Yao Ming can cement his place as the first player taken in the 2002 draft. Yao will work out Wednesday in Chicago for any interested scout, general manager or coach.

Representatives from all 29 teams, including Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson, are expected to attend.

There are questions about Yao. No one wants to spend the top pick of the draft for the next Shawn Bradley. But Yao is 7-foot-5, maybe 7-6. He has good hands. He doesn't look to escape the lane to the safe territory behind the 3-point line where he can show his touch.

If Yao moves well Wednesday, shows those good hands and stays very tall, there will be a buzz about the workout. Momentum will build. Yao plays as if he knows he's 7-5, maybe 7-6 (though he had trouble staying out of foul trouble in the Sydney Olympics) and by June could be an irresistible choice, particularly when the other potential superstars are years away.

As far as the conspiracy theory nonsense that the league will find a way to make sure Yao plays in the right setting, forget it. There is a widespread sense that the Chinese government's interest that Yao plays in a city with a large Asian community has been greatly exaggerated. That might make Yao's time smoother, but his comfort zone is not his government's top priority.

The priority of the Chinese government is to get Yao valuable NBA experience before the 2004 and especially the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and to make sure it gets its cut of his income.