In my honest to God opinion, you can't top the NBA Draft for high drama.
Seriously people, you can't. I mean, if you're a first round pick, you're in like Flint. Period, no questions asked. However, if you hear your name called after David Stern leaves that podium for the night...you better ball your ass off because nothing's given to you son.

Honestly, I like it a lot better than sitting through two days worth of picks and then banking on the 'I was watching when such and such got picked, then blew up like Chernobyl aka The Brady Quinn Factor'. I mean, my personal belief when reading most 'grades' and such is that folks grade on first round talent alone because they don't believe the second round picks will amount to anything in the grand scheme. Go on and tell that to Carlos Boozer, who really didn't go nuclear until this past season for the Jazz acting like he was Karl Malone on crack. Tell that to the Live 08 cover guy, Gilbert Arenas who's probably one nuclear scoring year away from winning the MVP award...eventually. I'm not throwing Daniel Gibson into this discussion because until you make some type of relevant regular season contribution like these two, you get nothing for doing nothing. Anyway, I watched this stuff unfold last night and there were a few things I'm gonna go off on right now.
- The Blazers' Grand Return? Was there a move they didn't make last night? We knew they were going to get Oden. We knew that, but if you're a Blazers fan, here's what I want you to do for me.

Send a big and I'm talking Texas sized HUGE bouquet to Isiah Thomas. Because just as Isiah pretty much helped lay the groundwork for the Baby Bulls (which will probably win the East this upcoming year, you've heard it here first), he definitely helped accelerate the rebuilding process by sending over the one young piece he's going to wish he kept after Zach's caught up in some type of drama (he couldn't behave in Portland, how do you think it's going to go in The Big Apple where there's all types of trouble to find yourself in?) and then there's Francis. I regard Nate as a fairly good coach and I really believe that if there's anyone who can reach Francis, since it appears to me that Zeke wasn't all that interested in doing so...maybe McMillan can. Maybe making his fourth and potentially
final stop as a pro will get it through Stevie's head that he needs to play right because if he does get 'it'...I'm telling y'all, Portland's gonna be the team that knocks the Spurs off and becomes the West's next big dynasty.

We might be only a few years away from seeing the Bulls and Blazers go back and forth in the Finals, folks. Still, in watching last night's draft I'm not finding anything I didn't like about the Blazers and the moves they made. NONE. But hey, if you're a Knicks fan, be glad Isiah didn't send the Blazers any more picks. (My God it was sad watching those clowns react as if they actually got the better of that deal, when it'll probably be a little more than half the season next year before they realize ole Zeke's
bamboozled them AGAIN.) But not nearly as sad as seeing... –

SONIC BOOM!

Yeah, I went Guile on that one, because that's just what the only team in the lottery without a coach did. And other than getting over on Zeke, what better draft night pastime is there than pulling one over on Danny Ainge? Honestly people, with the bad moves being made by these former players turned General Morons, I think the NBA needs to come up with something like the Wunderlic to judge the mental capacity of these folks. Seriously, this shit's not even cute anymore. The Sonics get rid of an aging Ray Allen and are starting over.

Okay, so how is this great for the Sonics, since they could've been fairly competitive with him and the young parts they've added? Because look at how much they were winning WITH Allen. If a franchise piece isn't doing anything to improve your bottom line from a wins-losses standpoint, cut em' loose and eat it. I mean hey, you can't do much worse without him right? So they get Jeff Green and the Celtics...hey, I got $5 for the person who can tell me just what in the hell Danny's doing in Boston because damned if I've got a clue. He has Gerald Green, he's got Paul Pierce. The JV Conference is just bad enough so he's probably thinking, ya know, 'I think an aging Ray Allen might be just what we need to get back into the Finals. I mean, if Cleveland can win it with just one megastar, imagine what I can do with two of the same player!'. If this were NBA Live 07, I'd give this an A+++, as you could simulate your way to a title with those two shooting the lights out of every town they step in. But this isn't gonna work and if I'm a Celtics fan, make like those Magic fans did when T-Mac was dealt and send death threats. Calling in to radio stations ain't working.

- Michael The Moronic I'm going to go Hubie Brown here for this special one...

You're Michael Jordan, greatest player of all time and hands down the best clutch shooter of the 80s and 90s. After drafting Kwame Brown a few years ago and being exiled out of Washington, you're back at the helm of the Bobcats. You've got a great young nucleus in place with the likes of Felton, May, Okafor and Morrison...so you draft Brendan Wright.
I think if a cactus wore Tar Heel blue, Jordan would put it in his office just cause. Anyway...people are sorta questioning that when you do the unthinkable and trade him to the Warriors, getting back in return Jason Richardson. Now, why do you do this? Is he a player that can elevate your franchise to the next level? No, because it took Baron playing out of his mind to get the Warriors past the Mavs in the playoffs last season.
So now, while this assembly might be enough on paper to get you to the next level as Michael's telling everyone he wants to go, here's the big problem. You still don't have that one galvanizing scoring threat to make it all go. You have a Gerald Wallace-type in J-Rich who's never been that type of player, even while at Michigan State. Felton's going to run the offense, but you give away a great young prospect for an aging jumper with some legitimate wear and tear on those shocks.

Ahem. I digress. Random other things I noted...

- Is it just me or did Mitch Kupchak looked like he needed a hug last night while talking with Jim Gray? Oh yeah, is it just me or is ESPN great for sticking the following people with the following teams throughout the year? Sal Paolantonio- anything Philly. Ed Werder- Dallas. Jim Gray- The Lake Show. Mitch looked like he got a call from Frank Castillo telling him if he trades Kobe, he's gonna have his hands chopped off last night during that interview. I mean, he's conceivably on the verge of being the only GM in any major sport's history to trade away two of the top 50 of all time within five years of each other. I mean, yeah, anyone can take a team and submarine it...just ask Matt Millen, Danny Ainge, Scott Layden/James Dolan/Isiah Thomas...but it takes a special kind of stupidity to trade away two franchise pieces within half a decade of each other.
- I just want people to know, when we're eight years down the line and the NBA Finals reflects what the Super Bowl was back in the 80s up until the 90s when the Pack let Elway get one, remember last night as the day it went shitside up for the JV Conference. Isiah may as well just given the Blazers an IOU One Dynasty The Knicks Will Never Know card and been done with it. Oh and damn, I feel for you Celtics fans, but hey...I think we're only a few months out from Brady bringing you Chowderheads
ring #4 in 6 years. The West will dominate the Finals for the foreseeable future. If there's any hope that the JV Conference has of changing it, it'll be the Baby Bulls who better mature real quick.

As for my thoughts on the Nets, I'll put it this way. I'm down with it. I've had a fairly high opinion of Sean Williams back at B.C., even before he got himself kicked off of the team. J-Kidd's a great locker room general and I believe there are more than enough solid pieces in place to keep this cat on the up and up. The Nets have no shot blocker. NONE. Krstic is a slightly better version of Vlade Divac, who wasn't exactly knocking fruit cups out of people's hands back in his heyday either and that's not a knock on the boy. I don't recall Vlade ever being an All-Star as I'm seeing Nenad becoming. However, in the JV Conference and I know I've gone back and forth on this...I think the Nets have more than enough in the tank to win it next year. So funk it, resign VC if he truly wants to stay and damnit Frank, COACH THEM UP!!!