Not Quite Live Journal of the NBA Draft

So I didn't sit down to watch until the sixth pick and was a little surprised to see Nerlens Noel go to the Hornets, er Pelicans followed by Ben McLemore heading to the Kings.  This just shows how unsure everyone is about the top of this draft as these two could have gone 1 and 2 and no one would be shocked.

Instead Anthony Bennett goes #1 overall.  He’s 6’8”, 240lbs and considered a pretty good scorer.  He’s gotta be a 4 in the league though, but he can stretch it by shooting the three.  He’s also the guy most likely to Tractor Traylor their way out of the league, so he’s not a sure thing to say the least.  I don't really like the pick for the Cavs.  Noel, McLemore, Len, Porter or Oladipo all would have been better picks imo.

Oladipo goes #2 to the Magic and it’s not a surprise.  He’s a good fit there and should get a lot of time right away. 

Otto Porter goes #3 to the Wizards which had been long rumored.  

Cody Zeller follows at #4 to the Bobcats which is another shocker.   I love Zeller’s athleticism, but I don’t see how he goes ahead of Len or Noel.  These three players going back to back to back will likely be compared in the future.

Alex Len goes #5 to the Suns which is where Chad Ford had him going.  Gortat is on his last year of his deal.

Nerlens Noel goes to the Pelicans, but now we hear word he’s part of a trade to the Sixers.  Bynum is a FA and they’re heading into a new direction.

Ben McLemore slides all of the way to the Kings and is a great fit there.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope goes #8 to the Pistons and screws the Wolves.  With Oladipo, C-Pope and Zeller gone, you have to wonder where the Wolves will go here.  Maybe CJ McCollum?  I guess if I’m picking here I take McCollum or Adams .  I loved C-Pope’s defense and size to go with the shooting, god damnit.  

Andy Katz INSIDER ALERT: The Wolves top 3 choices are gone.  Eff you, Andy.

Simmons mentioned Burke and Carter-Williams still on the board – hopefully the Wolves listen to some calls here.  Insert softball Kahn jokes here. 

Holy Crap – Jrue Holliday is who the Pelicans land for Noel.  This is a quality quality PG for Noel.  Full details not there yet.  Simmons also saying that they gave up a 2014 1^st round pick with Jrue.  Crazy.  Ok – this has been corrected – the Sixers will get the 2014 1^st.

LOL – And the Wolves take Burke.  Please baby Jesus don’t screw this up you guys.  Burke is awesome and should garner a lot of attention, but is just not a great fit in MN.  He was easily thought of as a top 5-6 pick, and now he goes 9^th.   At 6’1”, he can’t really play the 2.  And Trey’s mom Ronda breaks the news that he may be Utah bound – Utah is/was hot after a PG in this draft and it could be a good deal for both sides.  Utah has the #14 and #21 pick.

 #10 for Portland – they go with CJ McCollum.  McCollum and Lillard would be a crazy fun small school gunner backcourt.  The Blazers could be a lot of fun to watch – especially if they get a big man in FA like they’re trying to do.  Lehigh jersey sightings in the stands – awesome.  CJ kind of has a fun, nasally voice.

#11 is the Sixers pick…assuming it didn’t go away in the Nerlens deal with the Pelicans.  BTW, no strange suits or make-out sessions with the pick and their girlfriend so far – hoping for more later.

News breaks that Minnesota gets the #14 and #21 from Utah.  So, now we wait on 3 picks for MN with the #26 to go still. 

And the Sixers take Michael Carter-Williams.  So they add Noel and Carter-Williams and  1^st and ship off Jrue Holliday today.  This is a big re-design for the Sixers.

So looking ahead to the Wolves you have to think they’re thinking a shooter and a big still, but now maybe you can also grab an upside type like Tony Mitchell.  Maybe Adams, Mitchell, Crabbe/Snell/Ledo? 

#12 OKC takes Steven Adams and effs up my entire plan.  I quit.

#13 is Dallas and they select Kelly Olynyk which is a huge save for Wolves fan. And he’s going to get shipped to Boston.  Olynyk is a legit 7’ player that is good with the ball in his hand and can score/shoot well.  He’s not super athletic or a great rebounder. 

#14 is the Jazz selecting for the Wolves select Shabazz Muhammed.  So, this is a guy I didn’t love in my preview for the #9 pick.  It’s more palatable at #14.  I’m worried about how hard this guy will work.  Bill Simmons says he could be Mo Peterson…that’s actually not a bad compare. 

#15 Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks have been long rumored to be taking Larkin and they go off the grid with Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece.  Super upside play nicknamed the “super freak”.   Fran Fraschilla throws “Kevin Durant Body” at him. 

#16 Boston picking for Dallas or maybe Atlanta?  – Still a little bitter about Muhammad here.  We’re 5 picks away from the next Wolves move and I officially have the feel of dread.   Celtics take Bebe from Brazil for whomever.  Mega-fro being rocked by Bebe.  Also a guy in some kind of full robot armor gets in the camera shot as Bebe heads down for a handshake.

So now I’m thinking Mitchell/Dieng/Crabbe-Snell-Ledo-Hardaway-Karasev are probably my short list.  I don’t think they have solved the outside shooting issues with Muhammad as I think of him as more of a volume scorer although he did shoot 37% from long range last season.  

#17 to Atlanta and they take Dennis Schroeder, the German.  Remember they may also have Bebe, so they could be all international at this point.  Gotta take Gobert next for the trifecta if so.  Fran loves it.  The Hawks’ entire team is basically FAs.

#18 is also Atlanta and they double up on PGs with Larkin.  Maybe a trade?  Trade confirmed with Larkin going to Dallas for something.  Barry Larkin gets a token interview – HE DRIBBLED IN THE DUGOUT!

#19 is Cleveland  - Sergey Karasev goes here and he’s potentially headed to Houston for Thomas Robinson here.  This would allow Houston to stash him overseas and free more space for a play at Dwight Howard.

#20 is Tony Snell – so one of the solid long rangers goes.  Snell has good size and can be pretty athletic on the court.

#21 is the Jazz for the Wolves again and I’m hoping Tony Mitchell.  Hoping for a big hitter here.  Rece Davis makes a “Commissioner Stern perhaps dropped the card” joke.  Stern hams it up at the mic for awhile.  Stern makes “boo is a sign of respect” joke.  And finally the pick is Gorgui Dieng, C.  As I’ve said, I like Dieng to be a banger/shot blocker/rebounder.  Hopefully he does the Mutombo finger wag.

#22 Brooklyn – and we’re in Jersey so the crowd is loud.  They take Mason Plumlee, who is a decent stiff that can help make up for Brook Lopez’s rebounding suckiness. 

#23 Pacers – The Pacers were probably sad they couldn’t get all of the Plumlees, but they settle for senior 

AZ forward Solomon Hill.  Hill is kind of a glue guy. Meh.

#24 NY Knicks – good buddy Sean in NY says, “Yep, they’ll blow it.”  Speaking of which – I need to watch a lot of videos on Muhammad and cherry pick the good plays to make myself feel better.  They take Hardaway Jr which is a great fit for NY with JR Smith being a free agent.  This leaves Crabbe and Ledo in the gunner department and Mitchell is still there.

#25 LA Clippers - The Clip might want Mitchell here so they can start looking at putting Caron Butler out to pasture.  Jamaal Franklin would also be an interesting grab.   Instead they take sharpshooter Reggie Bullock who I completely forgot about. 

#26 Timberwolves – the coup de grace!  Crabbe/Ledo/Mitchell all there and any of them would make me happy.  And the pick is now going to Golden State they say.  Advanced metrics stud Andre Roberson of Colorado is selected.  Some thing I read ranked him 3^rd overall according to some advanced stats.  And Roberson shows up in a waiter’s jacket – easily the most ridiculous suit yet.  Roberson eventually ends up in OKC.

A trade is announced:  Celtics trade Bebe and 2 future 2^nd round picks to Dallas for Kelly Olynyk.

#27 is the Nugz and they select Rudy Gobert of France.  The wingspan monster is the longest ever at 7’9”.  He has a 9’7” standing reach which means he has to jump 5” to dunk.

The Wolves/Jazz trade of Burke for Muhammad and Dieng is announced to utter silence.

So now what?  The Wolves don’t pick until 52 unless they trade up.

#28 Spurs – They take a forward from French Guiana, Livio Jean-Charles.  No one knows who he is of course, but the Spurs will stash him for a number of years  and they’re the Spurs so  he’ll probably end up being an all-star.

#29 OKC again.  Their first pick was Kiwi Steven Adams as a part of the Harden deal.  This pick was trade to Golden State and then traded to Phoenix.  Wolves got cash and a future 2^nd for #26 overall.  Meh.  Archie Goodwin is taken for Phoenix.  The star has faded a bit on Goodwin, but he was a big time recruit for the Wildcats and then under-performed.

#30 Phoenix picking for Golden State – David Stern’s last announced pick ever and I’m seeing it live!  Will he get booed as usual or will they cheer?  He gets cheers mostly!  Suns take Nemanja Nedovic, a guard from Serbia. 

The round end with a huge trade announcement:  KG, Pierce and Jason Terry go to the Nets for '14,'16 and '18 first round picks along with Crash Wallace, Reggie Evans and maybe other crap.  Wow - so the Celts are in total rebuild and the Nets now have Williams, Joe Johnson, Pierce, KG and Brook Lopez for a starting lineup and MASON PLUMLEE!