NBA Draft Running Blog

Waiting for the Draft to come all day was not an east task, so when 7:00pm hit I got pretty excited to say the least. It's kind of strange why Knicks fans like to inflict pain upon themselves repeatedly, but its sort of the New York way. Anyway, I sat down at my computer from 7:20-9:56 and here are my running thoughts during the draft.

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7:20 - Open it up with an Interview with Joakim Noah and he has easily outdone himself this time. His suit and tie-die colored bow tie are a joke. I’m glad Noah is representing NY, but this guy is way too cocky. Especially for an overrated prospect.

7:22 - Live Free or Die Hard commercial. I have to say, my enthusiasm towards that movie dies more and more with each commercial I see. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be there when it opens, but my expectations are currently on the level of this draft for the Knicks.

7:25 - Funniest joke of the night so far: Jordan says he thinks the Bobcats can make the playoffs.

7:26 - Jim Gray reports that the Golden State Warriors are now in the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes. I’m done listening to KG rumors until something actually happens. In the past two years, I’m pretty sure every NBA team has been rumored to be interested in his services at least once. So until something actually happens, I’ll be ignoring every KG rumor starting now.

7:32 - Draft about to start, and I would like to thank David Stern again for installing the 19 years and older rule for the NBA Draft. And also for over pronouncing the word extraordinary in his opening speech.

7:34 - A bunch of goofy white guys in a back room for the Trailblazers start celebrating and high fiving. Are you serious? This isn’t like somebody slipped to you, you have the first pick. You’ve known you were gonna draft Oden for the past day or so. But congrats... I guess.

7:36 - The pick is in. Portland takes Greg Oden, no surprise. Oden looks like he’s in the dentists office on his walk up to the podium. Oh wait, that would mean he’s excited seeing how he wanted to be a dentist and settled for the NBA. Tough luck, Greg.

7:40 - Greg Oden ACTUALLY looks like he’s happy now. Who else but Stuart Scott can put you in a good mood after you realized you can’t be a dentist?

7:41 - Seattle and Boston agree to a trade. Seattle get’s Boston’s #5, Delonte West and Wally Sczierbiak. Boston gets Ray Allen. The Celtics will select Jeff Green with their 5th pick then ship him to Seattle. Damn, thats either gonna work out really well or pretty badly for the Celtics. If you’re a Boston fan I feel bad for you. I apologize to Bill Simmons too because he is extremely upset, I can tell.

7:42 - Seattle selects Kevin Durant. Durant, Green and Rashard Lewis all on the same team. Look out for Seattle in 2-3 years. Personally I think Durant will prove to be better in the long run, but Oden’s going to have the fast impact which is what the Trailblazers needed.

7:45 - I haven’t seen a more confident rookie that was just picked than Kevin Durant in a while. Seattle has a winner right here, so let the nickname debate begin. We’ll start with KD.

7:48 - Atlanta selects Al Horford. So far everyone has landed where they were supposed to, except Ray Allen in Boston. Allen and Paul Pierce is gonna be absolutely interesting to watch next season, because it will be interesting to see if they can both co-exist on the same team.

7:49 - Memphis is on the clock... and nobody in Memphis cares.

7:52 - Grizzlies select Mike Conley from Ohio State. That’s a great pick for that team. Easily the best PG prospect in the draft, and he’ll also be able to help out Hakim Warrick and Pau Gasol.

7:53 - Boston is on the clock... and I’m still pissed off that Yi Jianlian is not going to be the pick.

7:57 - Celtics select Jeff Green, but he will be moved to Seattle. I still have a big time resentment for him because Demetris Nichols should have been the Big East player of the year. I aslo hate Georgetown. The only good thing that ever came from that school is Patrick Ewing.

7:59 - I gotta say, It’s pretty depressing that Jeff Green who is nicknamed the Green Monster is not gonna be playing in Boston. How perfect was that fit for him and for Boston?

8:01 - Transformers still looks absolutely awesome.

8:03 - Milwaukee selects Yi Jianlian. And the sports world lets out a huge roar of laughter. This man’s roof is pretty high, absolutely. However his bust potential is gigantic. Another thought, what happened the last time the Bucks selected an International Center? Andrew Bogut. And where are they with him now? The 6th pick in the NBA draft. Nice work.

8:04 - I’m seeing some videos of Yi and they’re not of him playing a 5'10 white guy or a dribbling around 6 cones. That’s gotta be at least a little comforting for those fans in Milwaukee.

8:06 - Andy Katz makes an excellent point, why the hell would Yi want to play in Milwaukee? This has holdout and contract debate written all over it.

8:07 - I don’t understand a word Yi Jianlian is saying, but if I could guess, it’s probably something like this... “I hate Milwaukee. Trade me now. I’d rather play for the Knicks. Why can’t I just play against a chair for the rest of my career?”

8:08 - The Yankees are reportedly interested in trading for Kevin Garnett.

8:09 - Stephen A. Smith is still yelling. And everyone is still afraid of him.

8:10 - Minnesota selects Cory Brewer, which basically means Kevin Garnett is gonna be gone at the end of the season. This also means that Joakim Noah is the last Gator at Madison Square Garden waiting to get selected. That should knock his ego down about... no pegs at all.

8:11 - Something I’ve heard from analysts after each prospect taken, “They need to get stronger.” No kidding? They just got out of college, the only person who is ok in terms of strength is Oden. Everyone else could stand to put on some muscle, and they will, like prospects always do.

8:12 - Michael Jordan pulls up outside of MSG in a golf cart after getting the phone call that he is team is on the clock.

8:15 - ESPN reminds me that the Knicks would have the #9 pick if it weren’t for the Eddy Curry trade. Thank you for stabbing me in the brain for the 95th time in the last 55 minutes.

8:18 - Brandan Wright goes to the Charlotte Bobcats, and another UNC player goes to the Bobcats. And again, Jordan selects a kid who shies away from contact, and plays on cruise control for 50% of the game. Similar to the Kwame Brown pick. Brandan Wright also declined to participate in any contact drills when he was working out for the Celtics. Probably the reason he fell to #8.

8:20 - I’m still pissed the Knicks aren’t on the clock right now.

8:23 - Bulls fans holding up signs that say, “Thanks Isiah!” Where is the You Suck! Chant when you need it?

8:25 - Bulls select Joakim Noah. If he was the best available player at #9 then I’m not really that pissed off. Think about it, at this point right now, Curry > Noah.

8:27 - Area of improvement for Noah? Strength. I would say area of improvement needs to be his modesty. This kid likes himself way too much. Honestly Noah probably wouldn’t be a top 10 or even a lottery pick for that matter if he wasn’t the energetic poster child for the two NCAA Championship winning Florida Gators teams. Outside of his decent defense and crazy energy he has a bad offensive game, terrible form on his jump shot and average passing. Overrated is an understatement. I also just don't like this kid, so my opinion is pretty skewed.

8:29 - Does anyone else find the new ESPY’s commercial with Jimmy Kimmel and LeBron James as hilarious as I do? “Can you vote... yeah I mean I kinda like... kinda voted for myself a million times.” The way he delivers that line is Oscar worthy. If I had to pick an NBA player to star in a movie out all of them who have a commercial, them being James, Kevin Durant, Gilbert Arenas and Tim Duncan, I’m taking LeBron hands down.

8:31 - The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly interested in Kevin Garnett taking over the head coaching job.

8:32 - Sacramento takes Spencer Hawes at #10. I like Hawes’ potential, may end up being a goody white guy, but he also has the potential to be a very good inside presence for the Kings. Good pick.

8:34 - Jay Bilas: “Not to nitpick, but his athletic ability is not that great.” Jay, ESPN has been nitpicking all night long. Spencer Hawes height, 7'0 3/4. Wow...

8:35 - Hawes tells us he needs to improve his strength. Everyone on ESPN now likes him because they think he’s honest.

8:36 - John Paxson the Bulls GM says Noah needs to work on his strength.

8:37 - My grandmother just called me and said she needs to work on her strength.

8:37 - Stephen A. Smith through the incoherent rambling actually makes a great point. The Bulls took Noah because he has high energy, the entire team is full of energy. And Noah is not a very good player. Done and done.
8:38 - Atlanta selects Acie Law IV. And now I’m pissed off because this guy could be a Knick right now. Screw you Isiah Thomas.

8:40 - In a world where sports jerseys are getting uglier and uglier, the new Hawks uni’s don’t actually look too bad.

8:46 - Philadelphia selects Thaddeus Young from Georgia Tech which is interesting because Sal Palontonio just reported that the Sixers were on the verge of taking Al Thornton. At least Thaddeus Young doesn’t have to improve his strength.

8:48 - Nick Young, Julian Wright and Al Thornton still on the floor at MSG. It’s always rough when someone who wasn’t at the draft gets selected before you.

8:54 - New Orleans selects Julian Wright. And no surprise he needs to work on his strength. What the hell is up with this? It’s becoming a joke at this point.

8:56 - Stuart Scott asks Julian Wright to do his best Stephen A. Smith impression and Wright says he isn’t sure how to do one. How hard is it to scream into a microphone and change the pitch of your voice every 2-3 seconds?

8:58 - Al Thornton no longer has to wait on the floor at MSG as the Clippers take him with the 14th pick. Mike Tirico tells us that Thornton used to be an aspiring football player so I don’t think we’re gonna have to worry about whether he needs to improve his strength or not.

9:01 - Thornton sounds eerily like Mike Tyson. It’s legitimately creepy.

9:02 - That ends the lottery picks which means my Knicks are coming up relatively soon. That also means that crying and cursing is coming relatively soon. I’m gonna try and prep myself but I really can’t promise anything.

9:05 - The Pistons select Rodney Stuckey which means Nick Young is now the last man left on the floor. That is a damn shame, but I’m a dreamer so I’m praying he falls to the #23.

9:07 - Jay Bilas says Rodney Stuckey needs to improve his strength. Oh good because I was worried he didn’t have to. This pick should work out well though because Detroit’s coaching staff emphasizes defense to the fullest extent and Rodney needs help with his defense. Should be a good match.

9:08 - My dreams come to a stuttering halt as Nick Young gets taken at #16 by Washington. Taurean Green is still the ultimate goal, but as long as Wilson Chandler is still on the board I’m not gonna get too worked up.

9:14 - I have a heart attack.

9:14 continued - The Knicks just pulled off a godly move. They traded Steve Francis and Channing Frye for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau and Fred Jones. How the hell Isiah Thomas pulled this deal off without selling his sould is beyond me. This has officially become the greatest draft ever. The Knicks just unloaded a lame draft pick in Channing Frye and a huge contract in Steve Francis for a capable PG in Fred Jones and a 23 ppg. 10 reb. Player in Zach Randolph. This is absolutely unbelievable.

9:17 - The Nets select Sean Williams and I don’t care because the Knicks now have the best down low tandem in the East.

9:19 - Can we start the 2008 season? Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph down low is easily the best big man tandem in the East. Every Knicks fan should be over-freakin’-joyed right now and if you aren’t, something is wrong with you.

9:23 - Marco Belinelli is selected by Golden State. Too bad they don’t have Zach Randolph.

9:27 - Im guessing that the only reason the Trailblazers traded Randolph was to make room for Oden, because other than that I see no reason for them to deal him. This way though, Oden plays in the middle, they have Channing Frye who can play PF alongside him. I don’t care though, we now have Curry and Randolph down low. Too good.

9:29 - Lakers take Javaris Critton but that isnt the real news. Dick Vitale is freaking out because he’s worried Zach Randolph and Sean Williams won’t be able to adjust to the New York/New Jersey pressure and he also is angry about all the Kobe Bryant talk. He also used the word baby 10 times in 15 seconds. I love Dicky V, but he is clinically insane and nobody has realized it yet. Its sort of become the running joke over at ESPN.

9:35 - Miami Heat take Jason Smith with the 20th pick and that absolutely blows. Not because I wanted the Knicks to take Jason Smith, but because that means Wilson Chandler is still on the board. We have two more teams to take him before its our pick. We can only pray.

9:36 - I’ll be honest though, if we did take him I would be upset but It wouldn’t matter much since we now have Zach Randolph. Absolutely terrific.

9:40 - Talking with Matt Buccelli from Bleeding Blue and Orange we both are ecstatic over the Randolph trade. One thing we realized about the Bulls selecting Noah however is that his average skills are not going to be exposed because he once again is going to be on a winning team. I wish he got taken by Charlotte.

9:41 - Sixers select Daequan Cook from Ohio State who I would not have minded, but now apparently they’re flipping Cook to Miami for Jason Williams. That means nothing to me.

9:45 - Charlotte is on the clock and this is our last chance to get rid of Wilson Chandler, unfortunately my karma will be of no help since I just bashed MJ for his last pick. I don’t know, Brandan Wright will probably turn out to be a good player... right?

9:48 - Charlotte selects Jared Dudley out of BC. It looks like the Knicks are gonna be drafting Wilson Chandler. Disappointing, but I can deal with it.

9:49 - Take Taurean Green. You know you want to. C’mon Isiah.

9:50 - Spike Lee is hearing Wilson Chandler is the pick which pretty means its going down because Spike Lee is never wrong. Never wrong.

9:52 - The Knicks pick is in. And they select... Wilson Chandler. Dammit. On a night that absolutely awesome for the Knicks, I feel like this pick is pretty anti-climactic, and I hate to end a running blog this way but that’s how it has to go down. Not to say I don’t like the pick necessarily, but how much better would Taurean Green have been? Time will tell, but welcome to NY Wilson. Lets go Knicks, and good luck to the boys from ‘Cuse.