Beer- Check, Laptop- Check, Notes- Check, Viewers from Deadspin- Check, Jokes- Check, Wes Unseld Bullets Throwback- Check. Let’s do this thing.
6:40: First off….I’m proposing a social to be taken by everyone who is on right now or anyone who sees this. Anyone out there?
6:53: So I thought there would be pre-Draft coverage starting at 630 but it doesn’t start until 7. Let’s hope Stephen A. Smith is ready to go.
7:00: We’re live at MSG. Can you see the real me? I’m auditioning for the part of Live-Blogger. Our hosts tonight….Dan Patrick, Jay Bilas, Steve A Smith, Greg Anthony, and most certainly Dick Vitale.
7:03: Nothing I’d rather see than the Toronto War Room……exciting things happening in Canada.
7:06: First Jay Bilas comment of the night, “Tyrus Thomas is a freakish athlete” I’m sure that’s what Thomas is going for. Frannie F is with us tonight, and almost botches the first euro name of the night.
7:10: Bucher and Katz are with us as well. And the Hobbit Rachel Nichols is on hand to give us this gem, “Jordan is most definitely in the decision process” No Really Rach?
7:13: First Dickie V sighting, and of course he’s yelling about someone. I do agree with him on Thomas though. Just look at how he dominated Shelden Williams in the Tourney. Apparently he hates Euros too.
7:15: So the trade details are out……Theo Ratliff/Telfair/and a future pick for Raef Lafrentz/Dan Dickau/and the #7. Yea Steve Blake! Here comes the takeover.
7:21: First commercial is upon us, and surprise it’s for ESPN Mobile…..the worst marketing idea ever.
7:22: The State of JJ’s back address apparently it’s still drunk, and he has hired a lawyer. Wow Adam Morrison has Diabetes I had know idea! (just kidding) Somebody keep a count of how many times that’s mentioned. Rudy Gay uses the word “deservant”. How does UConn prepare you for the league? “The coaching….coach is really good”
7:26: As the commentators have noted, there seems to be a giant echo in MSG tonight. And it’s Mr. Echo from the show Lost. On a side note, Rachel Nichols does not echo because she is a Sprite. Hey I found a way to tie in tonight’s sponsor.
7:32: “Yea I cried…..so what…..and I’m going to cry again. I hope I never lose that intensity.”
7:35: They are ready for their close-ups. And here’s are man D. Stern….I miss the Stache’…maybe Morrison will help him bring it back. TORONTO’S ON THE CLOCK!
7:38: Fran Frashcilla says Bargnani’s impact will be best in year’s 3,4,5. On a side note, Bargs plays for a team called Beneton…that’s funny…..his name is Andrea too.
With the first pick in the NBA draft the Raptors select Andrea Bargnani from Italy.
- Bilas “He does not rebound, does not get to the line.” Sounds like a number one pick to me.
- “Mota Bene”- Stu Scott, “It’s unbelievable. If I”m dreaming….pleasure…in the world…my country….no words.” Booooooooooo
7:44: “What are the Chicago Boys going to be doing with this Pick?”-DP Blazers are drafting and trading Aldridge to the Blazers for the #4 and Viktor Khrapya…..great name.
- “Thomas has great feet”- Jay Bilas. Awww that’s cute.
- “He’s High Cut”-JB. What does that even mean?
- “He has a weak low base”-JB
- The NYK Fans are absolutely insane. But I would be too.
7:48: After an awfully boring interview with Bryan Collangelo. With the 3rd pick in the NBA draft MJ and the Cats take Adam “Van” Morrison.
- “He’s a gym rat. Type-1 diabetes”-DP That’s twice
- “He’s got a real hunger to score”-JB Really? I hate scoring in Basketball
- “Yell! Yell! Yell!- SAS
- “They liked a lot of what you guys are saying on the set have said”- RNichols I have no thoughts of my own at all.
- “Chris Dudley played 15 years in the NBA with diabetes”- Stu Wow a Dudley reference.
- “Metalica is coming to CHA Town”-Stu “He shed some tears when Rage broke up”-DP Wow I don’t even know where to start. Where exactly is ChaTown?
7:56: With the fourth pick the Bulls (through Portland) select Tyrus Thomas.
- JB again with the freakish comment
- Someone was very happy that their baby made it to the Association. Lots of yelling.
- “PORTLAND DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!!-SAS
- I agree with SAS
- “What did Simone Augustus tell you about this night?” Umm….right. Take the advice from someone in the WNBA Draft.
- No Struggle…..No Progress
8:01: With the fifth pick the Hawks select Shelden Williams.
- The only team possibly dumber than the Trailblazers….You’re Atlanta Hawks!
- Dick Vitale is actually doing okay this broadcast. He’ll fall apart soon.
- “He was telling me be who you are. Shucksess.”- Shelden Williams
- “Going sthrough a new shituation my teammatsches.”- Shelden Williams
8:06: With the sixth pick the TWolves select Brandon Roy.
- A Detleff reference from DP…..classic.
- “The Houston Astro….er….Rockets.”- Ric Bucher
- “You actually worked as a Janitor.”- Stu Wow Stu did his homework.
- Rudy Gay is going nuts right now.
8:13: With the seventh pick the Blazers (through Boston) select Randy Foye.
- Great pick…..I’m glad they didn’t go with the Gayness.
- “Randy Foye raised by his grandmothers….talk about a difficult situation”-DP Umm What?
- Don’t hold any punches back Dan…..good lord.
- Get rid of gun toting Telfair for Foye. Now they only need to frame a murder on Randolph and Miles.
- Would most like to meet his parents……I think that says it all.
8:23: With the eighth pick the Rockets trade the pick to Memphis for Shane Battier and select Rudy Gay for the Griz.
- “Has every tool and every piece of ability”- JB If that’s the case why wasn’t he picked first?
- “Dan we don’t have enough time to count deez diamonds”-Stu
- Houston just lost out on everyone, and there only backup plan was Shane Battier?
8:28: With the ninth pick the Warriors select Patrick O’Bryant.
- “Late bloomer….wants to be a chef. He’s cooking now in the Bay Area”-DP My early favorite for comment of the night.
- “He has great hands”- JB
- “Golden State is like a donut. They have everything but that middle”-GA
- “Nickname is Big Pappy and Big Peazie”- Stu
- “Cheesecake works….both parents played NAIA ball.” Good Transition.
Trade: ***Brandon Roy to Portland and Randy Foye to the Timberwolves***
- Umm is this a do over? Why didn’t they just draft them where they wanted?
8:35: With the tenth pick the Sonics select Saer Sene.
- David Stern with the first voice crack of the night.
- Must Improve: Experience Umm right….that’s in his control.
- This is an awful pick to be experimenting with. Don’t they have 3 centers all ready?
8:43: With the eleventh pick the Magic select JJ Redick.
- Alert the checkpoints in Orlando.
- “In twenty years on ESPN I’ve never seen a player take this much abuse” Dickie V If I wrote poetry I’d almost expect it.
- Greg Anthony is on point tonight with his comments.
- “Make no mistake abtout it…..YELL. YELL. YELL. Howevah.”- SAS
8:48: With the twelfth pick the Hornets select Hilton Armstrong.
- “Big Body”-JB I think Jay Bilas has some man crushes tonight
- Greg likes this pick I hate it. Ronnie Brewer is a much bigger need.
- At age sixteen totaled his mother’s car. If only he could have been on a team with JJ.
***It just registered to me that Sene is already drafted…leaving the Wizards one of the better PGs to draft. I’m officially stoked. They’ll F it up though***
8:54: With the thirteenth pick the Sixers select Thabo Sefolosha and trade him to Chicago.
- Thought Stern was going to tell us something we already knew, but he throws out that Boston is getting Foye in the deal. Boston now has Telfair and Foye. I’m amazed at the Blazers……just horrible.
- Thabo…..great name.
- “He’s twenty two years old and very seasonal”-FF
- “Considered a jack of all trades”-DP
- “It’s like a Lids store at the mall with all of the hats”-JB Wow.
8:58: With the fourteenth pick the Jazz select Ronnie Brewer.
- “Dan I was sitting in the back I was listening to your pithy comments waiting for you to say something nice about our draft picks.”
- “I always liked Paul Taglibue better than you.”
- Wow….what an exchange!
- “He’s a transition athlete”-JB
- Does Michael Jordan have to be brough up in every interview?
9:03: With the fifteenth pick the Hornets select Cedric Simmons.
- Another Good Pick here…..Upside….Huge Upside.
- At this point I don’t know who’s on what team.
- “He’s a kid worth taking. He’s one of my sleepers.” Really? No one thought that at all Dickie….you were the first.
- Childhood Pastimes: Building Tree Houses, and Hunting Squirrels and Rabbits.
9:09: With the sixteenth pick the Bulls select Rodney Carney for the Sixers.
- Oh Yes! Please take Rondo Pacers…..Please! The Wiz need Marcus Williams!
- Apparenlty SAS just rapped his thoughts on Carney
- Carney and Iggy……sick.
- I can’t wait until someone takes someone who’s already taken with all the confusion.
9:15: With the seventeenth pick the Pacers select Shawne Williams.
- Kharyapa the Rappa is traded.
- Yes! Awful Pick! and the Wiz better take Williams.
- “He’s physically weak right now”-JB That’s what I look for in a draft pick.
- Graphics mistake Shawne Williams from Wyoming. I think they meant Justin.
- “Hey Larry, here I am putting Larry Bird on hold.”-DP Awkward….
9:21: With the eighteenth pick the Wizards select Oleksiy Pecherov.
- F it…..F it all to heck. THE UKRAINE IS WEAK!
- Didn’t they say the Wizards needed an inside force? All I’ve seen in the clip are jump shots.
- Irene Done said…The player of the month in France? Excellent!
- I give up on this team….not really.
- “Spike is in da house”-DP
9:29: With the nineteenth pick the Sactown Kings select Quincy Douby “Brothers”.
- Wow…..”Quincy is not here, but he come from a great University”- D.Stern
- “Looks to shoot first and pass third, fourth, and fifth”-JB What does he do second? Just stand there?
- New York is on the clock! Let the Boos rain. I hope they select Marcus Williams
- “We got enough backcourt players. We gonna get rid of Francis”- Random Knicks Fan
9:35: With pick twenty the Knicks select Renaldo Balkman.
- We have a trade…..that we already know about. Great suspense.
- Wowo. Oh man that’s just comedy. How bad can you get?
- “I’m stunned. This is a second round pick”- JB Amen.
- Has great experience in MSG since he was in back-to-back NITs.
- “I’m almost speechless.”- SAS That’s impossible.
- “Rodman was 6’9″ guarding centers, not 6’6″.”-GA
- “He’s a sleeper.”- Spike Lee
9:41: With pick twenty-one the Suns select Rajon Rondo to most likely trade him to the Celts for the paid contract of Brian Grant.
- Not a bad idea for the Suns…..great move for the Celtics.
- Marcus Williams still waiting.
9:47: With pick twenty two the Nets select Marcus Williams.
- Get your mom game up! “I’ll do anything for my children as long as it’s legal. He rode it out….he did his thing”- Mrs. Williams
- Dickie V goes crazy….but says nothing about Marcus Williams.
- Skill: Harvesting Honey What? What is that? Someone please explain that to me.
9:51: With pick twenty three the Nets select Josh Boone.
- “I like him as a player except offensively. He thinks too much.”- JB
- Great work by the Nets there. Two great players this late in the first.
- They can finally get rid of Jeff McInnis with Williams being picked.
9:56: With pick twenty four the Griz select Kyle “I’m Mike” Lowry.
- “Look out there at the camera”- D Stern to Rudy Gay
- “He plays with controlled abandon. If a fight breaks out he’s who you want on your side. He’s a Gym Rat.”-JB
******UPDATE: Pedro is getting rocked in his return to Boston, 10-2******
10:04: With pick twenty five the Cavs select Shannon Brown
- Great pick here….will be a starter right away.
- Quote from the roommate, “He looks like a Furbie”
- Whoa….a Jim Gray sighting! Has he just been hanging out in LA this whole time for this one draft pick?
- Wow the Bulls are stacked. John Paxson is a genius.
10:09: With pick twenty six the Lakers select Jordan Farmar
- Somehow this is related to the Shaq trade.
- Good PR move by the Lakers.
10:15: With pick twenty seven the Suns move out of the draft entirely and select Sergio Rodriguez for the Blazers who give them cash.
- My man Spanish Chocolate
- “He keeps both teams in the game”- DP
- “You can justify this pick because Renaldo Balkman is off the board”- JB Ha. Nice jab at the Knicks fans JB
- The Blazers are officially of their rocker. Just an awful draft. They had three guards, and now still have three. Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake, and Spanish Chocolate. Wow.
10:20: With pick twenty eight the Mavericks select Maurice Ager.
- Maurice sitting in the crowd in the first row. Always a sketchy move.
10:26: With pick twenty nine the Losers (Knicks) select Loser.
- Actually it’s Mardy Collins who isn’t a loser, but does NOT fit in that system.
- “Balkman was good but Isiah is a bum”- Loser Knicks Fan
- “Looks like Mark Jones took a charge from a fan”- DP “Yea, Eminem”-JB Jay is slaying NYC right now.
10:31: With pick thirty the Losers (Blazers) select Loser.
- Joel Freeland is the pick out of England
- “He was spotted bagging groceries”- DP Wow. Great pick Blazers. Just amazing.
- Isn’t it perfect that the Knicks and Blazers select with the last two picks of the first round.
****END OF THE 1ST ROUND. CRAZY FIRST ROUND….I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2ND****
Anyone still with me? Take a break, grab a beer, and let’s finish this out. P.S.- Does anyone have a cure for Carpel Tunnel?
Russ Granik comes out to do his last Draft. I hope a crazy Euro is in the crowd and will come down and attack him…..Portland on the Clock! OH JOY!
“It’s gonna be an Awesome Baby Year in the NCAAs. I’ve got to go to bed.”- Dickie V
“We had a home run day today”- Steve Patterson, Interim GM…..INTERIM GM
31. Portland- James White……Hahahaha this just gets better.
32. Houston- Steve Novak…..they are looking for a replacement for Eric Piatkowski.
Atlanta on the Clock……here comes another forward.
“Solomon Jones has very long arms”-JB
33. Atlanta- Solomon Jones…..surprise another Forward! The Hawks are officially worse than the Bobcats now.
And another commercial. Looks like the 2nd Round will be full of them.
“Paul Davis is a Pick and Pop Big Man”- JB Huh?
34. LA Clips- Paul Davis……A white big man. That pick will pan out.
35. Toronto- PJ Tucker……..Shh the Big 12 Player of the Year is Sleeeeping.
36. Minnesota- Craig Smith….Must Improve: Face up game?
37. Minnesota- Bobby Jones….Ryan Appleby hasn’t declared for the draft yet?
38. Golden State- Kosta Perovic
“Golden State just got themselves a backup Center”-FF Woo Hoo….now we’re cooking
Billy Knight is the 2nd Worst GM in all sports.
39. Milwaukee- David Noel……great pick. He’ll just continue to get better.
40. Seattle- Denham Brown
41. Orlando- James Augustine
Rachel Nichols with Michael Jordan on Adam Morrison, “His whole demeanor about competing” “When he was crying I thought it was a positive”
Rachel, “Why are you here right now?”……great question to ask the BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME!!!! She is a waste of space.
Stephen A. Smith calls Bob Johnson the “New Donald Sterling” and I couldn’t agree more.
42. Cleveland- Daniel Gibson…..great pick at 42. He was a lottery pick at the beginning of the year. Must Improve- Point Guard Skills….ha.
43. Hornets- Marcus De Souza….I have no idea who this is.
44. Magic- Lior Eliyahu…..Umm ditto. Ah Yaaaaaaaa Whoooooo
“Are you still the best shooter on the roster.”- DP to Chris Mullin in one of the worst interviews I’ve ever seen. He asked him the same question twice, and then put him on the spot. But I do think he could outshoot Dunleavy Jr.
45. Pacers- Alexander Johnson…..good value pick here.
46. Utah- Dee Brown….teammed up with Deron Williams.
And another trade…Bobby Jones goes to the sixers. I don’t think the TWolves have anyone left that they drafted
Still available: Mike Gansey, Taquan Dean, Pittsnogle, Will Blalock, Brandon Bowman, Hassan Adams, Allan Ray
47. Utah- Paul Milsap…..sleeper pick.
48. Washington- Vladamir Veremeenko…..I give up on this team
49. Denver- Leon Powe…..exactly the guy the Wizards SHOULD have taken. Jesus.
Portland Trades James White to Pacers for Alexander Johnson and a couple of picks.
50. Charlotte- Ryan Hollins…..Great pick at 50. Good insurance if Okafor continues to get hurt.
51. LA Lakers- Cheick Samb…..Umm I thought the center from Senegal was already taken. Guess I was wrong.
52. LA Clippers- Guillermo Diaz….amazing athlete and could be a perfect fit with the Clip Show.
Apparently the marketing in this draft is horrible. And they need a marketing specialist to tell us this? Darren Rovell is pretty slimy looking.
Magic trade Eliyahu to Rockets for Cash. Portland trade Alexander Johnson to Mephis for future second round pick. This is the sixth trade of the evening for Portland!!!
53. Seattle- Yotam Halpein…..more players from Israel
54. New Jersey- Hassan Adams….NJ will win every dunk contest ever.
Denver Nuggets trade Leon Powe to Boston Celtics for future considerations. The Celtics are killing in this draft. I can’t believe they are getting away with this.
55. Cleveland- Ejike Ugboaja….Another guy I haven’t heard of. I’ll tell you this…I did research on the wrong foreign dudes.
56. Toronto- Edin Bavcic….I have no idea.
57. Minnesota- Loukas Mavrokefalidis….I have no idea. “Only three teams called his agent.”-FF Hmm….is that telling or what?
58. Dallas- Danilo Pinnock…..talk about a guy who I thought wasn’t getting drafted.
59. San Anotonio- Damir Markota
60. Detroit- Will Blalock
And Damir is in the crowd! Granik gets sent out on a great note as Markota makes his way from his Serbian Posse to the stage. Russ rides out into the sunset as the NYC fans chant “One More Year, One More Year” Ahh the life of a deputy.
So there you have it. My first live-blogging experience goes pretty flawless, but it’s much harder than I thought. 5 Hours is a long time to be typing. It looks like Boston is acquiring the assets to get Allen Iverson. Most of these picks could be traded away. Overall a crazy draft. I hate the Wizards so much right now I don’t have the words to put it together. Oh, but I will.
Thanks to Deadspin, everyone who stopped by, and especially the commenters! You will all get your specific props tomorrow!
Pluses: Jay Bilas=Portland, Memphis; Greg Anthony=Bulls; Stevie A. Smith= Charlotte, Bulls
Negatives: Jay Bilas=New York; Greg Anthony= New York; Stevie A. Smith= New York, Portland
Grades and more Draft Talk tomorrow. Good night.
(We have a Trade!)
