Continuing our live coverage from G-Central, David Stern and Larry O'Brien have taken turns stepping to the stage and announcing draft picks.

Let's take a look at how each team has done, through the 3rd round (2nd and 3rd round picks are bold-faced):

xphoenix87 - Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, John Stockton

Alrightly then...after picking Be Like, Phoenix pairs His Airness with the ground-bound Ultimate Blue Collar force in Moses Malone. Imagine the second shot ops with Mo working underneath. After years of Medical Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley, Jordan has to be salivating over a guy like Moses (who could also pound Jordan into the floor if he tried some of his intimdation tactics). In the 3rd, John Stockton gives this team the purest of point guards, but he still needs a pick and roll buddy. Got to love the backcourt defense on this team.

dehbashi -Tim Duncan, Nate Thurmond, Clyde Drexler

His first pick put Stephen A.'s blood pressure at 460/290. As nice as Timmy D is, do you take him with Kareem and Wilt on the board? In the second, dehbashi makes Bill Walton's thighs shudder with Nate The Great. Arguably the best defensive center other than Russell, and a decent - but not great offensive player. Defensively, Thurmond and Duncan can wreak havoc with the best of them. In the 3rd the name Clyde Drexler draws derisive cheers as a perimeter offensive player is picked. Clyde is wonderful in the open court, but the jumper is somewhat shaky. Still the shot of offense and flash is welcome. Now, when will we see some scoring?

joshQpublic - Bill Russell, Jerry West, Kevin McHale

Russell was always an admirer of Mr. Clutch, and now gets to play with a guard greater than Cousy or Sam Jones. Nice steal of a pick here. Low-post scoring was addressed with the addition of Lurch himself, The Human Coat-Hanger, Kevin McHale. His variety of  low-post moves will be welcome, and again, some serious low-post D in effect.  Of course his peak value was great, but his durability is in question. So far, nice balance...

genez13 - Magic Johnson, Shaq, Karl Malone

Somebody knew what they were doing. Genez gets Magic, then is still able to get The Diesel in the second round, and then a younger Mailman to run the floor with Magic. Not even Charlie Rosen can knock this pick. No clutch woes for Karl here. You have to wonder if Shaq can run with Magic over 82 games, but there is plenty of muscle on this crew.

ricko - Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, Elvin Hayes

Huh... Ricko passes on Shaq to take Kobe. Kobe is smiling, Shaq promises revenge. I don't think Elvin Hayes is the defensive answer to Shaq. And a locker room with Kobe and Elvin will be...hmm..interesting. This team is set on the wings if Kobe stays at the 3. Or maybe you have a Hayes and Bird tandem at forward. We're still short a Big Man. And some Prosazc.

GR8ONE54 - Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Scottie Pippen

For most of Wilt's career, he played with guys who couldn't match his incredible level. Now it will happen again in fantasy land. BOB COUSY OVER JERRY WEST AND KOBE BRYANT? Feeding The Dip is imporant, but this was a reach pick. Heck, forget reach - a brother could separate a shoulder making this pick. Jerry West makes much more sense here. Not a 38% career shooter at PG. Heck, take John Stockton (who WIlt has always liked for his no frills efficiency. Not to mention that Cooz could get torched on D. In the 3rd GR8 nabbs Scottie Pippen, who can play the point forward and provide stout wing defense. But he isn't a pure shooter, and can be roughed up.

Hoffman - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas

Yet another nasty Twin Towers in the making here. Hakeem will take some of the physical role that Kareem isn't always comfortable doing. Unbelievable offensive agility in the low blocks. Plenty of weakside blocked shots here too, and Hakeem will run the floor. I asked earlier, "Who will Hoff get to feed Kareem?" Ask no more. Isiah at this point is an absolute steal. Able to run, play the halfcourt game, shoot...amazing that Stockton and Cousy went ahead of this guy. Great pick!

AK47Spiderman - Oscar Robinson, Julius Erving, John Havlicek

This doughnut is almost complete. The Big O gets teamed with The Doctor, and believe me, if this is the ABA Erving, LOOK OUT. Able to play the 3 or the 4, the greatest finisher in league history will love playing with O - and vice versa. Hondo will split time between the 2 and 3 slots. But where O where are the big men!?Pettit is a pretty good value at power forward, and can play center if need be. But this team may have some half court problems against the bigger teams.

Best Value Picks - Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas, Hakeem

OK Value Pick - Scottie Pippen

HUH?! Pick - Cousy

Best player on still on board: Elgin Baylor

Over in the "Ramblings Of A Sports Nerd Blog", we have the Ultimate Fantasy Draft taking place, where the greatest players in NBA history can be drafted. Which owner will be Red Aurebach? Which owner will be Ted Stepien?

I've decided to channel Mel Kiper and Stephen A. Smith and give you

ULTIMATE NBA FANTASY DRAFT ANALYSIS

Let's get this party started right away:

FIRST ROUND:

xphoenix87 - Michael Jordan.

Upside babybee!  Live body, great at slashing to the hole, strong finisher. Deadly in the clutch...but don't you build titleson pivot men?

dehbashi -Tim Duncan

HUH?! with all of the talent on the board? At center alone, we have Wilt, Russell, Jabbar, Hakeem, Shaq...and dehbashi takes The Big Fundamental? What gives? Me and the fellas here at G-Report Central just don't get this one. You have 5 Top-50 big men, and he takes a healthy Sam Bowie?

joshQpublic - Bill Russell

The best defensive center in the history of the game goes off the board. Undefeated in Game 7's (10-0).  "He couldn't hit a bull in the ass" as Tom Heinsohn fondly recalled to me. Very good passer and playmaker from the post, and the defense and rebounding seem to be there. Now, he'll need some offense.

genez13 - Magic Johnson

Interesting pick here. The only player on the board who could play all five positions, clearly we're looking at the triggerman for an explosive running game. Can score from almost anywhere, never misses an open man. Not as much a force on D, but no one will notice. We need to see who is paired with the Magic Man.

ricko - Larry Bird

Larry Legend can hit the 3, bang inside, pass as well as a point, and get you 10 boards a night. Probably the second best clutch shooter after Jordan. This pick will play great in New England.

GR8ONE54 - Wilt Chamberlain

Who thought that the Big Dipper would free-fall to 6? Seven time scoring champion, 11 time rebounding champ, and even led the league in dimes one year. Can play a devastating defense as well. Oh, his foul shooting stinks. Be ready for Hack-A-Wilt. Great value pick at 6. (Yes, I'm using value pick in the 1st round.)

Hoffman - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Captain Skyhook takes care of the post scoring and defense. Rebounding may be an issue. Who will Hoff get to feed Kareem?

AK47Spiderman - Oscar Robinson

The Big O is Magic before Magic. Better scorer, strong leader. AK follows this up with The Doctor. This will be the best fastbreak on the planet with O as the trigger, and Doc finishing. But who gets the ballboards?

Hey, if chicks dig the long ball, then call me a Man-chick.

I dig the long ball.

I REALLY dig the long ball.

Yes, pitch selection and OBP is important. Speed kills. But in baseball, the power IS the glory. Forever and ever amen.

If it's not a 100MPH heater getting blown by an Ichiro or Ryan Howard, then it's Howard turning on said heater and terminating it with extreme prejudice. During the flight of said projectile, I know what a woman feels like while having a Death By Chocolate dessert - on my tab. 

(Pardon me while I regain my composure.)

Last night, I could overlook the absence of Barry Bonds while understanding just how good he is. Last night, you had Howard, Prince Fielder, and Justin Morenau - three lefty bombers capable of sinking a few kayaks in McCovey Cove. And they combined for zero, nada, zippo..nary a single Splash Shot. And that's with a friendly serving up meatballs.

His Barryness has 34 in actual game competition. There have been 58 total.

Barry has 34 of them,

You can't write all that off to HGH homeboys.

(And Barry, you should have taken some swings. With the crowd going nuts, Bud Selig would have had to have shown up for 755 and 756. The coward.)

...and why was not Ken Griffey Jr. invited?

Meanwhile, Vlad Guerrero did what he does with a swing that can stir the breeze on your High-Def screen. And Phat Albert Pujols launching bomb after bomb into the deep LF stands, once coming close to dropping a shot into the giant glove (and yes, it is made out of leather) about 500 feet from home plate.

And the Rockies Matt Holiday turned SBC into his personal Coors Field in Round 2 - Park effects you ask? Say it with a Jim Mora pitch - "PARK EFFECTS!?" It was sweet.

And mad props to Big Papi's showmanship by loaning Vlad The Impaler (of Baseballs) his special bat in a special case (no, not a violin case, that would have been perfect though). Only thing missing was Papi telling Vlad "This was your father's lightsaber..."

Sound and Fury are optional for Alex Rios. He was jacking 'em with a swing as effortless as Vlad's was violent. Yeah, I'm envious. I swing that smooth, and it's a groundout to short. Rios seemingly just went swish...and 470 feet later...

And overseeing it all was The Man. Stretch McCovey himself taking it all in, turning an ordinary plastic chair into a well-earned throne just by his immense presence. 

Yeah dammit, I dig the Long Ball.

See you next year - in left field with my glove. Don't get in my way.

It is chic, and sometimes justified, to rip on Isiah Thomas in his career as an NBA executive.

Now, I know Isiah earns a lot of his eminity. Some people can't reconcil the Two Zekes. Psychology isn't my field, but from where I sit, Isiah wears The Mask well - I'm talking DuBois, not Jim Carey.  Outside, we get the baby-faced, doe-eyed face, soft voice with the Jell-O pudding smile. Inside, he's straight Michael Corelone. Grow up the way Thomas did, and you better have it.

That core, that life cred makes him able to relate to a Stephon Marbury. Kind of hard to pull nonsense of a man who's won two title on the court. Pity parties won't work on a brother who escaped a Chicago project (and on to a NCAA, two NBA titles, and the Hall Of Fame)that made Coney Island look like Disneyworld.

Celtic Nation still hold the "Larry Bird would be just another good player." line against him - and forget that it was Dennis Rodman who actually mouthed the phrase. Some Piston fans still feel that he shanked a great player and teammate in Adrian Dantley, and got him run out of Motown in favor of his lifelong pal Mark Aguirre.

And we won't even get into the whole CBA mess.

Since taking over as the Knicks GM in late 2003, Isiah has presided over 25 trades, five coaches (including himself), gone through moved more bodies than Tony Soprano (and Tony had a 4 year head start), and it has gotten the Knicks... what?

Well, after the Larry Brown "Reign Of Err", the Knicks actually looked like a playoff team at times, winning 33 games - 10 more than the year before under Brown - and holding down a playoff spot deep into March until injuries to Jamal Crawford, Stephon Marbury, and David Lee proved too much to overcome.

Along the way, the astute fan had to take note of something: For all of the Thomas trades and free agent signings that got rightly panned - my personal favorite was signing fat underachiever Jerome James to a 30 million dollar contract based on one good playoff series against a Kings team minus Chris Webber - Isiah's draft picks have been spot-on:

In 2004, he drafted Trevor Ariza late in the first round. Sought after by several teams after his rookie year, he became trade bait in the Francis trade.

2005: A pretty fair windfall. Channing Frye, who turned in a solid rookie season, and possessed enough promise that Portland welcomed him in the Zack Randolph deal. Isiah also plucked Florida's David Lee at number 30, already acknowledged as one of the league's best rebounders, and a big-time "energy" player off the bench. When he isn't being a knucklehead (or winning dunk championships), Nate Robinson has created a niche as a high energy 6th man, a fan favorite who packs a two-guard mentality into a 5-7 frame.

In 2006, well, do I have to remind anyone of Renaldo Balkman? From personal experience, I can tell you that the best part of attending the NBA Draft are are angry Knicks fans, and they absolutely...cut..LOOSE! The experts echoed the fans with universal disbelief and derision.

Then a funny thing happened - Balkman turned out to be a solid NBA player. He brought defense, passion, and reckless abandon to a team in dire need of all of it. The second Knicks pick, Mardy Collins, made it very easy for the Knicks to move Steve Francis (and his cap-strangling contract) on to Portland, which should tell you a lot.  Note that other than Frye, the above mentioned players were drafted at number 20 or later. How many teams can claim even one decent NBA player acquired at similar spot in the draft?

And now that the dust has settled, Isiah can breathe a huge sigh of relief over the Eddy Curry deal. After foolishly not lottery-protecting either first round pick in the deal, it turns out that the Knicks got Curry for Joakim Noah and Ty Thomas. While both young Bulls are promising talents that will defend and run the court, Curry could very well outscore both men this year - combined. Meanwhile, the Bulls are still in dire need of a low-post presence. Curry had a breakout season last year as a low-post scorer - the scarest commodity in the league, almost making up for his criminal lack of rebounding.

Not such a bad deal after all, eh?

Looking back at the trades Thomas has made, Crawford is on the verge of developing into a prime-time scorer. Quinton Richardson will either start at small forward, or be a may be a valued trade chip. The Malik Rose for Nazr Mohammad deal was panned as a big win for the Spurs. Mohammad has since washed out with both the Spurs and Pistons, and Rose is a valued locker room presence, which was why he was acquired in the first place.

Francis came over for Ariza, and while that deal never worked for all of the obvious reasons, he did net the Knicks a 20-10 player in Randolph.

Above all else, give Zeke credit for trying. In a league where too many executives are scared to pull the trigger on a trade, Thomas is probably too aggressive. His trades have often been poor, and cap-hostile, but he makes them. And some of them do work, once we get past the Isiah-bashing.

And be honest - whose roster would you rather have right now? The Knicks with Curry, Randolph, Marbury, Lee, et al. or the Larry Bird's Pacers? Or the Celtics or T-Wolves?

How about the Knicks' roster versus the Lakers - sans Kobe Bryant?

Yeah, I thought so.

Now, if Isiah would just stay away from Ron Artest...

The Jeopardy Answer Of The Day is... "Whoopy Dee Damn Do." - Derrick Coleman

The Question?

What is "Hey, Paris Hilton was released yesterday!"? DING!

--------------------------

Every damn June, I tune into the NBA Draft and get reminded how I'm making money the hard way.

I mean, people get PAID to draft J. J. Reddick 11th overall....what is that [insert profane gerund here] GM thinking about? There are few certainities, but here is one: There is some genius who will pass on a Josh Howard to take a Brian Cook. (Yeah, I'm still ticked about that one.) 
 
You get the idea. NBA drafting isn't rocket science. (Yes, I know something about rocket science - this ain't it.) Yet, almost every year, at least 2 or 3 GMs fall on their face. You could spend the next hour reading technical reasons - and NBA sabermetrics are still dicey. But in a nutshell?

No one uses their common sense. If GMs did, the (L)eastern Conference wouldn't get their heads handed to them every year by the West. Then again, the draft wouldn't be half as much fun.

Anyhow, here are some Drafting For Dummies tips for all of you:

• Upside is wonderful for dating a significant other. If she's 35, no kids, a tight body and can tie a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue - she has mad upside.

Alas, upside does NOT work very well with most NBA players. Look for at least five players to be drafted higher than they ought to be because of "upside". Expect one of them - if we're all lucky - to work out. (See DeSanger Diop, Rodney White, etc) If you hear "upside" attached to a player, odds are that he'll either be a 9th or 10th man 4 years from now, or he'll find some game with a different team.

• The NBA Draft makes men sound, uh, less "manly" than they ought to be. You'll hear Jay Bilas or Hubie Brown talk about a prospect being "long" and having a "great body", the same way Peter Graves asked little Robbie if he had ever seen a grown man naked in "Airplane!" All that's missing is some oiled male torsi... Put away your copy of "Roadhouse" and "Top Gun" - it just so happens that there are only so many ways to talk about the potential athleticism of a NBA prospect without having a Brokeback Moment.

But seriously, does Bilas watch gladiator movies? Heh heh heh...

• If you are a GM, and the opportunity presents itself to draft a center - if the center in question is not being compared to an All-Star - PASS. This especially applies to 1) Slow, white American-born college centers and, 2) centers with very difficult to pronounce names (such as Mouhamed Saer Sene). For a while, it seemed that any brother from The Motherland (that's African for the hip-imparied) over 6-10 was being drafted in case they turned into the next Dikembe or Hakeem.

We're still waiting. This year, it will be Spencer Hawes.

• Avoid drafting a player who played poorly against lesser players with better athleticism, especially guards who lived to shoot against zones (see Reddick, J.J., Drew, Bryce). It doesn't get much easier in the NBA ya know. The average player may be poor in the basics, but I'll bet my Tony Parker bachelor party tickets that he's an good "at-uh-lete", as we say in the South.
• By the way, a good GM should look for a guy who played well at the best conferences. (See Howard and Chris Paul.) Production does count you know.
• Avoid players who set the cruise control in college despite prodding. Tim Thomas is the poster boy here for living heart donors. He was a Poster Boy in college. Surprise! He's a pro Poster Boy too.
• And to think, Tim had such upside. He was long...and a "live" body...I wish I could quit him. 
• This one is real important: If a very good player fills a big need - take him. Simple. The Atlanta hawks needed a point guard. They passed on Deron Williams and Chris Paul, to take Marvin Williams. Marvin was such a stud that Atlanta is now looking at Al Horford who plays... the SAME POSITION!

Funny thing is, Atlanta is looking like the Detroit Lions. Every year the Lions passed on other needs to take a wideout. Finally, they HAD to take a wide receiver this year, because Calvin Johnson was too damned good to pass on, no matter what their other needs were.. Same thing will probably happen this year with the Hawks. And it will be the right move...and Mike Conley will haunt the Hawks for the next decade.

OK...now that you are primed on what to look for, here is WHO to look for. No fancy ratings, simple. Best case and worst case. Don't ya love it when I keep it simple?

The G-Report Player Ratings:

Greg Oden - Ohio State
Hope: That he is the next Bill Russell. Or at least Ben Wallace Squared - with some offense.
Fear: That his wrist has the karma of Grant Hill's ankle.

Kevin Durant - Texas
Hope: He's Kevin Garnett with handle.
Fear: He steps into an open manhole.

Mike Conley Jr. - Ohio State
Hope: He's Mo Cheeks and Mike Bibby, but much quicker.
Fear: He's Jamal Tinsley, but much quicker.

Spencer Hawes - Washington
Hope: He's Bill Laimbeer or Vlade Divac.
Fear: He's Big Country Reeves

Al Horford - Florida
Hope: He's Karl Malone.
Fear: He's Tito Horford.

Yi Jianlian
Hope: He is the next Bob McAdoo.
Fear: He's the next Tim Thomas.

Jeff Green - Georgetown
Hope: He's Scotty Pippen, with some low-post game.
Fear: He never learns to shoot.

Joakim Noah - Florida
Hope: Noah is a young Paul Silas.
Fear: Noah is Mark Madsen with a ponytail.

Corey Brewer - Florida
Hope: He's another Scotty Pippen.
Fear: He's a poor man's Larry Hughes. You expect so much more.

Brandan Wright - North Carolina
Hope: That three years from now, Wright looks like Shawn Marion.
Fear: Three years from now, his nickname is "Brenda".

Acie Law - Texas A&M
Hope: Law becomes another Chauncey Billups one day.
Fear: Law is a not-so-Speedy Claxton.

Nick Young
Hope: Nick shoots it like Peja Stojakovic.
Fear: Remember John Salmons?

Julian Wright
Hope: He's a bigger, better Boris Diaw.
Fear: He forgets that taking over a game is not illegal.

Morris Almond - Rice U.
Hope: He is the next Ricky Pierce (It's a Rice thing.), or better, Michael Redd.
Fear: He's the next Steve Kerr.

Jared "From Subway" Dudley - Boston College
Hope: He develops into a poor man's Shane Battier.
Fear: The real Shane Battier isn't making anyone's All-Star team.

Nick Fazekas - Nevada
Hope: He's been likened to Keith Van Horn with a better inside game.
Fear: Anybody likened to Keith Van Horn isn't hitting on much.

Glen "Big Baby" Davis - LSU
Hope: He's a taller Charles Barkley who keep his weight down and his game up.
Fear:  Either he'll 1) Eat a teammate. or 2) He'll single-handedly cause the NBA to add food to their substance abuse list. 

Jarvis Crittenton - G-Tech
Hope: He can play the point like Reggie Theus
Fear: He plays the point like Earl Watson.