New York ? After the first three picks of the 2002 NBA draft went as expected, the Memphis Grizzlies selected former Kansas University forward Drew Gooden with the fourth overall pick  just as he expected.

The 6-foot-10 Gooden is headed where he thought he’d be going all along as the Grizzlies made him the fourth overall pick Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. He was the highest Jayhawk drafted since the Denver Nuggets bagged Raef LaFrentz with the third overall selection in 1998.

As the fourth pick, Gooden is slated to make $7.511 million over three years based on the NBA’s rookie pay scale.

The draft was supposed to start getting interesting beginning with the fourth pick as newly hired Memphis president Jerry West had been working feverishly for the past several days trying to line up a series of moves.

West instead chose Gooden, a junior power forward and first-team All-America selection. The Big 12 Player of the Year, who averaged 19.9 points last season, will join a Grizzlies frontcourt that already includes Shane Battier and Rookie of the Year Pau Gasol.

“He gives us  another really athletic player who is very talented,” West said.

Gooden seemed relieved the whole process was over and then was asked what it meant to him to be the first draft pick of the franchise’s new president.

“When the logo sees something he likes, I’m overwhelmed,” Gooden said.

West, who built the Los Angeles Lakers current three-time champion team, is the player pictured on the NBA’s logo.

The 7-5 Yao Ming, who gained clearance from the Chinese national federation to play in the NBA only hours earlier, was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets.

Yao did not attend the draft as he was in Beijing for training with his national team. Yao shared high-fives and handshakes with his family as commissioner David Stern announced the pick, which marked the first time a foreign player who did not play in college ball in the United States went No. 1 in the draft.

“This is a new start in my basketball and life career,” Yao said through an interpreter. “There will be a new challenge for me. I am confident I will learn from the NBA and improve myself.”

Jay Williams, a junior guard from Duke who was the national player of the year, went second to the Chicago Bulls. Williams gave hugs rather than handshakes to his family before donning a Bulls cap and walking onstage.

This marked the second straight year the Bulls got the second overall pick. A year ago, they acquired teen-ager Tyson Chandler from the Los Angeles Clippers for Elton Brand in a major draft-night deal. Chandler, attending the Bulls draft in Deerfield, Ill., donned a Williams jersey for the occasion.

This year’s draft had no shortage of trade talk, with several teams trying to move into the top 10 or acquire one the veterans  including McDyess, Andre Miller and Baron Davis  whose names had been prominently mentioned in trade rumors throughout the day.

Mike Dunleavy of Duke went third to the Golden State Warriors, learning of his selection as he sat stage left with his father, former NBA player and coach Mike Dunleavy.

West said he expects Gooden to get playing time right away at either forward position. His raw athleticism was what caught West’s eye.

“He’s going to get bigger. He’s got a big frame, and when you watch him, he’s really quick and active,” West said. “He’ll be one of the fastest guys on the team, or the fastest guy on the team.”

With the draft, West made his first major decision for a team other than the Los Angeles Lakers after more than four decades as a player, coach and executive.

Gooden will join two other talented youngsters, Pau Gasol and Shane Battier.

Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said Gooden’s pre-draft workouts in Memphis were impressive.

“His enthusiasm excited me,” Lowe said. “He’s excited about being out there. He’s excited to play.”

In the second round, the Grizzlies picked Robert Archibald, a 6-foot-11 forward, from Illinois.

The Grizzlies acquired rights to Chris Owens, the 48th pick by Milwaukee, for Memphis’ second-round selection next year.

The first trade of the night was a big one. The New York Knicks acquired former All-Star Antonio McDyess and the 25th overall pick from the Denver Nuggets  Frank Williams  in exchange for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and the rights to the No. 7 pick, Brazilian teen-ager “Nene” Hilario.

Philadelphia traded the 16th pick, Czech guard Jiri Welsch, to Golden State for a future first-round pick and a future first- or second-round pick. Orlando traded the 18th pick, Chris Borchardt, to Utah for the 18th pick, Ryan Humphrey, and a second-round pick. Sacramento dealt the 29th pick, Gonzaga’s Dan Dickau, to Atlanta for a future No. 1 pick.

Denver, choosing fifth, selected center Nikoloz Tskitishvili of Benetton Treviso in Italy. The 19-year-old Tskitishvili was the first teen-ager selected. A year ago, high school seniors comprised four of the first eight picks.

Dajuan Wagner of Memphis went sixth to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a clear signal that the trade talk surrounding Miller  the NBA assists leader last season  was legitimate. Cleveland has told Miller it does not want to offer him a contract extension for another year, and several teams have been contacting the Cavs to make offers  most notably the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Knicks, with their highest pick in 15 years, selected the 6-foot-11 Hilario  a rebounding and shot-blocking specialist who remains under contract to a professional team in Rio de Janeiro  and were showered with boos and a chant of “Fire Layden”  a reference to Knicks president Scott Layden.

Less than an hour later, though, the word was out that the Knicks were getting McDyess.

Chris Wilcox of Maryland went eighth to the Clippers, and the Phoenix Suns selected Amare Stoudemire, of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, with the ninth pick.

That allowed the Miami Heat, a team desperate for a scorer, to select Connecticut sophomore Butler with the 10th pick. Butler, a small forward who averaged 20.3 points for the Huskies, was one of the few players projected to be ready to make an immediate offensive impact in the NBA.

Indiana forward Jared Jeffries went 11th to the Washington Wizards, giving Michael Jordan another young building block on his front line to go along with his overall No. 1 pick from a year ago, Kwame Brown.

With their second pick of the first round, the Clippers took Fresno State’s Melvin Ely  the first senior to be selected. The 6-foot-10 center gives the Clippers some insurance in case they lose Michael Olowokandi, the No. 1 pick in 1998 who is about to become a restricted free agent.

Forward Marcus Haislip of Tennessee went 13th to Milwaukee, guard Fred Jones of Oregon was picked by Indiana, the Rockets went the foreign route again with their second pick of the night by taking Slovenian forward Bostjan Nachbar and the Wizards used their second first-round pick on first-team All-America guard Juan Dixon of Maryland.

After Borchardt and Humphrey, Toronto chose Missouri guard Kareem Rush, and Portland was able to select junior college standout Qyntel Woods, a projected lottery pick who dropped all the way to No. 21.

The remainder of the first round was Casey Jacobsen of Stanford to Phoenix, Kentucky forward Tayshaun Prince went to Detroit at No. 23, New Jersey took 18-year-old center Nenad Krstic of Yugoslavia, Denver  selecting for New York  chose Illinois point guard Frank Williams.

San Antonio took Miami forward John Salmons, the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers picked Fresno State small forward Chris Jefferies 27th, and Sacramento closed the first round by choosing Dickau.

There were nine foreign-born players selected in the second round after six went in the first round. Previously, the highest total of foreign players drafted was 14 in 2000.