2009 NBA Draft Round 1

The 2009 NBA draft lottery picks started off just as expected as Oklahoma phenom Blake Griffin was selected first overall. The Grizzlies snatched up imposing Connecticut defensive player Hasheem Thabeet to man the middle in Mephis. From there the Thunder took James Harden who many continue to be the most talented overall player in the draft. Minnesota had two picks in the top 5, and took Tyreke Evans of Memphis followed by Ricky Rubio from Spain.

Here's a look at the first 13 picks in the 2009 NBA Draft:

#1 Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) drafted by Los Angeles Clippers
#2 Hasheem Thabeet (UCONN) drafted by Memphis Grizzlies
#3 James Harden (Arizona St.) drafted by Oklahoma City Thunder
#4 Tyreke Evans (Memphis) drafted by Sacramento Kings
#5 Ricky Rubio (Spain) drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves
#6 Johnny Flynn (Syracuse) drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves
#7 Stephan Curry (Davidson) drafted by Golden State Warriors
#8 Jordan Hill (Arizona) drafted by NY Knicks
#9 DeMar DeRozan (USC) drafted by Toronto Raptors
#10 Brandon Jennings (USA-Intl.) drafted by Milwaukee Bucks
#11 Terrence Williams (Louisville) drafted by New Jersey Nets
#12 Gerald Henderson (Duke) drafted by Charlotte Bobcats
#13 Tyler Hansborough (UNC) drafted by Indiana Pacers

As usual, the local NY Knicks fans booed their teams pick Jordan Hill, but according to the commentators he was the best pick available at that spot. Of course, the NY fans have quite a bit to be unhappy about with their team failing to make the playoffs yet again, and possibly losing out on the Lebron James sweepstakes with the news Shaquille O'Neal had been traded to Cleveland earlier in the day.

In other trade news, New Jersey Nets All-Star forward, Vince Carter, was dealt to the Orlando Magic, in what appears to be a rebuilding effort for NJ. Orlando definitely added to its lineup now with Dwight Howard having the shooting services of Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.

More draft coverage at NBA.com

2009 Draft Lottery Results

Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were on the court getting ready to try to take out the Denver Nuggets and move one step closer to the NBA finals. Meanwhile, their in-state rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers won the draft lottery on Tuesday night, possibly securing a franchise player in the process. Blake Griffin from Oklahoma was interviewed by Mark Jones of ESPN, and asked about the possibility of him coming to LA as the #1 pick. Griffin said he plans to try his best to learn on the fly and make an immediate impact wherever he's drafted to. Other top draft picks will include the likes of Johnny Flynn, James Harden, Stephen Curry and Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut.

2009 Draft Lottery order:

1) LA Clippers
2) Memphis Grizzlies
3) Oklahoma City Thunder
4) Sacramento Kings
5) Washington Wizards
6) Minnesota Timberwolves
7) Golden State Warriors
8) New York Knicks
9) Toronto Raptors
10) Milwaukee Bucks
11) New Jersey Nets
12) Charlotte Bobcats
13) Indianapolis Pacers
14) Phoenix Suns

Several of the representatives in attendance for the draft lottery selection show on ESPN wer either current or former players, as well as coaches. Chris Webber was there on behalf of the Kings, while Kevin Love was there for the Timberwolves. Former Knick Allan Houston was in attendance for New York. Scott Brooks represented his Oklahoma City Thunder, while Larry Bird represented the Pacers.

The 2009 NBA Draft will take place on June 25, 2009.

2009 NBA Mock Draft

Last year's #1 pick was a toss up between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, with Chicago grabbing Rose and making him their franchise player while the Miami Heat took Beasley. For 2009, it appears it may be a toss up between two monstrous players, Oklahoma's Blake Griffin and the human eraser, UCONN's Hasheem Thabeet. Both players have plenty of skills to offer teams in desperate need. Griffin may have a slight edge as he's the better offensive player, but teams can't go wrong by choosing a 7'3 guy who fills the lane, intimidates opposing players and sends shots into the stands.

Here's a look at just one NBA Mock draft for the projected draft picks #1 through 14. These team positions will most likely change, as of right now they are determined by worst to best ranking in the NBA amongst teams that may not qualify for the playoffs.

1 Sacramento Blake Griffin So.
2 Washington Hasheem Thabeet Jr.
3 LA Clippers James Harden So.
4 Memphis Jordan Hill Jr.
5 Oklahoma Cty Brandon Jennings Intl.
6 *Minnesota Gerald Henderson Jr.
7 Golden St. Earl Clark Jr.
8 Toronto Chase Budinger Jr.
9 Indiana Al-Farouq Aminu Fr.
10 Charlotte Demar DeRozan Fr.
11 New Jersey Craig Brackins So.
12 *New York Jeff Teague So.
13 Chicago DeJuan Blair So.
14 Phoenix Eric Maynor Sr

Currently opinions vary on where Connecticut Junior Hasheem Thabeet might be drafted. Mock draft sites currently speculate him anywhere from 1-5. MyNBaDraft.com has Thabeet going 5th to Oklahoma City, while draftexpress.com has Thabeet being drafted 4th by the Memphis Grizzlies. Of course, players' stock can rise and fall with the NCAA tournament as well as their performances in team workouts and pre-draft activities.

Also, for the 2009 draft, Minnesota receives the Miami Heat's first round pick, a top 10 selection due to the Ricky Davis trade several years ago.

Bulls Make Rose #1 Pick

With their first draft pick since taking Elton Brand at #1, the Chicago Bulls drafted phenom Derrick Rose. Now the Bulls add another piece to their puzzle as they attempt to regain playoff glory. The Bulls of course failed to make the playoffs last season, one of the more enigmatic teams, besides Miami. The general consensus now seems to be the Bulls will be trading either Hinrich, Gordon or Larry Hughes, or more than 1 of them. Smart money may be on Hinrich, who was running the show there, but don't rule anything out yet.

Forward Michael Beasley went at the 2 spot to Miami, giving them another frontcourt player along with Marion. There had been rumors of a trade by Pat Riley, but nothing materialized. In other news, the Knicks once again gave their fans something to jeer about as they selected an Italian player whom Jay Bilas claims "won't be a star, but will be a solid player". Always great to appease the hometown fans on national TV.

There were a couple trades too. The Nets dealt away longtime star Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for last year's #7 pick, Yi, and Bobby Simmons. The Pacers traded away their All-star, Jermaine O'Neal in exchange for TJ Ford, Nesterovic, and a draft pick. It's puzzling why Toronto would add O'Neal in with Bosh up front, as they are identical type players. TJ Ford has been touted as one of the quicker guys in the league and maybe now can jumpstart the Pacers again.

There's sure to be more moves made in the coming weeks, but for now the draft has ended and benefited several teams.

Bulls' Choice: Beasley or Rose?

The Chicago Bulls had just a 1.7% chancce of winning the NBA's version of the lottery on Tuesday night, and now they face the big choice: Beasley or Rose?

The consensus seems to say that Rose is the lock for #1 pick in the draft, however he is a PG and the Bulls have Hinrich. Hinrich could always slide into the shooting guard role. Beasley would give the Bulls even more size upfront, but some say he may have some red flag issues. As a longtime Bulls fan, I'd say the Bulls should do what they should have for several years now: make a trade for veteran talent to help them in the playoffs.

The Bulls already have a very talented young team which has achieved playoff status over the past several years. Hinrich, Duhon, Gordon, Noccioni, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah..the list goes on. While they are one of the youngest and most talented teams around, they failed to make the playoffs this season. In the past, they tried to add Ben Wallace to the mix, but he never quite gave them the boost they were expecting. They made the new trade with Cleveland and Seattle to acquire guys like Larry Hughes, but that really won't solve much. The Bulls could package their pick along with some of their other talent and acquire a guy who's been in the league 5 years, to give them that extra talent they need. A friend of mine even suggested they make a trade involving Kirk Hinrich and some other players to get Yao Ming. They could draft Rose and have a nice inside-outside combo along with all their other talent.

There's definitely other teams in the draft who are eyeing that top pick, so we may see a trade between spots, and some guys shift teams. New York is one team that desperately wanted to win the lottery. At the 6 spot, they have a good shot to acquire OJ Mayo and get rid of Marbury, who's been a problem child. Come June we may see a wild draft with several teams jockeying for those higher picks. Quite possibly the Bulls will be this year's Boston Celtics in the draft and make a smart, big move to acquire the star power they need.

See a Mock NBA Draft list for speculation on who's going where.

2008 NBA Draft Lottery

Tonight the NBA held its annually-televised Draft Lottery selection special from New Jersey. During the live event on ESPN, 14 lottery teams were represented by various personnel as the ping pong balls were drawn. Larry Bird was there for the Pacers, D-Wade for the Heat and a lucky season ticket holder represented for the Sacramento Kings. Rapper and business mogul Jay-Z was even on hand to represent the New Jersey Nets, the team he is a part owner of. Following the show, we now have the team selection order determined for the 2008 NBA Draft.

Selection order for the 2008 NBA Draft:

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Miami Heat
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Seattle Supersonics
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. New York Knicks
7. LA Clippers
8. Milwaukee Bucks
9. Charlotte Bobcats
10. New Jersey Nets
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Portland Trailblazers
14. Golden State Warriors

Congratulations to Chicago Bulls for winning the lottery to get #1 pick. They should be able to add yet another talented player into the mix. As we all know trades can and do happen before or during the draft, so teams may swap spots. We also know the best players might not always be at the #1 spot either. Just look at guys like Chris Paul who emerged as 2nd best in this past year's MVP voting.

There's been ongoing speculation about which players will go to what teams and at which spots. Point guard Derrick Rose and forward Michael Beasley are being touted as the top 2 picks this year. At the time of these mock drafts, the order of NBA teams for the draft hadn't been selected. See info about the 2008 NBA Mock Drafts for a look at which players could be headed where in terms of team or selection spot.

2008 NBA Mock Drafts

On June 26th 2008, all those NBA teams who didn't get themselves into the playoffs are officially lottery-bound. Their hopes for successful team building and playoff opportunities rest on the way the ping pong balls bounce. One team will get the honor of pick #1, which could become a franchise player. Several websites offer NBA Mock Draft speculation. The Miami Heat, Seattle (or Oklahoma City) Sonics, and Minnesota Timberwolves are amongst one of the teams vying for the top pick, as they suffered a disappointing 2007-08 season.

NBA Mock Draft

1) Chicago Bulls: Michael Beasley (PF 6-9 235 Kansas State)

2) Miami Heat: Derrick Rose (PG 6-4 195 Memphis)

3) Minnesota Timberwolves: Jerryd Bayless (PG 6-3 190 Arizona)

4) Seattle Supersonics: Brook Lopez (C 7-0 245 Stanford)

5) Memphis Grizzlies: O.J. Mayo (G 6-4 195 USC)

6) New York Knicks: Eric Gordon (SG 6-5 205 Indiana)

7) LA Clippers: Danilo Gallinari (SF 6-9 210 Italy)

8) Milwaukee Bucks: Kevin Love (PF/C 6-9 260 UCLA)

9) Charlotte Bobcats: DeAndre Jordan (C 7-0 240 Texas A&M)

10) New Jersey Nets: D.J. Augustin (PG 5-11 180 Texas)

11) Indiana Pacers: Russell Westbrook (PG 6-3 190 UCLA)

12) Sacramento Kings: Darrell Arthur (F 6-10 215 Kansas)

13) Portland Trail Blazers: Kosta Koufos (C 7-0 Ohio State)

14) Golden State Warriors: Donte Green (F 6-11 Syracuse)

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Of course this speculation can change as the weeks go by before the pro basketball draft. The Bulls get top pick and it will be either Rose or Beasley. Chicago may decide to make some trades as well, so stay tuned. Some sites speculate the Heat will take Derrick Rose at #2, point guard from Memphis. Point guards are definitely in demand in the NBA after seeing the performances of Derron Williams in Utah and Chris Paul in New Orleans. It's hard to understand why a point guard would be the top choice of Miami, as size may really be what they need most. Shaq's gone, Mourning is not playing and they already have the very capable Dwyane Wade to really run the show. They may want to move D-Wade to shooting guard exclusively, so Rose could work. Various sites also differ on whether standout guard OJ Mayo of USC will land in the top 5, so it's really going to be interesting this June 2008 at the NBA Draft.

Also of note, the 2008-09 Rookie of the year may not even be drafted in the 2008 draft, as Portland Trailblazer Greg Oden is expected to play his first full season. Interestingly enough, Portland had a decent season in 2007-08 without him in their lineup and now have a shot at another top pick to add to what could be the team to beat for years to come.

More NBA Mock Drafts for 2008:

ESPN.com's 2008 Mock Draft

insidehoops.com's 2008 Mock Draft

MyNBADraft.com's 2008 Mock Draft

Hoopshype.com's 2008 Mock Draft

DraftExpress.com's 2008 Mock Draft

The 2008 NBA Draft will be held June 26th 2008, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

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NBA-NCAA Family Ties

If you follow this year's NCAA Tournament like millions of fans, you'll not only see players about to burst into the NBA in the next few seasons, but also players with NBA Family.

Georgetown is probably the most prominent example, as it features the talents of Doc Rivers' son as well as Patrick Ewing's son, Patrick Ewing Junior. Both former NBA players (now coaching staff) have been on hand at the games. Drake was eliminated from the tournament yesterday but featured the look-a-like brother of Kyle Korver, Clayton. One player who had an amazing game was Del Curry's son for Davidson, who scored 40 points with his proud parents watching and rooting him on. The young Curry will go on to the second round on Sunday. While none of his family was involved, Bobcats player Adam Morrison was seen watching his Gonzaga team lose yesterday.

There's also the top NBA prospects such as Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, UCLA's Kevin Love, Stanford's Brook Lopez and UCONN's Hasheem Thabeet (who made an early exit in round 1).

Keep an eye on the action, not only for the future prospects but for a look at some NBA family. The NCAA tournament resumes round 2 with games on Saturday and Sunday to determine the Sweet 16. Catch the action on CBS, beginning about 12:30 PM EST.

Heat Hit Low, Sixers Surging

On Wednesday night the Miami Heat continued their 2007-08 dry spell, as the team reached a new low. The Heat scored just 54 points in their game against the Toronto Raptors, and that is the 3rd lowest point total scored since the shot clock was introduced. Luckily, the Chicago Bulls have the lowest point total, 49, and it came against the Heat many years ago. So the Heat are now on two sides of that record, the winning and losing sides. Unfortunately, this year is a losing effort overall. Dwayne Wade is done for the season and undergoing treatment for injury rehab. Shaq exited thanks to a trade with Phoenix, leaving Shawn Marion "The Matrix" to be "The One" for the team.

The bright spot is the Heat will be eligible for a top draft pick thanks to their poor record. Best guess is the Heat will be hoping to get a big man out of the 2008 draft, such as Roy Hibbert from Georgetown or Brook Lopez from Stanford, if either is available. First the Heat need to finish out a miserable 2007-08 season. Then they really need the luck of the draw in the lottery to get the #1 pick. If the Heat get a pick below #5 it would be more icing on a really bad cake. Check out Fox Sports' article on NCAA tournament scouting. See NBADraft.net's projected 2008 picks.

In other news, New Jersey took over the 8 spot thanks to a tie breaker with the Sixers. Philly may be surprising many fans that they are even in the chase this year, or it's a good indication of how bad the lower tier of East Playoff teams is. They had a familiar face back in town for their latest game, as Allen Iverson returned to fan appreciation in Philadelphia. However, the Sixers continued surging and defeated the Nuggets 115-113. Andre Miller had a nice game with 28 points and 12 assists. Read more on the game here.

Expect teams such as Atlanta, Philly, New Jersey and the Bulls to be jockeying for those 7-8 spots as the season draws to a close.

Feel the Madness of NCAA Basketball!

While the primary focus here at Love and Basketball is NBA basketball, March Madness is now upon us! As of yesterday, the 65 team field for the 2008 NCAA Men's basketball tournament was announced. I'm definitely biased in favor of my alma mater, the UCONN Huskies, who have been on a bit of a tear during the second half of the college basketball season. However, they appear to be in probably the toughest of the brackets, the West region. This region includes #1 seed UCLA, #2 Duke and then West Virginia who just knocked off Connecticut in the Big East tournament. The Huskies will need to really step up their play to make it out of this bracket, or the other 3 teams will need to really be off.

The other 3 top seeds in the tournament are North Carolina, Kansas and Memphis. Memphis has had a strong season, but the knock on them is free throw shooting. Kansas and UNC are already being penned in by many analysts as favorites to win it all, while the Georgia Bulldogs and Pitt Panthers are considered just two of the possible cinderella/sleeper/spoiler squads. Both teams have been on impressive 4 game runs which they ended by winning their respective tournaments to earn bids into the NCAA Tourney.

To bring it back to NBA basketball, we will definitely be seeing several potential superstars for the NBA's future. Roy Hibbert of Georgetown, Hasheem Thabeet of UCONN and Tyler Hansborough of UNC are 3 big men who may be coming to a NBA court near you in the next 2 seasons.

The NCAA tournament games get started Thursday on CBS. The full bracket and tourney info is available at: WWW.NCAA.COM. Start filling your brackets out now on ESPN.com, but just don't get caught making picks during work!

Top 5 NBA Stories of 2007

The year 2008 is approaching quickly and we've seen plenty of great highlights and surprises so. We've seen players shift teams, players emerge, rookie phenoms, gambling refs, and NBA champs who may be the latest dynasty in sports.

5 - Greg Oden #1 draft pick - The predicted pick was made into a reality when the Blazers took this franchise player at the 1st pick in the 07 draft. However, they got some bad news as well. During the offseason, Oden required surgery on his knee and it put him on the shelf, and not just for a few weeks, but for the entire season. Despite this, the Blazers have done pretty well without their young hopeful star. They've run up an 11 game win streak, thanks to last year's Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy. So things should get even better when the big man can play.

4 -King James in the Finals - Lebron finally arrived at his preferred destination in 2007. Well not quite. Lebron would love to have an NBA ring right about now and perhaps an NBA Finals MVP award. But Lebron and his Cavs bowed to a superior team in the Spurs. However, the King showed just how great he is in knocking out the more likely contenders, the Detroit Pistons. Lebron is just one player, but a great one who keeps improving, and he should be back for his ring in the near future.

3 - Tim Donaghy Exposed - Referee Tim Donaghy likes to gamble. In fact a bit too much and in the wrong way. Donaghy was discovered during the summer as having possibly made calls to help shave points off the spread for games he called. The NBA of course is investigating and putting new policies into place, but this story was big when it came out. At the time baseball and NFL had their own big stories, perhaps eclipsing this one. Since then, the games have gone on and luckily fans have continued to embrace the game they love.

2 - KG to Boston, the Big 3 forms - The biggest news in personnel changes since MJ signed on to play with the Wizards years ago was the huge trade of KG to Boston. Kevin Garnett brings his intensity and drive to Boston and has teamed up with Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce to form one of the most dynamic and powerful trios around. There's a lot of expectations on this team. Some believe you can call them the champs. With only 3 losses as of now, you'd have to believe they will continue their outstanding play in 2008, and KG is at the front of the MVP chatter so far.

1 - Spurs win their fourth NBA title - Many have argued that the Spurs win every other year which makes them less of a dynasty. However you can't argue they deserve a place amongst the best teams in basketball history. Duncan, Parker and Ginobli made their dominance over King James' Cavs look like child's play. Will the Spurs repeat in 08, or will someone else defeat these juggernauts? The team has remained in tact so it would be tough to ignore them as favorites again. They epitomize team play and that's what wins championships almost always

So what will 2008 hold? New champions and new stars are on the horizon as the season continues

NY Times on Oden & Durant

New York Times has a recent article taking a look at the early growing pains for Kevin Durant and Greg Oden in the NBA Summer Leagues.

From NYTimes.com:

Durant’s first shot was blocked. Oden’s first defensive play drew a goaltending call. Durant finished with 18 points, but made only 5 of 17 shots in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

“It was tough,” said Durant, the second overall pick in the N.B.A. draft.

Oden had two big blocks in a loss to the Boston Celtics, but he had more fouls — 10, the maximum allowed — than points and rebounds combined.

Commentary: It is obvious both guys will have work to do in the offseason and when the season begins. Don't expect neither to be at an all-star level just yet. Many have compared Oden to a Tim Duncan type, but remember Tim Duncan had the Admiral, David Robinson when he started playing and when he earned his 1st title. Oden and Durant don't exactly have that All-star and "50 Greatest" type player to train them, so they will be expected to fill big roles early.

Greg Oden Signs Quick

-The Blazers were quick to sign their #1 pick, Greg Oden. According to Sportsnetwork.com:

"Portland, OR (Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers announced they have agreed to terms with Greg Oden, who was selected first overall in last week's NBA Draft.

Terms of Oden's deal were not released by the Trail Blazers, but under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, his contract will be for two years, with Portland holding options for years three and four. "

Must be a sweet deal, because it's rare we see such quick moves being made. But with a guy like Oden, the team definitely wants to insure that bright future ahead by inking him to a deal.

Draft Thoughts

I have to say even though I don't know a ton of the names drafted, I find this to be one of the more exciting drafts. I think it offers a class of great talent to spark many great rivalries and championship runs to come in the NBA.

The no-brainer 1 and 2 picks of Oden and Durant are definitely exciting. People compare Oden to Duncan, Shaq even Bill Russell. He seems almost prophetically guaranteed to win titles now. Kevin Durant is supposedly 50/50 in the debate of who's better, which makes that yet another exciting prospect for Seattle. They now have a young team full of talent. While I'm not familiar with Jeff Green so much, Im anxious to see how both Portland and Seattle look next season.

Aside from that, 1 of my 2 favorite teams picked up Joakim Noah. Adding this guy to the Bulls to me is a great move. He fits in great with the energetic and youthful movement that John Paxson has going in Chicago and makes them an ultra-deep squad. It makes me even more excited about a possible championship run now. Many debated the choice of Noah, but I think he fits perfectly and can't wait to see what he adds.

After that, I'm barely familiar with the other names who went first round aside from guys like Acie Law and maybe Al Horford. Yi from China is someone I've heard mentioned here or there. All in all this will be one exciting class, because I'm not sure what to expect, but hear good things. In addition to that we had several big name players move to new addresses including Zach Randolph going to NYC, Ray Allen moving To Boston and Jason Richardson to Charlotte. It's starting to look like it will be one interesting 2007-08 season..

NBA Draft Predictions

Everyone waits in anticipation to see who their team will take in tonight's NBA Draft. The 1st two picks are definite locks, unless some strange magic spell is cast on the Portland and Seattle front offices. Greg Oden will be your #1 draft pick and Durant will got at #2 to Seattle. After that, things become tougher to figure out. There are some teams in need of improvement and this is the time to pick that gem out of the college ranks. Here's Chad Ford of ESPN's draft predictions:



1) Portland Greg Oden
Position: C
Height: 7-0
Weight: 245
Age: 19
School: Ohio State

2) Seattle Kevin Durant
Position: SF
Height: 6-10
Weight: 190
Age: 18
School: Texas

3) Atlanta Al Horford
Position: PF
Height: 6-9
Weight: 235
Age: 20
School: Florida


4) Memphis Mike Conley
Position: PG
Height: 6-0
Weight: 170
Age: 19
School: Ohio State

5) Boston Yi Jianlian
Position: PF
Height: 7-0
Weight: 246
Age: 19
Country: China

6) Milwaukee Jeff Green
Position: SF
Height: 6-9
Weight: 225
Age: 20
School: Georgetown


7) Minnesota Joakim Noah
Position: PF
Height: 6-11
Weight: 230
Age: 22
School: Florida

8) Charlotte Corey Brewer
Position: SG
Height: 6-8
Weight: 185
Age: 21
School: Florida

9) Chicago (via New York) Spencer Hawes
Position: C
Height: 7-0
Weight: 230
Age: 19
School: Washington

10) Sacramento Brandan Wright
Position: PF
Height: 6-10
Weight: 210
Age: 19
School: North Carolina

11) Atlanta (via Indiana) Acie Law
Position: PG
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185
Age: 22
School: Texas A&M

12) Philadelphia Al Thornton
Position: SF
Height: 6-7
Weight: 210
Age: 23
School: Florida State

13) New Orleans Nick Young
Position: SG
Height: 6-6
Weight: 200
Age: 21
School: USC

14)L.A. Clippers Julian Wright

The Celtics need to do something smart with the #5 pick. Possibly trade it for a veteran player or something, but Paul Pierce is not happy in Boston without help around him. A player drafted here can't be a guarantee for immediate victories and success, so don't be surprised if a deal gets swung.

I'll be honest that I'm only familiar with certain names above, especially Oden, Durant, the Florida players and Acie Law. After that, its blurry to me, but I hope this draft class proves to have a lot of great talent for next year's NBA season!

The NBA Draft will be televised Thursday night on ESPN at 7PM EST. You can also view NBA.com's "Consensus Mock Draft" here.

Oden's Blazer Workout

Greg Oden was out of breath after his recent workout for the Blazers saying "Really I'm trying to sell them on me, not the other way around". Looking on during Oden's workout were Blazers team-owner and Microsoft co-founder billionaire, Paul Allen, and potential future teammates LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and Zach Randolph. When asked if he compared himself more to Shaq or Russell, Oden joked he is more like Russell, with the rings. Blzers management/front office did not indicate whether Oden was a definite #1 pick, but this will be settled in a little over a week.

Oden the #1 Draft Pick

A look at the most likely #1 Draft pick, Greg Oden.

Height: 7'0
Weight: 257 lbs.
Born: January 22, 1988
Birthplace: Buffalo, New York

Greg Oden will be coming to the NBA with just 1 season of college basketball under his belt, but many feel he may become the next dominant player in the NBA since Shaq and Tim Duncan. Oden attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis and led them to 3 straight state titles. In 2005, Oden was named PARADE's Co-High School Player of Year (along with Monta Ellis) and Gatorade's National Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He is the first junior since Lebron James to achieve this award. Oden was named PARADE's High School Player of the Year and Gaorade National Boy's Basketball Player of the Year in 2006.

In 2006-07, Greg Oden attended Ohio State University. Following wrist surgery in June of 2006, Oden sat out the early part of the basketball season. His college debut was on December 2, 2006 against Valparaiso, where he notched 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Oden led his Ohio State squad to the NCAA Finals in just his first and only season. The Buckeyes then lost to Florida in the Finals, with Oden scoring 25 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. Oden was named to the 2007 AP All-American Team, which also features the likely #2 pick of the NBA Draft, Kevin Durant.

On May 23, 2007, he was added to the current roster for the USA Men's National Basketball Team.On May 23, 2007, he was added to the current roster for the USA Men's National Basketball Team. He has already signed an endorsement deal with Topps Trading Card Company for 3 years and is in talks with Nike for a shoe contract.

Oden will most likely be heading to the Portland Trailblazers who have the first draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. NBA analyst Steve Kerr has described Oden as a "once-in-a-decade player."

The Draft Debates

Now that last night's draft lottery has wrapped up, it brings about several interesting points:

1)The Celtics and Grizzlies, despite playing their best to lose and get the top 2 picks, did not get a pick in the top 3. Seems like kharma came back to bite them.

2)Skip Bayless of ESPN's Cold Pizza TV show, brought up the sad fact that the top 2 picks, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, will be heading out to Pacific Northwest for Portland and Seattle respectively. Neither team is considered a big market, and therefore these 2 great stars might become lost early on in terms of becoming household names. Additionally, these teams play late night home and West coast games, making these players less visible.

3)Jay Bilas of ESPN said the draft lottery last night was great to see because it was so unexpected. He said maybe a better way to do the draft is to give every team (the 13 or 14 in the lottery) 1 ping pong ball. Then after the top 3 teams are determined by ping pong ball selection, the remaining teams go by record (worst to best). Makes sense don't it?

4)On ESPN's Cold Pizza, they also discussed their top 3 NBA Draft steals of all time:

Damon's Top 3 Draft Steals:
Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman (#27 pick), Michael Jordan (#3 pick)

Skip Bayless Top 3 Draft Steals:
Michael Jordan (#3 pick), Larry Bird (#6 pick), Kobe Bryant (#13 pick)

5)On ESPN's "Mike and Mike", popular ESPN radio analysts, said the chances of the 3 teams who got the top 3 picks in last night's draft were less than the chances:

a) Shaq would make 11 consecutive free throws.
b) You would flip Heads on a coin 10 consecutive times.

Blazers Win #1 Pick

Tuesday night was the night 14 teams were waiting for to give them hope for the next season. That hope comes in the form of 2 future stars in the league, Ohio States behemoth center, Greg Oden, and Texas' superstar, Kevin Durant. Portland won the luck of the draw, as its ping-pong ball was selected giving them the #1 pick in the NBA draft. Seems like more bad karma for the Boston Celtics, who almost seemed to be playing for the #1 pick towards season's ends. Portland locks in the top pick and most likely Greg Oden, who is going to be a force for years to come in the NBA. We may even see back to back Rookie of the Year winners, from the same team, as Brandon Roy of the Blazers won this season. Some unparalleled NBA history.

Here's a look at the rundown of the rest of the draft lottery. For further pick order and rounds, please see NBA.com.

1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
4. Memphis
5. Boston
6. Milwaukee
7. Minnesota
8. Charlotte
9. New York1
10. Sacramento
11. Indiana (To Atlanta)
12. Philadelphia
13. New Orleans
14. LA Clippers

The NBA draft will be held on June 28, 2007 at Madison Square Garden. Check local listings for time.