The NBA Draft is one of my favorite days of the year. Unlike the NFL Draft where there are practically 3,000 players selected over two days, the NBA Draft is over in one and you only have to worry about 60 players. With that said, it’s time to reflect upon last night’s event…

• The New Jersey Nets had a great day. I have been reading and hearing a lot about how the Nets got fleeced in their trade with Milwaukee, but I actually disagree. People have been making the argument that by getting Yi and Bobby Simmons helps them in the future (by freeing up salary), it certainly hurts them in the present. My question is why? While I’m a big fan of Richard Jefferson, what exactly did he do for the team in the present? Heck, in the past when the Nets had Jefferson, Vince Carter and Jason Kidd, what did they do?? Nothing, so why not go in a different direction?

• As for the Draft, taking Brook Lopez in the 10th spot was a no-brainer. I’m not one who’s in love with his game, but as the best big man in the Draft, it was the only logical pick. The pick that I love though is getting Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 40th selection. How he slipped to the second round is beyond me, and then to fall 10 spots in that round…well that’s just ridiculous. You may think I’m crazy, but I am going to go out on a limb right now and say that CDR will be an NBA All-Star one day.

• There wasn’t too much surprise in the Miami Heat taking Michael Beasley with the number 2 pick, despite all the talk about working out OJ Mayo and Jerryd Bayless, but trading for Mario Chalmers in the 34th spot was a very nice move. Again, I’m not in love with Chalmers’ game, but getting him in the second round to fill a spot of need for your team is a job well done.

• For the third straight year the Portland Trailblazers and GM Kevin Pritchard have done a great job on Draft Day. Taking Brandon Rush with the 13th pick was a very nice move, but then dealing him along with Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts for Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu, well kudos to Pritchard. With Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Jerryd Bayless providing the offense, and Greg Oden acting as the security blanket in the paint, the Blazers are going to be a team to watch for the next decade up there in the Pacific Northwest.

• I did not see the OJ Mayo-Kevin Love trade happen live, but when I read about it on my phone I was a bit surprised. While I believe Mayo will ultimately be the better player, and I think by a long shot, I don’t quite understand why Memphis made this deal. Love seemed to fit their team better. They already have Mike Conley, Jr., Kyle Lowry, and Javarris Crittendon in the backcourt, and were in desperate need of a front-court player. On top of that, they traded away one of the premier shooters in the game, Mike Miller. With the gluttony of young guards, it only seems logical that this deal is a prelude to many more for the Grizzlies.

• So maybe a possible trade partner is the New York Knicks. The two teams had already discussed a deal for the 5th pick that was apparently close, and with the Knicks unable to get a point guard they were looking for, the Grizzlies now have quite a few to choose from. Just throwing it out there but maybe David Lee for Conley? That could be one of those deals that help both teams, and who knows, it could even expand to include more players…

• Now as for the T-Wolves side of things, it’s a good move because they get Love and Miller. Plus they deal away Marko Jaric’s bad contract for Brian Cardinal’s bad contract, but at least Cardinal can provide six fouls at the forward position. The Wolves also gained size in Jason Collins, so overall it was a deal that improved the team as a whole while losing the best player.

• The New York Knicks picking Danilo Gallinari drew the expected boos from the crowd, and while I don’t necessarily blame them, I have to believe that the Knicks felt there was no real point guard who could lead their team, therefore they’d try for a point forward. D.J. Augustin was available at the 6-spot, but that was too high for him, so if they didn’t take Gallinari, then maybe they could’ve traded down (although that would’ve received boos as well). As it turns out, they may get their point guard after all if they end up dealing with Memphis. Stay tuned Knicks fans, the offseason is just getting started…

• I am very disappointed in the Charlotte Bobcats draft, and that seems sacrilege considering it’s Michael Jordan calling the shots. But selecting Augustin at #9 when Brook Lopez was still on the board did not make any sense to me. The chance to combine Lopez with Emeka Okafor, and then have Sean May provide depth off the bench seemed like an opportunity for Charlotte to build a strong frontcourt. And then to use the 20th pick, which they acquired from Denver, to select Alexis Ajinca, well that’s just mind-boggling. Just when it looked like the Bobcats were going in the right direction by trading for Jason Richardson at last year’s Draft, and then hiring Larry Brown this offseason, they go and do this. Very disappointing…

• The Boston Celtics made a mistake by not taking Chris Douglas-Roberts with the last pick in the first round, but they made up for it by acquiring the rights to Bill Walker. Walker has a big body for a guard, is a very good athlete, and can provide depth at three different positions. This could turn out to be a sleeper pick in years to come.

Please feel free to send me your comments and questions, because as I said before, this is one of my favorite topics to discuss. Thanks…

A weird phenomenon has transpired over the past couple of years, and it was never more on display than Thursday night… People in New York, when in a bind, are actually rooting for Boston teams. I swear, I witnessed it myself.

Having gone to school in Boston, and experienced what the fans there can be like, I never thought this day would come. Yet here I was at a bar on the Upper West Side of Manhattan watching people cheer for the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers, and it got me thinking.

First, could it be that people dislike Kobe Bryant so much that no matter who he is playing they would root for the opposing team? Second, do people sympathize with players like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, two guys who have acted professionally throughout their entire careers, that they feel they deserve a championship? And third, have sports changed so much because of stars changing teams, that people are bigger fans of the players than they are of the actual teams?

When going back and looking at all of these options, I think it’s actually a combination. Kobe Bryant truly is a polarizing figure. People love to watch him, and look on in amazement as he does some extroardinary things, yet ultimately they like to point out all of his negatives and watch him fail. I am certainly guilty of it, as I wrote about Kobe being the A-Rod of the NBA (with the exception that he is actually clutch and has won championships), and then another perfect example would be Curt Schilling’s recent blog. I’m sure there are many other superstar athletes that yell and berate their teammates, but Schilling felt it was necessary to tell on Kobe because he’s, well… Kobe.

In regards to Garnett and Allen, I think this is the ultimate reason why people are rooting for the Celtics. Ever since Boston made the trade to acquire Garnett, there has been a certain lure about the team. In a league that has had its image tarnished by the Malice at the Palace, the Donaghy scandal, and players covered in tattoos, these two guys have been first-class citizens. Both are clean cut, respectful, articulate, and have paid their dues by playing for crummy teams. So when they came together to join forces and try to turn around a once-proud franchise, people saw this as a good situation, even the people in New York.

They didn’t feel that Garnett and Allen were true Celtics, rather they were just players wearing that uniform, therefore, they felt it was okay to cheer for them. So that brings me to the next point, are people bigger fans of players than they are of actual teams? I don’t think that’s necessarily the case, but I do believe that when your team is not involved you tend to root for your favorite players. In the case of New Yorkers, the Knicks are certainly not involved, so what’s the next best-case scenario? As witnessed Thursday night it’s seeing Garnett and Allen get a chance to lift the championship trophy.