Draft Blog 2007

HOME PROSPECTS

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2007 NBA Draft. This draft begins the countdown to the 2007-08 season, which promises to be one of our best ever. Tonight, 60 of the most extraordinary young players in the world will realize their and their families dreams to turning hard work and dedication into…" OK I couldn’t quite get the end of it – Stern talks pretty fast. -- NBA Commissioner David Stern

We’ve been so excited to watch the 2007 NBA Draft, my L.A. and Boston Correspondents and I wouldn’t leave this couch if Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan called and invited us to a mixer at the Roosevelt Hotel. Here with huge Celtics fan Evan Gold and Wolves freak Robby Sikka, our TV is locked on ESPN, where the always-excellent Mike Tirico is hosting a panel including Mark Jackson, Steven A. Smith and Jay Bilas.

One random note before we proceed in running diary format: While watching the pre-draft show, Tirico and ESPN reporter Andy Katz randomly started pronouncing Yi Jianlian’s name “E.” When did this start? Did they just get a memo from China, or did Yi’s agent put in a call? We also get confirmation that E’s people don’t want him going to a place like Milwaukee, so of course we think that’s where he’ll get drafted. OK, Portland’s ready to pick Greg Oden. There is NO way they take Durant here. It has to happen.

Format check: We’ll first name the selection number, the team, the updated ESPN mock draft selection, and the actual pick. We’ll subsequently comment on the pick. Deal?

No. 1: PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
ESPN’s Chad Ford: Greg Oden
Actual: Greg Oden, Ohio State University.
An absolute, collective no-brainer to us. And Bilas: “A winner, first and foremost. That’s what he’s all about, and that’s the character and heart of this young man.” “First and foremost?” First and foremost, he’s seven-feet tall, fiercely athletic and dominant. Come on, Jay. The only truly dominant center that didn’t win a title was Patrick Ewing (thanks to Jordan). Try Bill Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal. They all won championships. There is no way Oden doesn’t win at least one title. Plus, Gold just spoke to one of his grandkids, who is in his USC law school class, and Greg Oden III said he’s really proud of “Gramps.” I can’t hear what Sikka is saying because Steven A. is screaming so loud I feel like we the audience are the collective kid who set off the fire alarm in middle school, and he’s the jerk principle.

No. 2: SEATTLE SUPERSONICS
Ford: Kevin Durant
Actual: KEVIN DURANT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
The easiest pick in NBA Draft history here … Oh no, Bilas just said that exact same thing. I take it back. I’m persuading Sikka that Durant’s arms are longer than Gumby’s, as Evan nods in agreement. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard” is apparently Durant’s favorite quote. “How ironic,” muses Gold. Robby is quite sympathetic to Durant, who like Robby couldn’t bench press 185 pounds. We digress. Stuart Scott only had two questions for Durant, and one was about the bench press at the Orlando combine. Who cares! Come on, Stu. The kid is freakishly phenomenal. Ask him how many titles he’s going to win, who his favorite players in the league are or even if he likes tugboats.

No. 3: ATLANTA HAWKS
Ford: Al Horford
Actual: AL HORFORD, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
This was a tough one. Reports had them taking Horford, but isn’t it going to be funny when Mike Conley Jr. becomes the next stud point guard, and Atlanta has passed on Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Conley? Ouch. So what if he’s an upgrade from Sheldon Williams (last year’s No. 5 overall pick)? Atlanta has like, 11 power forwards! Where does Horford fit with Josh Smith and Marvin Wiliams? This means they have to take Acie Law IV at No. 11, and he’s not really a point guard. Meanwhile, we’ve learned of some shenanigans going on in the Atlanta ownership group (we think one partner sued the other partners for control) and I’ve asked Evan to bring his legal knowledge to the table: “It’s complex,” he explains. Note that Horford, a Dominican as his father Tito was once an awful player for the Bucks, is good friends with Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez.

No. 4: MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Ford: Mike Conley, Jr.
Actual: MIKE CONLEY, JR., OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
And there goes Conley. The way Bilas is talking about Conley right now, we’re wondering if he’s going to try and adopt him, particularly since Bill Simmons has already claimed Kevin Durant. Chad Ford is 4/4 so far, and there haven’t been any surprises. Wolves VP Jeff Munneke had Spencer Tollackson going at No. 4, but… no.

WOW! They just showed a highlight of Conley’s dad dunking from the free-throw line. Where the __ did that come from? He’s also Conley and Oden’s agent. Doesn’t that seem a bit fishy? Well, I guess getting 10 percent back from your kid’s salary is fair after raising him and all. Boston is up next, and Evan is visibly disturbed. “I’m nervous,” he manages to muster. He thinks they’re taking Yi. However, we now have that first surprise we were hoping for: Katz just came on the screen and said that the Celtics traded their No. 5 pick along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to Seattle for Ray Allen and a second-round pick.

“I am happy to see Jesus Shuttlesworth in a Celtics jersey,” said Gold, who isn’t really sure what to think here. “He’s come a long way since State.” Sikka is afraid that Bill Simmons is going to kill Danny Ainge in his sleep for this move, after trading for an “aging jump-shooter who plays the same position as Paul Pierce.” I bet he’s doing a draft diary right now just tearing this trade apart. No way he likes it. I think they’ll make the playoffs, and lose in the first round.

No. 5: BOSTON CELTICS
Ford: Yi Jianlian
Actual: JEFF GREEN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Since the teams didn’t report this trade before the 2 p.m. deadline, Seattle just told Boston whom to pick for them. Green is straight cash, homie, in the way that Randy Moss pays fines for hitting traffic cops. He’ll be wearing a different colored green from the one he just got from Stern, as it’s now official that he and Durant will comprise the future of the SuperSonics. At the same time, Robby and I are starting to get nervous about the Wolves pick. Corey Brewer and E are still on the table, and both are exciting possibilities. But don’t forget about Al Thornton, who was dominant in workouts and in my opinion is severely underrated. Robby and I want Brewer the most, but we would be chill with Al. Evan’s still concerned about the perplexing Celtics trade: “How can the Celtics trade someone with the last name Green?” he wonders.

No. 6: MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Ford: Jeff Green
Actual: E, CHINA
There was some controversy that Yi – oops, E, sorry – and his “camp” are not excited about going to a city with fewer Chinese Americans than there are Minnesotans in Madagascar. On the bright side, Milwaukee is only 45 minutes away from Six Flags in Gurney, Illinois, which we think E will enjoy. Evan thinks he’d particularly enjoy the Batman ride, while Sikka’s partial to the waterpark. Sikka just got a call from a despondent Korean buddy in Wisconsin who claims that there isn’t a single Chinese person in all of southeastern Wisconsin. All the Chinese restaurants there are apparently owned by Koreans. Sikka’s friend is speculating wildly.*

Oh well, perhaps E will develop a penchant for beer and brats? More importantly, this leaves Corey Brewer on the board for Minnesota, and Robby is openly salivating from the mouth. Evan and I ask him to get a napkin.
*Timberwolves.com takes no responsibility for Sikka’s friend’s generalization and apologizes in advance to any Chinese restaurants that are in fact owned by Chinese Americans.

Three minutes on the countdown to lock-down defense, a two-time national champ and Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and definitely the funniest dude in the entire draft. We interviewed Brewer after his workout, and he’s hilarious … if we pick him (please pick him) I will immediately ask him to do a weekly WebTV spot on anything he’d like to talk about.

Oh wait, before we get to the Wolves, E is going to talk to Stu Scott!!!! Yes!
Stu: “Why are you ready for the NBA?”
E: “I think I play for the national team for a couple of years. I think I’m ready. I played in the Olympics. I played World Championships. I think I can play in the NBA.”
Stu: “You’ve been on the red carpet and gone to movie premieres in L.A… what’s your favorite thing about America?”
E: ?? (sorry, we have no idea what E just said)
Stu: He also wears Sean Jean gear, so … America is it!”

“That’s going to go down as the worst interview in draft history,” said Sikka. It’s definitely right up there with the Deron Williams draft-day interview two years ago, also courtesy of SS. Sikka remembers vaguely that he said: “Seven tattoos, four piercings … still, all character. All character.” Or something ridiculous like that.

No. 7: MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Ford: Al Thornton (changed from Corey Brewer earlier on Thursday)
Actual: COREY BREWER, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sikka’s head just exploded in happiness, and I almost knocked my laptop off the table after Brewer shook David Stern’s hand. He looks real good in that T-Wolves hat. Somewhere in Minnesota, Paul Allen just let out a “He Nice” from home. Gold is glad that Brewer will be able to keep his ears warm with his headband in the piercing Minnesota winters. Robby and I are going to invest some money in the stock market while our luck seems to be up. We’ll be back.

No. 8: CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Ford: Joakim Noah
Actual: BRANDAN WRIGHT, UNC
This is interesting … Wright is tremendously talented, but has been questioned for the same reason Julian Wright hasn’t been picked yet – they tended to disappear at times for UNC and Kansas, respectively. Charlotte now has three former Tar Heels: Sean May, Raymond Felton and Wright. Michael Jordan went to UNC, in case you forgot. Sikka has guaranteed that Charlotte will take Tyler Hansbrough next year. There was a ton of talk about the Bobcats wanting to get more experienced and trading this pick … maybe they’ll do it later.

No. 9: CHICAGO BULLS
Ford: Corey Brewer
Actual: JOAKIM NOAH, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
HA! Noah found a way to look happier than any pick so far in going to the 49-win Bulls. He looked happier than Chuck Norris after successfully executing a left roundhouse kick, or MTV’s Spencer on the red carpet at Area. He looked happier than Entourage’s Johnny Drama after “Five Towns” had a highly favorable debut on NBC. “VICTORY!” Plus, his hair is an absurdity. No further comment on that, but I'm sure my intern Laurence will find a good picture of him to put up...

Evan and I wonder from where Chicago will get low-post scoring in the playoffs next year, which was their primary need this past year … a need that Noah doesn’t fulfill. But, he certainly fulfills the brand of basketball that Scott Skiles is building in Chicago, and does so many things so well that help a basketball team. Steven A. Smith doesn’t like this pick either, but Bilas does. OK, we’re standing by for his interview, which should be solid -- Noah was anything but boring when we spoke to him after his workout. OK, never mind, the interview wasn’t good. The two main things we learned were that Noah is very, very, very excited, and that he uses “Bumble and Bumble” shampoo, according to S^2. Sikka’s concerned about his rotator cuff and whether or not it will affect his health in the long term, while Gold is concerned his political affiliations.

No. 10: SACRAMENTO KINGS
Ford: Brandan Wright
Actual: SPENCER HAWES, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Ouch. The Maloof brothers already have the world’s slowest center in Brad Miller, who was recently clocked at 18.3 in the 40-yard dash. While Hawes is a promising prospect that may end up being a very good NBA center before it’s all done, I would have taken the beast otherwise known as Al Thornton. This kid should not slip any lower. I’m telling you, 15 and 7 next year from Al. Guaranteed All-NBA Rookie Team. By the way, Sikka came to our mini-draft party in his scrubs straight from the hospital. Just thought you should know.

No. 11: ATLANTA HAWKS
Ford: Acie Law IV
Actual: ACIE LAW IV, TEXAS A&M
The first college senior chosen in the draft, Atlanta thinks it got its point guard (who’s actually more of a combination guard, but he can definitely play the point). So Atlanta gets Horford and Law instead of, say, Conley and Al Thornton/Julian Wright. I’d take Conley/Thornton, but this could work out OK. Law was pretty impressive in his Wolves workout, and showed what a gamer he was by hitting a plethora of clutch shots in college. However, he did mess up my NCAA Tourney pool by missing that cupcake layup and a wide-open three against Memphis in the Sweet 16. I still beat Sikka when my TIMBERWOLVES FORWARD Corey Brewer (word) led the Gators to the title. Respect, Corey. Full respect. Sorry for talking about Corey in your section, Acie. But let’s put the Wolves’ release on Brewer up for you, which was just emailed to me.

“The Minnesota Timberwolves tonight selected Corey Brewer in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft. Brewer, a 6-9 forward from Florida, averaged a career-best 13.2 ppg during his junior season in 2007 as the Gators repeated as national champions.

"Corey is a versatile player who plays well on both ends of the basketball court," said Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale. "As a two-time champion in college and the 2007 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, he comes with a winning background and plenty of experience in big games. He's a great addition to our young core of talent."

Brewer saw his points-per-game increase in each of his seasons at Florida, where he started in 106 of the 108 games he appeared in with the Gators. In three seasons, he averaged 11.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.8 apg and 1.6 spg. Following his junior season (2006-07), Brewer was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 NCAA Tournament Final Four, First Team All-SEC and the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The Tennessee native averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the Final Four. Brewer ranked 28th on the team's career scoring chart with 1,225 points, fifth in steals with 176 and is Florida's all-time scoring leader in the NCAA Tournament with 198 points. Brewer also owns the only triple-double in the school's history with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists on Dec. 18, 2005.

SCORE.

No. 12: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Ford: Julian Wright
Actual: THADDEUS YOUNG, GEORGIA TECH
Don’t like this pick at all. Steven A. Smith (a Philly insider) predicted that they’d take Young, an impressive prospect we saw play against Brewer, Thornton and Julian Wright. And while it was just one workout, he was certainly the worst player on the floor in the 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 drills. This must be a “potential” pick, where the 76ers think he’s going to be a beast in a few years. Well, Thornton is a beast NOW, got better each year in college and fits in a lot better on a team that already has Andre Iguodala. Meanwhile, there has been an NBA Live ’08 commercial on at every break, in which Gilbert Arenas makes fun of Kevin Durant, and Durant fires back. More importantly, Sikka knows a lot about Gilbert’s dog: Agent 0 had a full-size treadmill installed at his home alongside his own so that his dog could run next to him; he also brought his dog to his massive b-day party and honored him with an ice sculpture.

Furthermore, Hawks GM Billy Knight just came on for a video interview, showing two atrocious looking Hawks jerseys in the background. Their old jerseys were tight, and these are not. Yuck. They’re worse than the old Tampa Bay Bucs atrocious orange kits. Well, maybe not quite that ugly.

No. 13: NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Ford: Nick Young
Actual: JULIAN WRIGHT, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Maybe Young fits their need for a shooting guard, but Wright is a 19-year old super-talent that could end up being among the top four or five players in the whole draft. He’s a steal at No. 13, and is just too good to pass up here, despite questions about his attention span. He should fit in nicely with Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, David West and a healthy Peja Stojakovic. Of course everyone says Paul needs a shooter … well, get healthy, Peja. They couldn’t get a great shooter here that’s half as good overall as Wright, so I like this pick. Man, the West is going to be ridiculous for the next few years. Sikka and Evan are busy eating White Cheddar Cheeze and can’t comment.

No. 14: L.A. CLIPPERS
Ford: Javaris Crittenton
Actual: AL THORNTON, FLORIDA STATE
Thank you! This guy is the man. If Bilas claimed Conley and Simmons Durant, I’m on the Thornton wagon. I don’t care if they needed a point guard, you can’t reach to take someone like Crittenton ahead of Al. Can’t do it. Steven A. made a good point here, saying L.A. needs a dose of adrenaline, which they’ll certainly get from this dude. Plus, his mom’s name is Philomena, and he says, “You know what I’m saying,” more than anybody I’ve ever heard. “He’s a steal, and he’s four years older than some of the players he’s playing against,” said Gold. In other news, my mother just called to see whom the Wolves drafted, and after I said Corey Brewer, she asked if that was whom we wanted. I said, “Yes, he’s the real deal,” and she said, “Good! That’s who I wanted,” though she has no idea. She’s the best.

No. 15: DETROIT PISTONS
Ford: Rodney Stuckey
Actual: RODNEY STUCKEY, EASTERN WASHINGTON
No one has ever seen him play, thanks to his being buried at Eastern Washington, but he did average about 25 points a game and looks up to Dwyane Wade as his idol. He’s only the second player from the Big Sky Conference that will play in the NBA, but looks to fill the roll of an instant-offense guy off the bench. Fair enough. Oh, wait. Sikka saw him play once (they were a 15 seed in the NCAA Tourney) and says he’s good. So, take that for what it’s worth. Keep in mind that Sikka plays basketball with two right legs, according to Gold.

No. 16: WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Ford: Spencer Hawes
Actual: NICK YOUNG, USC
Chad was a bit off on this pick, but that’s probably because a GM was trying to trick him. He’s still a great basketball mind. Alas, this kid forms a really nice backcourt with Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards must have been excited to see New Orleans pass on Young, as Washington becomes a pretty nice offensive team with Agent 0, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Young jacking up shots. That said, they’re hurting severely in the post. Robby and I used to make fun of Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas, the resident centers, for getting into roughly 45 fistfights in Wizards practices last year. Wait a second, Stu is talking about Nick Young’s dead brother? Yes he is. Gold interrupts to tell us he watched almost all of the Trojans games on TV: “The most memorable thing about Young’s basketball career was his Mohawk in his sophomore season.”

Uh oh, here is some big news. Ric Bucher, our favorite NBA reporter, just announced that New York has traded Channing Frye and Steve Francis to Portland for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau and Fred Jones. The camera immediately zoomed to a giddy Spike Lee, looking like he just wrote a brilliant film that was guaranteed to make $100 billion dollars. This is a great trade for New York. Randolph and Curry are a terrific 4-5 combo, and Zack’s good for 25 and 10 at least in the East. Isiah must have hired a ghost as an assistant, who sits next to him and makes all of his decisions.

No. 17: NEW JERSEY NETS
Ford: Sean Williams
Actual: SEAN WILLIAMS, BOSTON COLLEGE
This is a controversial kid who got kicked out of B.C. for reasons about which we’re not sure (the school said “multiple rule violations”). Among those was marijuana use. Williams went to see John Lucas in Houston, who is the former NBA player and coach that’s dedicated himself to helping troubled young men, and was kind enough to speak with us earlier this year about Vin Baker. This is a subject about which many would like to joke, but we’ll leave it alone here. Hopefully he’s doing well and can focus on basketball.

No. 18: GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Ford: Jason Smith
Actual: MARCO BELLINELLI, ITALY
I sat a few rows away from Baron Davis at the “Transformers” movie premiere in L.A., but didn’t ask him who he wanted with this pick. He was with his daughter … I mean, come on. “Is he going to even know who Bellinelli is,” says Sikka. This guy did drop 25 points on the USA in the Olympics last year.

No.19: L.A. LAKERS
Ford: Rudy Fernandez
Actual: Javaris Crittenton
Picking this guy is another message to Kobe Bryant saying, “Hey, we don’t want you,” according to our L.A. Correspondent. Dickie V is going off on how there’s no way this kid can help right away. Vitale went ahead and mentioned how Tony Parker wouldn’t rather sleep next to his Finals MVP trophy than Eva Longoria, in an unrelated, random note. Thanks, captain obvious. We’ve lost interest in the L.A. saga, so Sikka’s telling us about Colin Cowherd’s radio show today, on which he said this draft is extremely overrated, and that it’s a two-player draft in which the rest of the buzz is propagated by the media. We all think that his take is absurd. You have 15 teams trying to get in the top five, and a draft that goes at least 15 deep in terms of guys you KNOW are good! Cowherd is just trying to be a contrarian and get us talking about him. I guess it worked, but he also is making us completely disrespect his opinions. Sikka: “This is from the guy who uses his show to shut down websites that go against his opinion. He’s a real ____.”

No. 20: MIAMI HEAT
Ford: Thaddeus Young
Actual: JASON SMITH, COLORADO STATE
Sikka likes his size for the Heat, but I don’t like his lack of athleticism on a team that has become old and slow. We’ve also realized that Bilas likes basically anybody that played in college. Literally. More on this later. Jim Gray is interviewing Lakers GM Mitch Kupchek here. “He looks like he’s at a funeral,” says Robby. We learn absolutely nothing from this interview. Zero.

No. 21: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Ford: Glen Davis
Actual: DAEQUAN COOK, OHIO STATE
We would have gone with Big Baby here like Ford said, but apparently Cook will be going to Miami for Smith, along with a bag of cash. The way this works out it, Miami took the guy they thought Philly wanted, and found a way to get a million bucks out of it and still get the player they wanted. Pat Riley must need some money for hairspray or something.

No. 22: CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Ford: Daequan Cook
Actual: JARED DUDLEY, BOSTON COLLEGE
Robby has taken over the typing duties as Mike had a Chex Mix (Peanut Butter/Chocolate) fix. With Mike’s mouth full, we’re talking about why Dudley went after Williams. I think Dudley was a more effective college player, is more than just a shot blocker and was actually a member of a team for more than a month. I think it might be due to Marcus Williams needing someone on the team to steal laptops with him. Trudell is arguing that each team has scouts see these guys so many times that they have a much better idea about who’s going to be a productive pro. We’ve seen them maybe twice on TV, so it’s worthless for us to speculate about who is better.

As for Dudley, if he follows the path of our main man Craig Smith, the Wolves second rounder last year, this is a great pick for Charlotte especially if Gerald Wallace leaves. Mike has been watching Smith work out, and is very excited to see him unleash his yoga-pilates improved body on the Vegas Summer League.

No. 23: NEW YORK KNICKS
Ford: Wilson Chandler
Actual: WILSON CHANDLER, DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
Spike Lee says, on camera: “Zeke knows how to pick players in the draft.” Spike says the official pick will be “The Brotha from Depaul.” This brought to mind one of my favorite Charles Barkley quotes on TNT. Kenny Smith said, “There are a lot of American players who go to Europe and dominate.” Charles responded with, “Yeah Kenny, those are called brothers.”

Actually this might not be a bad pick for Isiah and the Knicks. Stephen A. loves it. Mike and Evan are talking about Isiah’s wonderful track record: the CBA, the Raptors, the Pacers, the Jerome James signing…

No. 24: PHOENIX SUNS
Ford: Tiago Splitter
Actual: RUDY FERNANDEZ, SPAIN
OK, Mike’s back. Bye.

Thanks Robby. What we’ve been discussing is how we collectively wish that the TNT “Inside the NBA” crew were broadcasting this draft. That would be much better. Apparently, the Suns sold this pick to Portland for cash. I guess when you’re that far over the cap…

No. 25: UTAH JAZZ
Ford: Morris Almond
Actual: MORRIS ALMOND, RICE UNIVERSITY
We agree with this pick. Good job, Chad’s source. He was third in the country in scoring from the two-guard spot, and Utah’s big weakness is at shooting guard. Rice has nice range, and should fit in well in a half-court system. It’ll remain to be seen if he’s going to be able to come in and fill that role in a Western Conference Finals. Sikka isn’t worried about the Jazz next year, guaranteeing that Minnesota will be in the Conference Finals.

No. 26: HOUSTON ROCKETS
Ford: Nick Fazekas
Actual: AARON BROOKS, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
In yet another surprise, Bilas likes this pick. He played college basketball, so he’s awesome. Bilas is officially the Paula Abdul of this booth. He loves everybody that … well … played basketball in college. Just like Paula loves everyone that attempts to sing.

Sikka saw Brooks play a few times, and the bottom line is that he’s an undersized, flashy scorer that does about the same things as Rafer Alston. Skip To My Lou is in my top five favorite players in the league and don’t appreciate the comparison. There’s no way this dude could teach me how to wrap a ball around Yao’s head, but Skip said he would.

No. 27: DETROIT PISTONS
Ford: Marco Belinelli
Actual: ARRON AFFLALO, UCLA
This pick doesn’t even matter. We’re talking about how their last pick, Rodney Stuckey, being what Detroit for Darko Milicic, the Human Victory Cigar, in a trade to Orlando. Remember that Joe Dumars passed on Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, both of whom would have a good shot of taking Stuckey on in a 1-v-1 matchup. Actually this pick does matter, because Arron Afflalo is an excellent basketball player. He was among the top three players in the Final Four. He also has the constant “you should have picked me!” motivation that helped Craig Smith bust teams up last year.

No. 28: SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Ford: Jared Dudly
Actual: TIAGO SPLITTER, BRAZIL
Does Spiltter know Ronaldinho? If Brazil’s No. 10 comes to an NBA game and juggles at halftime, we’ll be very pleased. If he’s foreign and San Antonio picked him late, he must be sweet. All-Star in four years, probably.

No. 29: PHOENIX SUNS
Ford: Gabe Pruitt
Actual: ALANDO TUCKER, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
We love this pick, and Tucker is a great athlete who isn’t necessarily a perfect fit for any traditional NBA system … except that crazy system in Phoenix. Running the floor and flying to the rim should suit him just fine. Plus, he’s a solid defender and the Big 10 Player of the Year, and Phoenix needs scoring off the bench. Gold thinks he may have danced next to Tucker at a Madison Halloween Party on State Street. I was at Qdoba eating a chicken burrito that night.

No. 30: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Ford: Josh McRoberts
Actual: PETTERI KOPONEN, FINLAND
YES! This pleases me greatly, because Petteri was by far my favorite interview of any prospect not named Corey Brewer that came into Target Center. He was pretty bummed out after his workout because he felt like he struggled, but he was extremely nice and pleasant to speak with. His English was very good, and most importantly, his Finnish team is called the Honka Espoo Playboys. Come on, you can’t beat that. I ask Evan and Robby if they can think of a better name, and a resounding silence filled the room. Case in point.

Good thing they didn’t take McRoberts here, because he’s the only guy that Gold and I could beat two-on-one. Though if Sikka played with us, McRoberts might win. Alas, we are going to stick a fork in this draft diary, just like Glen “Big Baby” Davis just stabbed a fork into his thigh after dropping out of the first round.
OK, wait a few quotes on the second round:

-- Charlotte traded the rights to Brandon right to Golden State for Jason Richardson and Jermareo Davidson. We all think Charlotte got the best of this deal, but Steven A is chastising Michael Jordan and basically calling him an idiot. Why? Is Brandan Wright a guaranteed star? No. But Richardson could be an All-Star next year. The Warriors just took out a crucial piece of their puzzle to a team that made a tremendous playoff run, which seems strange.

-- Alas, the East got three players tonight that could be All-Stars next year: Ray Allen, Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson. This should improve the competitive balance a bit, and make next year’s Eastern Conference playoffs more enjoyable. OK, we’re out. But not in the way that Jim Rome says it.