Feel the Draft

11:51AM: Inspired by Bill Simmons' diary of Game Four during the NBA Finals, I have decided to follow suit (AKA stealing as a form of flattery) and document the NBA Draft from, well, 11:51 AM Eastern Standard Time until the draft goes off sometime before midnight. 12 hours!!!

Special thanks to Shanta Myricks, best girlfriend in the world, for letting me use her laptop. Due to the location of my home PC, it's been awhile since I've actually gotten the chance to watch TV while typing. I need to get me one of these; I heard you're not a journalist until you have one.

Oh, as for that playoff blogging... man, I really need to stop focusing so much on family, work, and poker. I didn't even get to give you my insight on the Mavericks losing; the Hornets nice run; Kobe's MVP; and, of course, the most-hyped NBA Finals since back in the 80's (maybe one of the better one's, too). All in all, Kobe Bryant is by far the best player in the NBA, and despite what people say his legacy was not tarnished in this series, but the Boston Celtics were simply the better team. Fan of the Celts or not, you've got to be happy for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen getting over the hump. For years all three of them have had that "Can't Win the Big One" label, and I think it's fitting that they bonded together to get that collective monkey off their back.

Don't worry, I will definitely get into my Mavericks' rant, probably sometime around 11:30 or 11:45 tonight, when they make the 51st pick. NBA Draft.net has them taking some foreign dude I've never heard of, as does ESPN.com's Chad Ford(different guy though). Honestly, if he's still around, I wouldn't mind them using the pick on James Gist. He's not on Chad Ford's list, but he's been on and off draft.net all year (trust me, I check quite often). We all know how athletic he is, but his jumper is very underrated. If he developed any sort of handle, he'd be capable of being an all-star caliber player one day. For now, I think he can at least contribute somewhere.

But, enough about Gist. Here's some of the headlines going into today's draft:

• Even before the lottery gods blessed the Chicago Bulls with the first pick in the draft, everybody in the world figured whoever got that first pick would either go with Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. I honestly have to admit that when I first heard the Bulls had won the lottery, my first impressions was that Beasley was the obvious choice. After all, the problem with the Bulls the past couple of years hasn't been talent. They just have too many players who prefer to settle for jumpers and absolutely no post presence. Beasley gives them immediate help downlow, and at the absolute worst he's an upgrade over Drew Gooden.

However, Rose has the chance to be really special, and franchise-type point guards don't come around every year. I know the Bulls have Kirk Hinrich, a solid starting point guard, but Rose brings freakish athleticism, defensive prowess, and superior leadership skills, even though he's much younger than Hinrich. It would definitely make sense for the Bulls to take Rose and ship Captain Kirk elsewhere. Although he's coming off an awful season, he's still young enough where they can get pretty good value for him.

Anyway, all season long and all spring long it's been Rose-Beasley, Beasley-Rose. However, the rumblings are getting louder by the minute, and they seem to be saying no Beasley at number two--and if they do pick him, it's simply to trade him. A couple of days ago Chad Ford broke an article that said the Heat were talking seriously with the Grizzlies about trading for their number two along with Daequan Cook for Memphis' number five, Mike Miller and Kyle Lowry (a potential future all-star if you ask me). Talks broke down I believe because Heat GM Pat Riley wanted Mike Conley (the Grizzlies have the most under-the-radar point guard tandem in the NBA). I think for both teams the trade should have been a no-brainer, but whatever.

Say the Heat do decide they want to keep whomever they draft. If that's the case, it's sounding more and more like O.J. Mayo will be that pick. Dwyane "I'm hurt but I can shoot cute T-Mobile commercials and play on Team USA (sorry it's nothing personal but my girl thinks you're hot and I wish I knew your address so I can key all 39 of your whips)" Wade is high on Mayo. Personally, if you didn't want Beasley, I'd pick Jerryd Bayless before I took Mayo. I don't know why everybody thinks that Mayo can project as a point guard in the pros. Mark my words: Mayo will be, maybe, a better version of Dajuan Wagner.

• Last night the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors executed a major trade that could potentially impact the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pacers sent Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the No. 17 pick the draft. I know it's a trade involving two guys who are serious health risks, but could you imagine a healthy O'Neal with Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon? I think the move instantly puts them at least in the top four in the conference. Debate.

12:48 pm: Unfortunately, I've got to take a break from blogging for a little bit. I can't concentrate while Diego is demanding that I say, "Caliente!" You would understand if you had a two year old.

By the way, I'm very interested in the Washington Wizards pick today. Not mentioning names, but a girl that I work with also happens to work with the Wizards. She didn't tell me who they were picking, but when I said Roy Hibbert, she definitely hesitated before saying, "I can't tell you." However, she did kind of put a scare into me when she said, "Who knows? Maybe we'll draft someone from Europe and stash them?"

Having played so much poker lately, the former feels like a sign of weakness. The latter seems like a bluff, but nonetheless a believable one.

12:54 pm:Lunchtime.

1:09 pm: Still haven't had that lunch, but I stumbled across this Bill Simmons' list of bad lottery picks. Funny, reminds me of one of mine.

Bill Simmons is not a writer; he's a biter...

Just kidding, Bill. I love your work, and I'd be honored if for some reason you were actually reading this.

1:23 pm: Just in case you're reading this, babe, you don't have to worry about us watching too much sports. LPGA Tournament and Wimbledon are on. We're about to watch Ni-Hao Kahlan.

And, this is why I hate the summer sports season.

3:44 pm: As I watch highlights of the 2007 WSOP (World Series of Poker for those of you who do not read the other blog), I'm also checking out some of the local headlines, mainly about Donte Greene and where people project him to be drafted. To me, and many other experts agree, Greene probably would have been better served with another year of college. Scouts unanimously agree that he has no in between game to speak of, and as athletically gifted as he is Greene rarely attacks the rim with ferocity. He's a project, but that being said there are much worse projects out there.

Another interesting note is that there's a movie called Gunnin' For That #1 Spot, featuring some of the top prospects from this year's draft when they were high school seniors. It's only showing in Owings Mills but it might be worth watching.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

You heard it here 202nd time: the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks have decided to shake things up. It looks like Richard Jefferson to the Bucks for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons, according to NBA front-office sources.

Looks like Yi finally gets to go to that big Asian market. Or, at least closer to it, I guess.

As for RJ... that might be a good fit for him, as long as Mo Williams remembers to pass the ball.

4:25 pm: MORE BREAKING NEWS!!! The Los Angeles Clippers are trading up to #4, and it's all but confirmed that they will take former UCLA guard Russell Westbrook and the Seattle Supersonics will take Brook Lopez.

I think Westbrook, at his very worst, would be a better-shooting Rajon Rondo (my friend Hakeem and I agree). While I like Jerryd Bayless better as a player, I definitely think he has more upside. Especially with Shaun Livingston and his shaky future, I like the move toward a point guard.

Seattle? Wow, they must be enamored with their point guard situation! Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour, go get 'em. I personally do not understand this trade. Let's look at some of their past choices at center: Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene, Johan Petro. While I'm assuming that Lopez is better than all three of them, scouts have seriously questioned his ceiling, meaning he's as good as they're gonna get. Lopez is not going to lighten Kevin Durant's scoring load, nor will he be able to create easier shots for him like, say, JERRYD BAYLESS WOULD!

By the way, I'm watching Rome is Burning on ESPN. You'd figure that the worldwide leader in sports, who is televising the draft, would actually feature a draft hopeful as a guest. Nope, not ESPN. Aaron Rodgers... good luck, buddy.

I think I'm about to go to Arundel Mills with my family, so the blogging for right now is probably going to be iced until about 6:30. See you then.

4:58 pm: I don't know if I'm reading too much into this, but Jerryd Bayless is on Rome is Burning as a correspondant for the draft. He wore a New York Knicks jersey the entire time.