Lottery is Over

The NBA Draft Lottery was last night, and the big winners were the Blazers and Sonics, the big losers were the Grizzlies and Celtics.

Even though the Grizz and Celtics had the best chances to get either the #1 or #2 pick, they were pushed to picks #3 and #4 as the Blazers, Sonics, and Hawks all jumped up. This sucks for the Grizz and Celtics, but the Blazers will soon be the new address most likely for Greg Oden, and the Sonics will have Kevin Durant.

The Wolves weren't helped at all, but weren't hurt either, as they stayed right at #7. NBADraft.net predicts the Wolves will take Corey Brewer (awesome), and ESPN.com predicts they will take Brandan Wright (awesomer, but I don't think he'll be available). There's also a chance, according to ESPN, that if Mike Conley is still there, the Wolves would consider him. That would be good, but we have too many guards already so there would have to be some clearing out of players, which would be a good thing.

My biggest concern is that McHale will screw it up because he's proven himself an idiot already. In one mock draft, the pick immediately after the Wolves is predicted to be Roy Hibbert, in the other, Joakim Noah. These picks would be god awful. If McHale gets locked in on the idea that he needs to get a big man (very possible), and Brandan Wright is gone at the Wolves pick (very possible, he's considered the third best overall prospect right nwo), I can see him taking one of those two semi-coordinated giant sized people.

Please don't do that.

Ohio State is Losing Everybody

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook all plan to release a statement that they will forego their college careers and enter the NBA draft. They all came in together, so they all plan to leave together. Sort of like the Florida juniors last season, except the exact opposite of that.

Oden is planning to sign with an agent, and his leaving was pretty much automatic. If your worst case scenario is that you'll be drafted second overall, you should probably go ahead and enter the draft.

Conley and Cook say they don't plan to hire an agent until after they work out for teams and are evaluated. Conley is projected to go early-mid first round, with Cook late first to second.

Cook should really stay another year. Being at Ohio State this year was tough, since they were very deep and very talented and it really limited his playing time. With Oden and Conley leaving early, and Ivan Harris and Ron Lewis graduating, Cook would be the number one option on the Buckeyes next season, and has the talent to vault himself into the lottery with that kind of playing time. He averaged 10 pts and 4 rebounds this season in only 20 minutes per game, imagine what he could do in 35 minutes.