynum. Athletically gifted players who are 7 feet tall and weigh 300 pounds don’t come along very often, and the Knicks could afford to bring Bynum along slowly – in fact, it would reinforce their current timetable.

With the second pick, he would be wise to draft another big man, particularly a shot-blocking type in the mold of Portland’s Theo Ratliff. The Knicks have been among the bottom feeders in blocked shots for years; importing one in like Chicago State’s raw but promising Deji Akindele could solve the team’s defensive woes.

Marbury and Crawford are among the better ball hawks in the league, and with a formidable second line between them and the rim, they could take more chances for steals. Whatever Thomas does, the pressure will be on him to articulate it as part of a cohesive long-term plan. Too many of his moves have seemed haphazard since he arrived on Broadway. But draft season is the opening day of roster construction, and with the right moves, any team – even the Knicks – can take a step toward a winning era.