NBA Draft

Yesterday, the Portland Trailblazers had the 1st pick in the NBA Draft. They had a choice between Kevin Durant and Greg Oden.

As the time for the number 1 pick arrived, there were lots of question marks about who was going to be picked. But the Trailblazers eventually went for the big man from Ohio State, Greg Oden. "I was on the phone with the radio station back in Portland," Oden said. "They said they stomped the floor like they won the NBA championship once they called my name."

They did that with good reason to, as Oden will be one of the better big men in the league for years to come. He hopes to make Portland a winning team. "They did have a bad (reputation), but I think Brandon and LaMarcus kind of turned that around," Oden said. "I hope that I can come and just push that along some more."

With the 2nd pick, it came as no surprise to everyone in the building that the Seattle Supersonics picked Kevin Durant number 2. But moments after Durant was picked saw Ray Allen being traded away to Boston. Durant was not so sure that he could single-handedly make the Sonics win with Allen gone. He says he is not a savior. "Not at all, not at all," Durant said. "When you play since you were 8 or 9 years old, you know the game is not a one-man sport. I'm far from being a saviour."

Some trades on draft day included the one with Ray Allen, Portland trading Zach Randolf and others to New York for Steve Francis and Channing Frye, and the only other trade involving an NBA player came when Golden State sent Jason Richardson and the rights to Jermareo Davidson, the No. 36 pick, to Charlotte for Brandan Wright, taken at No. 8 by the Bobcats.

Other picks were:

Number 3: Al Hortford
Number 4: Mike Conley Jr.
Number 5: Jeff Green
Number 6: Yi Jianlian
Number 7: Corey Brewer
Number 8: Brandon Wright
Number 9: Joakim Noah
Number 10: Spencer Hawes
Number 11: Acie Law IV
Number 12: Thaddeus Young
Number 13: Julian Wright
Number 14: Al Thorton
Number 15: Rodney Stuckey
Number 16: Nuck Young
Number 17: Sean Williams
Number 18: Marco Belinelli
Number 19: Javaris Crittenton
Number 20: Jason Smith
Number 21: Daequan Cook
Number 22: Jared Dudley
Number 23: Wilson Chandler
Number 24: Rudy Fernandez
Number 25: Morris Almond
Number 26: Aaron Brooks
Number 27: Arron Afflalo
Number 28: Tiago Splitter
Number 29: Alando Tucker
Number 30: Petteri Koponen

NBA Draft Lottery

Right now, while you are reading this post, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz are preparing for game 2 and game 3 of their Conference Finals. In less important news, the bottom dwellers of the NBA found out what position they would draft in the 2007 NBA Draft.

The 3 teams who had the greatest chance of getting the NO.1 pick were Memphis (25% chance), Boston (19.9%) and Milwaukee (15.6%). They all lost out as all of them got picks from 4-6. The 3 teams that were left for the final 3 picks were Atlanta, Seattle and Portland. Portland had the worst odds to win the NO.1 pick as they only had a 5.3% chance of getting the 1st overall pick. But the Trailblazers beat the odds getting the 1st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

This a little bit of revenge for the Trailblazers, as they had the worst record in the league last year, and ended up getting the 4th pick.

After the lottery, Memphis Grizzlies president Jerry West was fuming about the NBA's questionable lottery procedure, which rarely gives the worst NBA team the NO.1 pick.

"It's about as disappointing as you could ever hope for," West said minutes after the lottery was announced at the NBA Entertainment Center. "It's like pitching pennies. It's grossly unfair to the team, but I've said it before, I don't think the lottery is fair. I never liked it. I don't think it's a good system at all, period.

"There have been a lot of picks in the lottery that have (failed). There are two in the lottery this year that are not going to fail. There are two superstars in the draft. I think for the teams fortunate enough to get them, the fortunes of their
franchises have changed forever."

West does have some evidence to back up his anger towards the draft lottery system. Since the NBA switched to the weighted lottery system 1994, only two NBA teams with the best chance of landing the top pick have gotten it -- the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 (LeBron James) and the Orlando Magic (Dwight Howard) the following year.


The players that are expected to be picked 1st and 2nd overall are Ohio State all-star Greg Oden and Texas star Kevin Durant.

These 2 already have their college success known around the world as they are both new additions to the USA Senior Men's Basketball Team.

Oden averaged 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks despite being limited for much of the season while recovering from right wrist surgery.

Durant led the Big 12 with 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, and was the AP national player of the year.

Here are the rest of the NBA Draft Lottery Results:

NO.7: Minnesota

No.8: Charlotte

NO.9: New York

NO.10: Sacramento

NO.11: Atlanta

NO.12: Philadelphia

NO.13: New Orleans

NO.14: L.A Clippers