7:33: Portland is on the clock.
I’m starting this with one hand. My son is out cold on my lap.

Question: Who would you want to give a free kick to the nuts more? Steven A. Smith or Dick Vitale?

7:36: Shocking Oden goes first. Stunned I tell you. Stunned.

7:41: Naturally Durant to Seattle/Oklahoma City. Easiest draft pick ever.

7:42: Awesome. The Celtics are apparently going to swap the #5 pick (or pick Jeff Green of Georgetown) along with Delonte West and Wally Sczerbiak to Seattle for Ray Allen. I’m with Mark Jackson who has been blasting this deal for the Celtics all day. That’s why I love it. Hate the Celtics.

7:46: Okay, Atlanta and Pitt’s Billy Knight have the #3 pick. Heard that the Hawks because of their pathetic and infighting trinity of ownership blew a chance to get Amare Stoudamire in a deal that would have involved the #11 pick. Yeep.

They go with Al Horford from Florida as expected. Best player left. I have no problem with it. That means they’ll take Acie Law IV at #11.

7:50: Those Adidas Draft/NBA hats bother me with that narrow piping. Makes it look like everyone has a pointy head.

7:52: Predictable draft so far as Conley, Jr. goes #4 to Memphis. I see him as a slightly better Dominic James with more mystery creating the nebulous “upside.”

7:57: Yes! The Celtics do take Jeff Green. That means Boston will just be inadequate and not have any potential growth in the future.

8:01: So do the Bucks and Senator Kohl seek an international incident with the Chinese or not? If they do draft him, I expect them to trade Yi to Golden State.

8:05: The Bucks take Yi. Stern looked just a bit ashen. Absolutely no smiles at his table. More like sympathy. The US agents for Yi have been screaming at Milwaukee not to draft him.

Andy Katz says the Bucks will keep him. Sure.

Ric Bucher on the other hand says that Yi is in play. Larry Harris the GM is the son of NBA Coach (head and assistant) Del Harris. Del is close with Don Nelson at Golden State. I can’t be the only one connecting those dots.

8:10: Stuart Scott interviewing Yi. You get to struggle to understand what either is saying and whether it really matters.

8:11: Minnesota takes Corey Brewer from Florida. He’s going to have good energy. Hard to judge this when know one knows whether Garnett will be there and if he isn’t who will be coming in.

Dick Vitale is babbling. Crap. I may have to revise my take on the Boston-Seattle deal. Vitale thinks Seattle got over on Boston. Maybe it really is that obvious.

8:18: Brandan Wright of UNC gets picked by Charlotte. Let’s see UNC connection with Michael Jordan and then there’s just the local flavor. Jay Bilas is gushing about him, then talking about how much time Wright is going to need to actually contribute. In other words, he’ll be good for the next team that gets him after Charlotte gives up on him.

8:23: Love Knicks fans at the draft. Any mention of Isiah Thomas and they start booing. Especially as the Bulls are picking at #9 with the Knicks pick.

8:25: No shock that the Chicago Bulls take Joakim Noah. Bow tie and a sear-sucker. It’s no fun when they are purposefully being strange.

Still a pity for him that his looks came from his dad’s side rather than mom.

8:32: Sacramento goes with Spencer Hawes. Well, new head coach Reggie Theus is already doomed with the Kings. In the go-go-go West they have a plodding big guy, an aging, overpaid point guard in Mike Bibby. Ron Artest may be there to go insane or traded for pennies on the dollar.

8:39: Acie Law IV goes to Atlanta as I said earlier. An excellent point guard to get at this point.

The Hawks have new unis. Exceptionally bland.

8:42: Philly is on the clock. The rumored pick is Al Thorton from FSU. Apparently they couldn’t trade up to get Green like they were rumored to want. That or the deal fell apart when Boston/Seattle picked him at #5.

Sal Palantonio says they are choosing between Thorton and a mystery pick.

8:46: The Sixers take Thaddeus Young from Georgia Tech. Hate this pick. A freshman who would have entered out of HS last season. Like a lot of young players, he only wants to play offense. Young has the potential and upside. He’s also about 5 years yonger than Thorton.

Young won’t help Philly at all. I hate taking players this raw. They rarely develop for the team that takes them. The fans and front office get impatient and then when 3 years are up have to decide about a lucrative extension for what still might be. Bad move for Philly.

8:51: Atlanta GM Billy Knight on video conference. Shockingly, he says they got the guys they wanted.

8:55: New Orleans Hornets take Julian Wright from Kansas. Hard to argue with this pick. A forward that has such potential, but has flashed a lot more than others. He actually is willing to play some defense.

9:00: The Clippers couldn’t pass on Al Thornton at #14 despite a dire need for a point guard. This is a point guard deficient draft. He may be 24, but he will be able to contribute now.

9:06: Rodney Stuckey out of Eastern Washington. A combo guard goes to Detroit at #15. Weeks ago there were reports that Detroit guaranteed him at this spot. The Pistons vehemently denied it. Right.

I have no opinion on this. I’ve never seen Stuckey. He might as well be a Euro player.

9:11: The Wiz take Nick Young out of USC. Another “poeential” player. Needs to bulk up and play defense.

9:14: The Knicks are trading Channing Frye and Steve Francis to Portland for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau and Fred Jones. Knicks are thrilled to get legit help up front. Sure Randolph is moody and the effort will be questionable from night to night, but Steve Francis is gone.

For Portland, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up releasing Francis. (Looks like they are planning to buy out Francis.)This was addition by subtraction by keeping Randolph away from Oden.

9:16: Now the Nets pick Sean Williams. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. That means they have Marcus Williams and his laptop thefts to team with Sean Williams where really the marijuana stuff may be the least of it. Williams may be a hell of a shot blocker, but his rebounding is weak and a poor shooter. Luke Winn had it right in tabbing him overrated.

While Williams is hardly the first basketball player to be caught smoking dope, the real red flag is he consciously ruined his college career by being foolish enough to get caught repeatedly violating team rules. Those transgressions can be masked by a nice PR campaign before the draft — but they’re also a sign of a pattern of behavior that’s likely to continue, and could possible ruin a team’s investment in a guaranteed contract.

Dead on.

9:23: What a shock. Don Nelson is the coach of Golden State and the Warriors take Marco Belinelli out of Italy. He loves him the Euros.

Part of me expected Chris Mullins to overrule Nellie and take Josh McRoberts. After all, after trading away Dunleavy, Jr. and Murphy doesn’t Mullins need yet another overrated white guy?

9:29: The Lakers on the clock, so naturally it’s all Kobe talk. Yawn.
At #19 the Lakers pick Javaris Crittenton out of GT. I like him better than Thaddeous Young from GT, but that means the Lakers took a PG in the first round for the second straight year. Is Matt Millen giving them draft advice?

9:36: Miami goes with Jason Smith out of Colorado College. Eh.

9:41: Philly’s second 1st round pick. At #21 they take Daequan Cook out of OSU. Apparently Philly will switch with Miami who took Smith and Philly will throw in cash.

Well, I’m glad Philly won’t have Cook. He strikes me as a bust to be. He was a workout warrior by all accounts.

9:47: Charlotte gets to pick again. Jared Dudley from BC. Maybe a reach, but I like Dudley a lot.

Crap. Now Vitale is cheering this pick.

9:51: Spike Lee naturally being interviewed now that the Knicks are on the clock. Staunch defender of Isiah Thomas. The one place Thomas does well is in the draft. He still sucks as a GM otherwise.

So the fans are loud and waiting as Commish Stern announces Wilson Chandler from DePaul. Another rumored guarantee pick. Chandler was in the crowd and just came out to the stage to shake hands.

Mixed reaction from the crowd. Bilas may be right that Chandler may be better in the NBA than in college. Chandler could be bullied and give inconsistent effort at DePaul.

9:57: Man, Phoenix is cheap now that the Colangelos are gone. They have apparently sold the #24 pick to Portland. They don’t want to win it all. They just want to be sure they make a profit.

The Phoenix/Portland pick is Rudy Fernandez. A guard from Spain. He’s probably staying in Spain for another year.

10:05: The Jazz pick Morris Almond. The C-USA player of the year out of Rice. He’s a scorer by all accounts.

Can’t say I care too much about either.

10:11: Aaron Brooks from Oregon picked by Houston. That is a definite reach. He’s a good pest on defense, but he’s under 6′. He also has a bad habit of just chucking the ball on offense.

10:20: Detroit again picking at #27. Guard Aaron Afflalo from UCLA comes out of the crowd. Good defense when he wants to. His shooting sucks. Can’t get his own shot and is streaky to be kind. Basically, if he works out, he’s an Eric Snow defender.

10:25: San Antonio takes Tiago Splitter from Brazil. Probably a smart pick for San Antonio since he will be with his present team for at least a year. They can afford to wait. Late in the first makes a lot more sense to pick international players that are under contract elsewhere.

Of course, this would have been the one place in the 1st round that really would have made sense for Aaron Gray to be drafted. It would have been a good fit.

10:32: Phoenix takes Alando Tucker from Wisconsin at #29. Tucker was a good college player, but he will be a back-up in the NBA. Not sure how well he fits Phoenix and their running style. He isn’t an outside shooter, so teams won’t give him as much room to penetrate.

10:35: Philly couldn’t package any of their 3 1st round picks, to get a good vet or trade up in the draft. I’m terrified they will pick Josh McRoberts.

10:38: First Stern announces the swap of Smith and Cook with Miami and Philly. Philly also gave up their 2009 second rounder to swap one spot/player along with cash.
With the final pick, Philly takes Petteri Koponen out of Finland. Koponen was hanging out in the gallery. He’s a long term project. Great.

Really not wild about Philly’s drafting. 3 picks and not much will be seen for some time.

Now it’s time to go to the 2nd round.

10:44: Deputy Commish Adam Silver gets his 2nd banana debut in the 2nd round draft.

The Sonics select Carl Landry from Purdue? An undersized PF. Welcome to the NBDL.

10:47: Reportedly Jason Richardson from Golden State would be traded to Charlotte for Brandan Wright. Boy is the panel panning it. Not that I disagree.

The Celtics pick Gabe Pruitt of USC at #32. Much relief for Pruitt who was in the peanut gallery. He did have to hear Bilas blast him at the end of the first round for turning pro.

10:53: I’m surprised the Spurs took Marcus Williams from Arizona. I figured this guy would fall out of the draft. He’s a forward with a questionable work ethic. Arizona actually seemed to be relieved when he turned pro.

The Dallas Mavericks jump up right away and take Nick Fazekas from Nevada at #34. One of those oversized (6′ 11″) forwards with an outside shot.

10:56: The #35 pick is now the Celtics pick (from Seattle) in that trade earlier. Glen Davis finally gets picked. His stock has gone up and down over the last couple months — much like his weight. Probably a good pick at this point.

11:00: Golden State took Forward Jermareo Davidson from Alabama. Sad story. Lost his brother, who was shot in November. Then his girlfriend died in a car accident a few days later.

Now Portland has bought the rights to the Sixers 30th pick, Kopenon. Philly gets cash and the #42 pick this year
At #37, the Trailblazers finally take Josh McRoberts. The Dukie gets booed. Last year, Greg Doyel at CBS Sportsline said McRoberts was making a huge mistake coming back for his sophomore year. He was a potential lottery pick last year, Doyel’s comment was that Coach K kills the draft potential of big men.

11:05: Sixers at #38 pick a 7′ Ukrainian Center. Fran Fraschilla just called him an Aaron Gray type player. Then why not draft Aaron Gray?

11:11: The Heat take another Euro Center. Stanko Barac from Croatia. Another 7-footer. He apparently can shoot from the perimeter but is not a particularly athletic. Yeesh.

11:14: The Lakers take a guard from China. Looks like a major run on flyers on foreign players.

11:15: T-Wolves at #41 take Forward Chris Richard from Florida. A solid back-up player who might develop into more with hard work.

11:18: The Bobcats do it. They trade Brandan Wright to Golden State for Jason Richardson and draft rights to Jamareo Davidson (36th pick).

Portland/Sixers takes 6’7″ Guard/Forward Derrick Byars from Vandy.

11:21: New Orleans takes Adam Haluska from Iowa. Huh? He’s a guard. Catch and shoot kind of player.

11:23: Orlando takes Reyshawn Terry from UNC with the #44 pick. Orlando takes a solid 3-point shooter from the small forward spot. Well, they wasted a pick last year on J.J. Redick.

11:26: The Clippers use the #45 pick on 6’1″ Jared Jordan from Marist. Jordan lit things up at the Orlando Camp. Most saw that as an illusion. Apparently the Clips don’t care if he can’t play defense.

11:28: Stephane Lasme, a forward from UMass goes to Golden State. He was the A-10 player of the year. Defense first player. Hard to figure how he fits with Golden State.
11:32: Washington at the 47th pick Dominic McGuire a Forward from Fresno State. Stunned. I thought for sure this would be where Gray would be picked the way things were going.

11:34: They finally announce the Celtics-Supersonics trade.

The Lakers take Marc Gasol from Spain. Another Euro Center. Sigh.

11:38: Finally! The Bulls take Aaron Gray at #49. This could work. He’ll be a good back-up for Ben Wallace. By comparison, he’s already more advanced than Wallace on offense.
11:41: Dallas takes a Lithuanian Guard. Whatever.

Bilas on Aaron Gray being picked by Chicago, gives his approval as far as fit goes.

11:44: The Bulls again at #51 take JamesOn Curry from Oklahoma State. He made it. It was a surprise when he stayed in the draft. He didn’t hire an agent, but was determined to stay in the draft. Oklahoma State will have depth issues once more when Pitt plays them in December.

11:46: Taurean Green from Florida makes it 5 Gators drafted tonight. Portland at 52.

Then Portland uses the 53rd pick and snag Demetris Nichols out of Syracuse. This looks like a pick that will be considered a steal next April. Of course, this being Portland, Nichols could be traded in the next 5 minutes.

11:50: The Rockets take some pasty Australian.

11:52: Utah grabs Herbert Hill out of Providence. That just seems like a very good fit for his talents.

11:54: The Bucks go with Ramon Sessions from Nevada. Sure. Why not. It’s him or some other Euro.

11:56: Detroit with #57 take Sammy Mejia from DePaul. Big East bias tells me it isn’t a bad take at this spot. Tall for a guard, he could be an excellent defender in time.
11:58: San Antonio chooses a Greek player who has actually been hanging out all night. A 6’9″ small forward. There was practically no one left but him and his entourage.

12:03: Phoenix takes D.J. Strawberry from Maryland. Good defender and speedy. Not a particularly good scorer.

12:06: Dallas has the last pick.  They take a Serbian Center. Maybe see him in a couple years.