The NBA had their fabulous dog and pony show otherwise know as the Draft Lottery. When it all shook out Portland ended up at #1 followed by Seattle, Atlanta, Memphis, Boston(sorry Bill Simmons) and Milwaukee at #6.
- Looks like Greg Oden is heading to Portland. This is really a no brainer since they are filled out on any position Kevin Durant might played. Of course this did not stop Jon Barry from suggesting during the Spurs-Jazz pre-game that Portland should trade their pick for veteran players. Mike Wilbon basically told Barry he was a blinking moron for suggesting that. I would agree.
- If Oden goes to Portland then Seattle should take Durant which means the two Pacific northwest teams would get the two certifiable stars from this draft. Not to exude any East Coast bias but I would think the NBA cannot be overly happy with that arrangement...not that they could do anything about it but having these two play half the season in the Pacific time zone plus all of the West coast games they would have to play by being out there means they will have less exposure than they would in the East or Central.
- I am imagining that Boston Celtics fans are feeling pretty low right now.
- One question I have is what this does to Brandan Wright's draft status. I have seen Wright tied to Milwaukee in previous mock drafts at as high as third. The Bucks ended up sixth in the lottery which is a little lower than most experts thought. Looking at the order, obviously the first two picks are out and I would think given that Atlanta has Marvin Williams and Shelden Williams that would eliminate them from taking Wright. So it comes down to whether Memphis or Boston are interested in Wright and based on a quick scan of their roster they could have room for him. If they wave off he could fall down to sixth where Milwaukee is sitting. At any rate I think there is a real chance Wright could end up out of the top five.
- I also think it is interesting to note that there are many players who declare early and hire an agent before the lottery when I think the smart move is to wait until at least after the draft order is determined before making their entry a final deal. In Wright's case it probably still does not matter though if he received indications that he would end up sixth or seventh earlier in the process I would think it could have impact on the ultimate decision.