The 2008 NBA Draft LIVE

Pick	Player	Evaluation
1	Derrick Rose	Well, first pick is Derrick Rose. No surprise there, honestly. If ESPN starts reporting it, it is pretty well known, actually. They always find a way to dramatically state the obvious. Good pick for Chicago.
2	Michael Beasley	Obvious pick. Most talented player in draft, will give Heat another strong building block for the future. Great pick!
3	OJ Mayo	TWolves pretty much set this pick in stone. Good skills, but will he stick with the TWolves?
4	Russell Westbrook	Big reach, in my opinion. Undersized, not particularly good at PG or SG.
5	Kevin Love	Memphis looks to replace Pau Gasol. Not bad.
6	Danilo Gallinari	Father, Vittorio, played with new Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni. Looking back, obvious pick.
7	Eric Gordon	I don’t like this pick. I don’t trust his game; smells like a bust.
8	Joe Alexander	Talks a good game. Great athlete. So…what now? They got RJeff already.
9	DJ Augustin	What? You have Okafor injured almost every year and you need a stronger post presence and you take a diminutive guard?
10	Brook Lopez	NJ got a steal. Perhaps the biggest in the draft. Wow, this is going to be one of those historical picks.
11	Jerryd Bayless	Great value, but what is Indy going to do with TJ Ford, Jamal Tinsley, and Bayless?
12	Jason Thompson	Who? Rider senior comes out of nowhere, Kings looking for size.
13	Brandon Rush	Great pick. Smooth shooter and good athlete. Will be interesting because Rudy Fernandez was demanding the Trailblazers not draft a shooter.
14	Anthony Randolph	Stromile Swift II? Well, with Brandon Wright, the Warriors have a pretty athletic front court – oh yeah, they also have Russian center, too..
15	Robin Lopez	Robin to Batman? Well, I like this pick because he is another great value. I mean, he is Brook’s twin. But how does Shaq feel?
16	Marreese Spreights	Very raw, good talent though. But I am concerned with his lack of experience in college. I don’t think his game is really strong yet.
17	Roy Hibbert	Raptors make the pick, but Indy will get the player once the trade is approved. I love this pick because this is excellent value.
18	JaVale McGee	Wizards take a shot at the player with probably the greatest wingspan in this draft. A raw talent, needs lots of work. Project.
19	JJ Hickson	Got the size and the intensity, but needs to work on his game and his conditioning still. Good pick for the Cavs as they need some help on the frontcourt.
20	Alexis Ajinca	Intriguing French center prospect. Needs lots of work, but solid value at 20.
21	Ryan Anderson	Nets grab a big man that can shoot. Good value, and the Nets continue to clean house and rebuild.
22	Courtney Lee	Magic going with a bit of a stretch. Solid talent though, played in Sun Belt conference.
23	Kosta Koufos	If he dribbles the ball from one end fo the floor to the other, is he going Kosta to Kosta? Ok, bad joke.
24	Serge Ibaka	17 kids in his family? He needs an NBA gig more than anyone alive. Will stay in Spain a few more leagues.
25	Nicolas Batum	Finally, the French prospect makes it stateside. Compared to Rudy Gay, but actually taller.
26	George Hill	IUPUI. Tell me where that school is and I will buy you a lobster dinner.
27	Darell Arthur	The Kansas Jayhawk star was dropping due to a concern over his kidneys. Portland ends up taking the chance on him by aquiring in a trade.
28	Donte Greene	Grizzlies stockpiling talent. Not a bad choice with the Syracuse star.
29	DJ White	Pistons took a chance, but could prove to be a very high value pick with the Indiana forward.
30	JR Giddens	The Heat worked out the guard from New Mexico and liked his athleticism. The champs got a solid pick for the close of the first round.

Rumblings and Ramblings – Live

1. Well, first pick is Derrick Rose. No surprise there, honestly. If ESPN starts reporting it, it is pretty well known, actually. They always find a way to dramatically state the obvious. Good pick for Chicago.

2. Now, Miami is on the clock. Jeff Van Gundy likes Beasley – so methinks Miami should too.

Lots of talk about Rose getting the ticket home. Good feelings all around, looks like he can live with his parents now, save that bread.

Its Michael Beasley!

Let’s see what all the hub bub was about…will the Heat keep him? I think so.

Will the Heat keep Beasley? Seattle has Kevin Durant, who is buddies with Beasley. The TWolves would like to grab him and move Al Jefferson to the 5 spot – they are on the clock now. Regardless, the crowd at American Airlines Arena must be going crazy…

3. Another freshman. OJ Mayo to the Timberwolves. So far, my picks are dead on.

I wonder what Seattle is thinking. I think they could draft Bayless, knowing Miami is interested in him (as well as Mayo). Maybe both teams are trying to work out a deal with the Heat.

—Interview with Riley.

What went into picking Beasley? We have a lot of holes that need to be filled. In the end, Randy Pfund made sure that Riley picked Beasley. (Good, Randy – glad you protected Riley from himself). Riley notes he is a young player and that they hope he matures quickly.

4. Seattle selects Russell Westbrook from UCLA. 12 straight year for a Bruin to be drafted. Durant looked happy – not as happy as if it was Beasley. Bayless slips down the draft…interesting. This is a reach in my opinon.

5. Kevin Love. Nice pick. Replacing Gasol?

6. Danilo Gallinari. His father played with Mike D’Antoni, Vittorio Gallinari. Great move, I think this kid has some big time skill.

7. Eric Gordon to the Clippers. I think this kid is a bust in the making. Especially with the Clippers drafting him. I don’t trust his game.

Bayless and Lopez still on the board? Heat got to deal!

8. Joe Alexander – to the Bucks. Good, solid pick. Freakish athlete, but they just traded away Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons and got back Richard Jefferson.

Bayless and Lopez still on the board…

9. Charlotte takes – DJ Augustin? What? Brook Lopez is on the board and could dramatically change your team at C. Like Westbrook, this is a big reach. I don’t like this pick.

In fact, MIAMI – make a deal! Bayless, Lopez, Rush, and Hibbert are out there. Bayless and Lopez would be huge value picks right now.

10. Brook Lopez to NJ. Wow. Great pick, especially at the 10th pick. Great value, maybe the pick of the draft considering how low he sank and the value of that talent at that pick. NJ is very lucky.

11. Bayless picked up by the Pacers. Now they got Ford, Tinsley and Bayless. Something has to give there. Wonder if there is a trade in the works?

12. Jason Thompson from Rider to Sacramento. Big reach, kind of came out of nowhere. Hmm…with Hibbert on the board, I don’t know if this is a good move.

13. Brandon Rush. Makes you wonder why the Trailblazers are so good and the Kings are not. Oh, they draft better. That team has a lot of depth and Rudy Fernandez was looking to play for the Trailblazers, and was demanding they don’t draft anyone to shoot with Oden setting him up. This was also a prospect Riley really liked…a trade? Not likely.

14. Anthony Randolph. Confident. Skinny. Meh. I like his talent, but with Wright already on the team, what is the deal?

Oh, Dickey V doesn’t like the Gallinari pick. Compared it to Darko Milicic pick. Hey, he likes who he knows. I am sure he probably had the same feelings about a guy named Nowitzki. Or Ginobili.

15. Robin Lopez to the Suns? Wonder how Shaq feels about that.

16. Marreese Spreights. Hey, he’s a Gator. Can’t be any worse than that Corey Brewer pick, right?

17. Roy Hibbert to the Pacers via the Raptors. Once this trade gets approved, do the Raptors shed a tear? Hibbert could be a pretty good center to build a team with.

Ok…anytime now Miami. Where is that big trade we need to get another player in the first round?

18. JaVale McGee. Heat worked him out. His mom played in the WNBA – sounds almost illegal, right? Big project, like Arenas’ mind.

Indiana trading Ike Diogu and Jerryd Bayless for Jarret Jack and Brandon Rush from the Trailblazers. Ok. Still don’t know what the Pacers are going to do with all those PGs. Isn’t Rush’s brother Kareem there?

19. JJ Hickson to Cavs. Darrell Arthur is still on the board. Surprising a bit.

Ok, I am getting hungry. Hitting up the dirty rice…good stuff. Oh, 20th pick up.

20. Alexis Ajinca. Solid pick for Jordan and Brown in Charlotte. But a project.

21. Ryan Anderson to NJ. Skilled shooting big man, has bench player written all over him.

Poor Darrell Arthur. ESPN keeps panning to him as if he was supposed to be a top 5 pick. Guess they got to make a story of it.