I did a running diary a year ago when the Blip was running on nuvo.net, and since a good friend of mine is currently canoing in the Canadian wilderness, I figured I'd do one for him, since he enjoyed my NBA All-Star commentary so much from 2006. And since I was going to be doing it anyhow, I figured I may as well just put it up here.
6:01 PM-Ben and I are discussing the Bulls' possibilities. I still like Noah, while Ben loves Hawes. But what if we trade the Bens and somehow scoop Brewer AND Noah? That would be super cool. And where will KG end up? My guess is that he'll be moved some time tonight. Exciting stuff...
6:04-Steven A. is already annoying me. Along with the mute button and the SAP button, how bout an annoying announcer button? That would be excellent. The Crew from left to right is Jay Bilas (annoying), Steven A. (beyond annoying), Mark Jackson (tolerable), and Mike Tirico (underrated annoying).
6:05-Oden to Portland is apparently done, as of yesterday, which means that Portland now has a frontline of Randolph, Aldridge, and Oden. Yikes.
6:06-Ric Bucher, who broke the Oden to Portland move, says that KG will not be traded tonight. So how in the hell can Minnesota draft when they don’t even know if they will have their biggest star?
6:07-Andy Katz says that Seattle is ready to ship Ray Allen to Boston for Delonte West, Wally World, and the #5 pick, giving Seattle Durant and the #5. Yowza. If that goes through, it sounds like Seattle will take Jeff Green after Horford goes third to Atlanta and Conley fourth to Memphis. ESPN also says that Atlanta will take Acie Law at 11, and that somehow, that is a done deal. What??
6:11-There are billboards in Portland that read “HONK ONCE FOR ODEN…HONK TWICE FOR DURANT.” Excellent.
6:12-First Dickey V appearance. He compares Oden to Ewing, Hakeem, Zo, and Duncan. He is yelling.
6:13-Bilas’ Top Five Available: Oden, Durant, Conley, B. Wright, and Horford. According to Bilas, Jeff Green has “size, can pass, and can make the extra pass.”
6:15-Yi is apparently pronounced without the “Y,” and more than apparently does not want to go to Milwaukee, which is, apparently, where he is headed. This should create some fun tension between the republic of China and Milwaukee.
6:20-Joakim Noah is dressed like the lost member of OutKast, all in the name of “representing my city (New York) the right way, and I think I did it.” He is wearing a huge pinkish-redish bowtie with his hair parted down the middle and a cream #### suit. Hotness. Meanwhile, our other roommate Ryan and our good friend Rashaun show up.
6:23-Ben has flipped to the Simpsons. It’s the one where Lisa takes Homer to the hippie joint and they lay in the large relaxation coffins, the one that Ralph mistakes for a whale egg. Should I ask him to flip back?
6:25-First appearance of two of my most annoying ESPN personalities: Rachel Nichols and Jim Gray. Fortunately, they are bookending one of my favorites: Sal Pal, reporting, as always, from Philadelphia. I love Sal Pal. And now over to the little weasley schmuck himself, Jim Gray reporting with the Lakers. And now, in Oakland, there are reports that Golden State has entered the KG trade.
6:29-Ben flips to Star Wars on HBO during a commercial. Leia tells Luke that Han has to follow his own path. Ryan: “Aren’t they brother and sister?” Me: “Yeah, but they don’t know it yet.” Ben: “When Luke found out, I bet he thought it was pretty gross.” Me: “Yeah, he probably beat it to her a couple of times.” We flip back to the draft, where Goldberg the Goalie is starring in a Pennzoil commercial.
6:32-The Commish is in the house. “Welcome to the 2007 NBA Draft, here at Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks and Liberty.” Nice. Stern is stuttering for some reason. He seems flappable.
6:33-Portland is now on the clock. Five minutes…that’s all they get. No #### NFL posturing with their 15 minute first round picks.
6:34-Tirico smirks as he refers to Oden as “the new centerpiece of the Trail Blazers.” (“How’s that working out for you?” “What?” “Being clever.” “Good.” “Then keep it up then.”)
6:36-Here comes the Commish. Ben: “Al Horford…” Nope. It’s Oden. Big round of applause from the fans in New York. Durant looks excited and legitimately happy.
6:37-Tirico just referred to Seattle as the “Seattle Sonics.” I pain to think that my children will grow up in a world where the Sonics aren’t Super. They’re getting New York Knickified. It’s sad.
6:38-The guys in the Trail Blazers war room are shown congratulating themselves. Yes…very impressive scouting fellas. They hold up an Oden jersey, which is #52.
6:39-Steven A: “At the end of the day, YOU CAN’T-TEACH-7-FEET! YOU REALLY CAN’T!”
6:39-Oden tells Stu Scott that he got some hand sanitizer so that he wouldn’t give Stern his cold. If Purell is good enough for Greg Oden, then dang nabit, it should be good enough for campers. First awkward question, from Stu: “Who looks older, you or LeBron James?”
6:41-The Boston-Seattle Ray Allen/#5 deal has gone through, and Boston will select Jeff Green for the SUPERSonics.
6:42-Durant is officially taken by Seattle. Durant’s mother is very proud of her son and her super genes. Atlanta is on the clock.
6:45-Bilas says that Durant will lead the league in scoring “at some point, and it will be sooner rather than later.” Durant’s favorite quote: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Uh…
6:47-Portland GM Kevin Pritchard says that their game plan on determining the Oden/Durant pick was to “follow the process, keep an open mind, and find a conclusion.” This man is a genius.
6:48-As expected, the Hawks take Horford, which gives them five forwards selected in the first round in the last four years (The Joshes in 2004, Marvin Williams in 2005, Shelden Williams in 2006). The thinking is that you can never have too many players who do the same thing. Or something. And they have now passed on Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Mike Conley.
6:51-Ben, having seen that the Cavs have no picks today: “I’m glad I’m not a Cleveland fan today.” And then, quickly realizing what he’d said: “Or ever.” Mark Jackson says that the Hawks should not have taken a point guard, nor should they have taken another forward. Thanks Mark.
6:52-The Commish announces that the Grizzlies have taken “Michael Conley,” and so, naturally, Tirico follows it up by calling him “Michael Conley, Jr.”
6:56-Some dumb announcer broad, to Mike Conley, Sr: “You have never been an agent before. What makes you the right person to represent Mike Conley and Greg Oden?”
6:57-Boston takes Jeff Green, who is on his way to Seattle with Durant. They still have Rashard Lewis, who they must be moving. All of a sudden Seattle and Portland are potentially loaded. Green is talking to Stu Scott while wearing his Celtics hat despite both saying that he will soon be wearing a “different shade of green,” and Stu is asking him about his excitement to play with Durant. Why even give him a Celtics hat? All in the name of proper procedures, I suppose.
7:02-I get a text from my lone Trail Blazer friend: How do you like the draft so far
My response: How do you like the Sonics snagging Durant and Green and still having Lewis to shop?
Let him suck on that.
7:04-The Bucks take Yi. So far, this draft that was supposed to be so crazy has gone pretty smoothly, but I expect things to pick up some now with Minnesota on the clock. 32% of the ESPN.com online pollsters think Yi will be a bust. Interestingly, GM Larry Harris has not seen Yi play.
7:10-T’Wolves still haven’t picked yet, even though their time is up.
7:11-Wolves take Brewer, and now Charlotte is on the clock with Noah, Hawes, and the Wrights on the board. Ben wants Hawes. I want Noah, but I’d be happy with Hawes. Bulls baby! Bulls!
7:17-M. Jeff is on the board, and sounds interested in doing something good. ESPN reports that Jordan is “actively interested in the Draft.” Good to know that the team president is interested in the draft.
7:18-In a shocking turn of events, M. Jeff selects another Tar Heel in Brandan Wright. And that means…YOUR CHICAGO BULLS ARE NOW ON THE CLOCK!!!
7:22-Bulls fans in the house with signs that read THANKS ISIAH and IN PAX WE TRUST. Spike Lee is in the house. He looks smiley yet agitated.
7:25-And one year later, Joakim Noah is a Bull. Florida is now the first school to have three players drafted in the top nine. I’m happy, even though Hawes would’ve looked good. Are we going to keep Wallace? What’s going on with Ben and Noce? We shall see…
7:33-Back from the break, with Hawes going 10th to the Kings. Just found out that Hawes as a GOD BLESS GEORGE BUSH bumper sticker on his car. I’m not so upset now.
7:38-Despite the endless comedic possibilities, the Hawks do not go for another forward and take point guard Acie Law. ####s. Now we find out that Law is Ernie Banks’ nephew. Nice.
7:44-Steven A says that Billy King now has a chance to build the 76ers in his image…(incompetent? Balding? What?)
7:46-76ers take Thaddeus Young, the sixth freshman taken in the first round, extending the record set at five with Hawes. I have a feeling that Young is going to be a real surprise considering how highly he was touted coming into college.
7:52-New Orleans takes Julian Wright, which makes the Hornets:
PG C. Paul
SG P. Stojakovic
SF J. Wright
PF D. West
C T. Chandler
…with Bobby Jackson, Desmond Mason, Rasual Butler, Devin Brown, and our boy Jannero Pargo coming off the bench. Not bad.
7:59-The Clippers take Al Thornton. I am officially bored.
8:05-The Pistons take Rodney Stuckey. So far, the only somewhat surprise of what was supposed to be a an exciting draft was the Ray Allen trade. I’m starting to regret taking work off for this. I could be making money right now. Bollocks.
8:10-The Wizards take Nick Young. I don’t care. All I’m interested in now is who the Bulls will take with their two 2nd round picks and whether or not any more trades will go down.
8:16-The Nets take Sean Williams. I still don’t care. In other news, Frost, Swiryn, and the Villa have just called. That’s always fun. Gotta love camp.
8:23-The Warriors take Marco Belinelli. Still don’t care. Continued phone call with Frost and Swiryn much more exciting.
8:29-Javaris Crittenton to the Lakers. No one cares.
8:35-Jason Smith to the Heat. Mitch Kupchak is talking to Jim Gray. I couldn’t care less.
8:42-My call with Frost and Swiryn is over. The 76ers take Daequan Cook. I won’t even say it. (So bored.) With the selection of Cook, the 2007 National Championship between Florida and Ohio State now has six first round picks, tying the record from the 2005 UNC-Illinois game in 2005 (Marv Williams, Deron Williams, Felton, May, McCants, Luther Head). Rod Thorn is talking to Mike Tirico. He looks like he’s been awake for at least 50 hours. Goo. In other news, Joakim Noah is still a Bull. Holla!
8:48-Jared Dudley goes to the Bobcats, giving Charlotte an overstacked frontline of Gerald Wallace, Sean May, Okafor, Brezec, Matt Carroll, Brandan Wright, and Dudley. Dickey V just called MJ “Michael the Magnificent.”
8:49-Meanwhile, the Knicks have sent Channing Frye and the Franchise to Portland for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, and Fred Jones. Spike is very excited. Kennison probably is as well. Still waiting to hear from him. Spike was just asked about the Knicks’ 23rd pick, and he is pulling for “the brothuh from DePaul” Wilson Chandler. Knick fans are going off, as is Steven A who says that fans have “every reason to have faith in [Isiah],” but only on draft night. ESPN tells us that Isiah has traded away 25 players and traded for 20 in his four year tenure with the Knicks. And here we go…
8:52-Knick fans are already booing before the selection. Wow. Stern just announced that the brothuh from DePaul will be going to New York, and now the Knick fans are excited. These people have officially gone crazy. The Suns are now on the clock, and there are indeed some interesting players still on the board. Uh…uh…
8:56-Well, that’s a new one. The Blazers have just bought the 24th pick from the Suns for cash. Not sure how much.
8:58-The Suns have selected Rudy Fernandez from Spain for the Blazers. Still no comment from Kennison. I will most definitely not be continuing on for the second round. This is too much.
9:04-Steven A says that the Jazz need “a shooter or a ####er.” I’m bout ready to 2-4-6-8 this thing. Here comes the Commish: Morris Almond from Rice. Cool. I have no idea who that is.
9:12 Aaron Brooks to the Rockets. When this first round is over, I am out of here. This is brutal. Why is that? I guess because it’s like moving from the NFL’s first round to the NFL’s fourth round in three hours but without the joyful absurdities of Mel Kiper. We now hear that Boston is also getting the 35th pick from Seattle for the Ray Allen/Jeff Green trade.
9:20-Aaron Afflalo to the Pistons, which means that Detroit has just drafted their Billups/Rip replacement duo if needed. Well done. Kennison is “not sure” how he feels about the Randolph move, despite agreeing that Randolph is “a loon.” Possible Bulls 2nd round picks: Big Baby, Alando Tucker, Marc Gasol. We will see…
9:25-The Spurs keep it international with Tiago Splitter, who was originally plugged as coming out during the ’03 draft. Well great. The Spurs now have another active 7 footer, but now I’m hearing that Splitter won’t come to San Antonio for another year because of his buyout with his Brazilian team.
9:36-Just got out of the bathroom. Alando Tucker is gone, off to Phoenix where he’ll come off the bench and score 15 points a night in 8 minutes. ####kers. Petteri Koponen from Finland has just been taken by the Sixers. The crowd at MSG is rather excited. And Jason Smith is headed to Philly for Daequan Cook. Facinating.
