- I wish the draft was on TNT. Having Charles Barkley around to grumble about the picks would be worth sitting through the second round. The ESPN desk alternates between irritating and tedious.
- Tonight's catchphrase draft: Mike Tirico selected "sizzle" with the first pick. Jay Bilas traded up to get "scoring savant" and "second jumpability."
- I'm not gonna bother trying to figure out pictures on this unfamiliar site, but Ric Bucher kinda looks like Cornelius from the original Planet of the Apes. Hairstyle and all.
- The Yi Jianlian situation is kinda funky. Apparently the entire nation of China is pissed off that he ended up in a small market like Milwaukee. Keep an eye on that. Moving on, who else is excited for the inevitable "Yiiiiiiiii!" chant (pronounced "Eeeee!") during games?
- I can't decide whether Jay Bilas talks like an old man or a waspy housewife.
- David Stern really has the blue shirt/white collar look locked up, doesn't he?
- Greg Oden will be wearing number 52 in Portland, which is a little odd. He just doesn't seem like a high number guy to me.
- After Mike Conley Jr. was drafted by Memphis, ESPN showed video of Mike Conley the Elder, a former Olympian, throwing down a dunk from the free throw line of a celebrity dunk contest. It was SICK.
- Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are going to be on the same team, and that makes me excited.
- Dick Vitale has issues, man. First of all, the man can't stick to a topic. At all. He can cover 12 different players from 5 completely unrelated teams in a single breath. Secondly, he has a seriously creepy obsession with Eva Longoria. Any time Tony Parker, point guards, France, or anything that could be even remotely connected back to Parker and his wife are mentioned, Vitale throws in some shady sexual reference. He said something about Parker's sleeping next to his MVP trophy when he could've been sleeping next to Eva. I imagine somebody's in the market for a restraining order right now.
- Brandan Wright has braces.
- Jay Bilas: "I'd rather have a guy that hates to lose than one that loves to win." Hmm. Interesting.
- Do you think Scott Skiles is gonna make Joakim Noah cut his hair? He's not really down with personal style, as far as I've seen.
- The new Hawks jerseys are ghastly. The lettering is shaped like the old "Vancouver" script on the Grizzlies' uniforms.
- Fun fact: Only the video part of the conversations between Stephen A. Smith and Dick Vitale was conducted electronically. They could actually hear each other across the country.
- Jim Gray came thisclose to getting choked by Mitch Kupchak. I still can't die happy. I know the day will come.
- Petteri Koponen is my new favorite player in the NBA. He's Finnish, officially making him the only Finnish entity with which I am familiar. Seriously. Name a person from Finland. How about a Finnish food? (Update: I just did some research, and I mean no disrespect to Mikko Leppilampi or karjalanpiirakka.)
- My favorite exchange of the draft (and there were some good ones): Stuart Scott: "Who is Rodney Stuckey?" Rodney Stuckey: "That's me."
- Man of the night, without question: Giorgios Printezis. This guy from Greece was the 59th pick of the draft, and when his name was announced, he suddenly appeared from the sparse crowd beaming from ear to ear and dressed like a Miami Vice character, and made his way to the podium to the befuddled applause of about 9 people.
- The big news of the night was a couple stars heading East. Ray Allen was dealt to Boston, Jason Richardson went to the Bobcats, and of course, Zach Randolph was sent to my Knicks. I'm not sure how I feel about any of this yet.
That's it for now. I'm gonna sleep on all this new information. Happy NBA Christmas, and good night.
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What a night for SML to be gone. Zack Randolph? This is either a really good trade or we are looking at a disaster waiting to happen. Either way, I can't wait.
What a night for SML to be gone. Zack Randolph? This is either a really good trade or we are looking at a disaster waiting to happen. Either way, I can't wait.