Draft Thoughts

For tonight's draft I had planned on going to a sports bar with my friends, enjoying some chicken wings, and getting excited about the Derrick Rose era of the Chicago Bulls. My family couldn't give me a car or ride even though I wanted to leave at the same time my parents were and would have in NO way interfered with their plans. Needless to say, I'm currently seething with rage. And the most illogical, and thus best, cure for being angry is to write down all your thoughts on the NBA draft. Don't believe me? Neither do I, but I'll do it anyway. The Bulls clock is counting down from 10, so we here we go:

First pick- Bulls take Derrick Rose. Rage subsides a little. Had we taken Beasley my TV would be laying broken in my backyard and I would be at a rage-aholics clinic. My name is Jeff and I'm addicted to rage-ahol.

Just found out the Nets traded Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. This is a batant attempt to clear cap before LeBron hits free agency in 2009 and Yi may develop into a nice complement for LeBron. This deal hinges on him coming to Brooklyn in '09, if he does it's a good trade for both sides. If he doesn't the Nets got hosed.

Second pick- Michael Beasley. Shocking. Say goodbye to Shawn Marion, and no the Bulls should not go after him as rumors indicate. Deng is already about as good Marion, and more valuable because he's younger and cheaper, and Marion would take minutes from either him or Tyrus. On an unrelated note, I'm excited to hear about Beasley's first South Beach Shenanigans, let's get the crew from The Rookie to keep following him.

Third pick- OJ Mayo. My only comment is that Ovinton J'Anthony is not a real name. Sorry on getting banished to Minnesota Ovinton.

Update: OJ was traded to Memphis for Kevin Love and Mike Miller. Good trade for both teams although Memphis now has too many young guards and Minnesota's front line is still undersized. That said, Love will make Jefferson, Miller, and Foye better while learning the white PF position from McHale. And Ovinton J'Anthony leaves Minnesota, that's always exciting.

Fourth pick- Russel Westbrook. Just kidding. Not really though. I don't agree with picking a combo guard who can't score at the fourth pick. Yes his defense is good, but I don't see a star player. Picture Chauncey Billups without the scoring.

Fifth pick- Kevin Love. I'm rooting for him. I don't care if he has love handles, cheesy facial hair, and isn't all too athletic, I think he can make an impact. Pairing him with a strong point guard like Conley will bring out his strenghts. He'll pick and pop for 14 a night, pull down 7, and get 3 assists. He may not be a superstar, but should be a nice player to have on your team.

Sixth pick- Danillo Galinari. His nickname is The Rooster. How long until Knicks fans start calling him by another name for a rooster? Confused? Here's a hint: it rhymes with clock and contains no "L"s. I say 1 month. I haven't seen enough of him to really comment, but the highlights of him were spectacularly unimpressive.

Seventh pick- Eric Gordon. He played poorly last year but Indiana wasn't exactly a winning situation. He'll be better than Westbrook, mark that down.

Eighth pick- Joe Alexander. He's a hustler and he's a winner. It's a shame Yi got traded because they could have had some fun conversations in Mandarin. That could have made a great sitcom, too. I feel cheated.

Ninth pick- DJ Augustin. Boy has Jerryd Bayless slipped. Augustin is small and is unfortunate in going to Charlotte. He would have benefitted from falling a little down to Portland, Golden State, or Phoenix.

Tenth pick- Brook Lopez. Brook Lopez and Yi Jianlian. Things got interesting in New Jersey. If they both develop, that's a really good front line. There's about a 25% percent chance of that happening, but your just buying time until LeBron anyway.

Eleventh pick- Jerryd Bayless. That's a pick you have to make, way to get a guy who could've gone 4 at 11. See you in the lottery next year Pacers.

Twelfth pick- Jason Thompson. Why did Ron Artest elect to stay in Sacramento. The Kings grab a bit of a project and start the rebuilding process. The Ron Artest Explosion Countdown begins. For your safety, I don't recommend visiting the Sacramento area for the next year or so. I don't know what reason you'd have to visit Sac-town, its nickname is Sac-town for goodness sake, so that shouldn't be too hard.

Thirteenth pick- Brandon Rush. He should make a very good sixth man for Portland. He can shoot, is clutch, and plays good defense. I like Rush and like the pick.

Fourteenth pick- Anthony Randolph. A project for Golden State. I thought they should have grabbed Robin Lopez for some toughness down low.

Dick Vitale came on my TV on the volume went off. I like referring to him as Uncle Chachi (pronounced chotch-ee).

Fifteenth pick- Robin Lopez. How do you think Shaq will react when some goofy haired scrapper with a girl's name starts stealing his minutes? I say not well.

Sixteenth pick- Marreese Speights. He's out of shape, but has size and skill. He shows flashes, but isn't consistent. He may in fact be Eddy Curry.

Seventeeth pick- Roy Hibbert. Low risk, low reward. He reminds me of Big Z on the Cavs, so there is hope that someone will vastly overpay him for having a moderately productive career. Toronto may have a potent front line with Hibbert, O'Neal, and Bosh. Or it could just as easily be Bosh playing all by himself like last year. I like the way they rolled the dice though.

Eighteenth pick- JaVale McGee. He's the son of a WNBA player so you know he can't dunk. He actually can, but you can't have a basketball artticle without taking some sort of shot at the W. I see a poor man's Tyson Chandler in McGee so he could be a contributor on a Wizard's team that featured an awful front line.

Portland trades Jarret Jack and Brandon Rush to Indiana for Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu. THAT JUST HAPPENED. What the hell Indiana!? You already have Tinsley and Ford, now you trade the steal of the draft to bring in another point guard? Jack can't shoot, I don't like his game at all. If you wanted Rush, just take him at 11 over Bayless. Why does everyone dislike Bayless so much? I see him in the Monta Ellis/Gilbert Arenas mold. He doesn't distribute well and isn't clutch, but Jarrett Jack backed up Steve Blake. Seriously, there had to be a better offer than that some where. Great trade for Portland, who can play Roy at the point and take pressure of Bayless. Portland now has a starting five of Bayless, Roy, Webster, Aldridge, and Oden. That's already a nice starting five, and I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled in a vet at SF for some experience or just an upgrade over Webster.

Update: Josh McRoberts was also involved in the deal. How unnecessary.

Snack break.

After returning from my snack, I realized that I didn't have much of a clue of how the rest of the draftees would fare in the NBA. I know Kosta Koufos will be a bust and I like Donte Green. That's about it, it really does become a crap shoot.

Some final more random thoughts:

How worthless was that woman who interviewed the players' moms? What kind of question's could you possibly ask that a sports fan would find relevant? "Your son just became a millionaire, how do you feel? Happy? I don't believe you."

Stephen A. Smith and Stu Scott should have switched places. Stu's better at tossing softball questions to player and listening to Stephen's outlandish statements is always amusing.

Jeff Van Gundy seemed to have a noticeable lisp, did anyone else catch that? Does anyone else read this?

An ominous organ should have been played before the NBA draft, just as it was at the NFL draft.

I was really impressed by the Trailblazers draft. Even though none of their players have stepped on the court, I declare them the winners and will be mailing GM Kevin Pritchard a gold star.

That's all for tonight, I officially have nothing more to say.