draft night

Highlight of NBA draft night? Joakim Noah rocking the Orville Redenbacher bowtie suit with the blowout and cheesin' it up with David Stern. The actual draft went according to form. Oden, Durant and Horford as the top 3 picks. Crazy pick of the night? The Bucks selecting Yi Jianlan. The Chinese 7footer refused to workout for the Bucks and made it known that he didn't want to go to Milwaukee. Then they picked him anyway! I don't know if there's a chinatown in Milwaukee ... but maybe its a setup for a trade.

And trades ended up being the big news of the night. Of course none of them included the Sixers. Some people are critical of the Celtics obtaining Ray Allen based on his age and on the belief that he will be unable to share the ball with Paul Pierce. It won't make them a title contender but it should make them playoff bound in the pathetically weak East. I don't think they're going to miss any of the players they traded for Allen.

For all the ridicule and criticism (much of it deserved), Zeke made some nice moves for the Knicks. Zach Randolph is a good fit .. if he stays outta trouble. I'll be curious to see how he handles the trappings of NYC after finding trouble in Indianapolis and Portland. Plus they rid themselves of the huge contract belonging to Steve Francis - who cannot coexist with Marbury. Francis will be a much better fit in Portland, where he can run up and down the court in the West. Roy/Francis/Aldrige/Oden is a nice little lineup.

Sixers were unable to make a deal and move up in the draft. The main attraction of dealing A.I. were these draft picks. And we end up with Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith and Derrick Byars?! I hope Billy King has something else up his sleeve, because I'm not too impressed. Thaddeus Young at #12? I don't think he can provide immediate impact help. I was expecting Julian Wright, Al Thornton or Nick Young. This only highlights the fact that the Sixers should've lost more games on purpose. What was the point of that 7 game winning streak. It was absolutely meaningless and ultimately hurt the team on draft night. You can say all you want about integrity and encouraging a winning environment for the young guys...but what are you saying now about these 3 non-impact players?