Good player. Bad attitude.

Athletic, but apathetic.

A first-round talent with a second-round work ethic.

Those are the rumblings about Pitt's Chris Taft heading into Tuesday's NBA draft, but the 6-foot-10, 260-pound power forward/center says don't believe it.

"I guarantee you anybody who plays against me (doesn't) say I'm soft because I'm going to play as hard as I can," Taft told the New York Post after a workout with the New Jersey Nets last week. "I don't see myself as being soft."

Taft was considered a potential top-5 pick in several mock drafts earlier this year, but he failed to live up to those expectations with a so-so sophomore season. His stock has continued to fall in recent weeks after he reportedly had several mediocre pre-draft workouts for NBA teams.

The latest mock drafts on the two most respected NBA draft sites - nbadraft.net and draftexpress.com - have dropped Taft to the bottom third of the first round. On his Insider report, ESPN's Chad Ford has Taft out of the first round completely.

Although he rarely dominated as expected, Taft did show progress last season. He upped his scoring average from 10.9 to 13.3 points and shot 58 percent from the floor. He also averaged nearly eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Despite all the criticism, Taft maintains considerable NBA upside, mainly because of his size and athleticism. It's that combination that could make it hard for teams with mid to late first-round picks to pass him up.

Taft, who is from Brooklyn, still has hopes of being picked by the hometown Knicks at No. 8 or Nets at No. 15.

"To be local, that would be very exciting because the Knicks and Nets are basically home," he told The Post.

Numerous trade rumors threaten to shake things up and make this one of the most interesting drafts in years. It also is one of the toughest to predict, but here goes:1. Bucks - Andrew Bogut, 7-0, center, Utah.Skilled big men are an endangered species, so the Bucks choose Bogut and pray that Marvin Williams doesn't turn out to be the next James Worthy.2. Hawks - Marvin Williams, 6-8, small forward, North Carolina.Chris Paul or Deron Williams will be considered to fill a huge hole at point guard, but the Hawks can't pass up Marvin Williams, who has a chance to be a very special player.3. Trail Blazers - Chris Paul, 6-1, point guard, Wake Forest.The Blazers already have Sebastian Telfair at point guard, so look for them to package this pick with a high-priced veteran and trade down during the draft. Talks with the Lakers are rumored.4. Hornets - Deron Williams, 6-3, point guard, Illinois.Deron Williams is a hot, hot, hot prospect. He's dropped 15 pounds, easing concerns about his speed and quickness.5. Bobcats - Gerald Green, 6-7, small forward, Gulf Shores Academy (Texas).The top high school player in this year's draft, Green is a prolific dunker (43-inch vertical jump) with 3-point range.6. Jazz - Raymond Felton, 6-1, point guard, North Carolina.The Jazz would love to trade up for Deron Williams or Chris Paul. Failing to do that, they take the next best point guard.7. Raptors - Danny Granger, 6-9, small forward, New Mexico -Granger, a Scottie Pippen-type player, is flying up the draft charts.8. Knicks - Channing Frye, 6-11, power forward/center, Arizona.Frye has been impressive in pre-draft workouts. The Warriors are very interested, but the Knicks will beat them to it.9. Warriors - Hakim Warrick, 6-8, power forward/small forward, Syracuse.With Frye off the board, the Warriors turn to Warrick, who is undersized for power forward (215 pounds) and lacks small forward skills. But GM Chris Mullin is reportedly enamored with his athleticism and upside.10. Lakers - Andrew Bynum, 7-0, center, St. Joseph's High School (N.J.).Bynum is raw but has Shaq-like size (280 pounds) and a 33-inch vertical jump. The Lakers, meanwhile, badly want to trade up for Deron Williams, Chris Paul or maybe even Gerald Green. The bait: Caron Butler and/or the No. 10 pick.11. Magic - Sean May, 6-8, power forward, North Carolina.Although his upside isn't the greatest, May is fundamentally sound and a great rebounder. The Magic will move rookie-of-the-year runner-up Dwight Howard to center.12. Clippers - Yaroslav Korolev, 6-9, small forward, Russia.Russia's top prospect, just 18 years old, is being compared to Andrei Kirilenko.13. Bobcats - Charlie Villanueva, 6-10, power forward, Connecticut.There arequestions about his work ethic and desire, but Villanueva is a skilled offensive player with good size and mobility.14. Timberwolves - Antoine Wright, 6-7, shooting guard, Texas A&M.This versatile scorer can move right in with Latrell Sprewell on the way out.15. Nets - Fran Vazquez, 6-10, power forward, Spain.An explosive finisher around the basket, Vazquez is the most NBA-ready foreign player in this year's draft. He'll get a lot of dunks off feeds from Jason Kidd.16. Raptors - Roko Ukic, 6-5, point guard, Croatia.This flashy ballhandler needs to get stronger and improve as a shooter, but he attacks the basket like Manu Ginobli.17. Pacers - Martell Webster, 6-7, small forward/shooting guard, Seattle Prep (Wash.).With Reggie Miller retired, the Pacers need a shooter. Webster, who at 18 already has a pro body (235 pounds), is the best on the board.18. Celtics - Joey Graham, 6-6, small forward, Oklahoma State.Danny Ainge loves to draft good athletes, and Graham easily tested first in athleticism(speed, strength, vertical jump) at the pre-draft camp in Chicago19. Grizzlies - Chris Taft, 6-10, power forward/center, Pittsburgh.The Grizzlies want a strong, big man to pair with Pau Gasol. Taft looks like a good fit.20. Nuggets - Francisco Garcia, 6-7, shooting guard, Louisville.The Nuggets need outside shooting, and Garcia can stroke it.21. Suns - Johan Petro, 7-0, center, France.This 7-footer has the athleticism of a lottery pick, but he's a project who hasn't shown much progress.22. Nuggets - Ersan Ilyasova, 6-9, small forward, Turkey.Just 18 years old, Ilyasova is one of the best young prospects in Europe.23. Kings - Rashad McCants, 6-4, shooting guard, North Carolina.McCants is a top-10 talent, but character issues make him a risk.24. Rockets - Wayne Simien, 6-8, power forward, Kansas.Although he lacks athleticism and is injury-prone, Simeon is money from mid-range and makes a nice fit next to Yao Ming.25. SuperSonics - Jarrett Jack, 6-4, point guard, Georgia Tech.Jack is prone to turnovers, but he has good size and is the kind of aggressive defender Nate McMillan likes.26. Pistons - Andray Blatche, 7-0, power forward, South Kent Prep (Conn.)The Pistons can take their time with Blatche, an athletic big man with excellent perimeter skills.27. Jazz - Ike Diogu, 6-8, power forward, Arizona State.With Carlos Boozer and his huge contract on the trading block, the Jazz add a skilled low-post scorer with the wingspan of a 7-footer.28. Spurs - Mile Ilic, 7-1 center, Serbia.The Spurs always seem to find hidden gems overseas. Is this talented and improving young big man the next one?29. Heat - Luther Head, 6-3, shooting guard, Illinois.You can never surround Shaquille O'Neal with too many shooters. And this draft sleeper is a lock-down defender and offers some point guard potential, too.30. Knicks - Martynas Andriuskevicius, 7-3, power forward, Lithuania.An intriguing prospect at his size,this frail 19-year-old has perimeter skills, but he is years away from being a factor.