Alright, everybody. I'm sitting in the "media workroom" at the Garden right now (actually the Play-by-Play restaurant). My blood sugar is rock bottom, my head is throbbing, and I'm pretty sure I need microfracture surgery on both knees. I got credentialed and everything, but ended up just hanging in the crowd, which was probably a lot more fun anyway.
I've gotta sleep on these picks, but here's the knee-jerk analysis:
- The overall mood following the Jordan Hill pick was surprise: less boos, more ?s. If Hill can defend the paint at all, he's got a place on this team. I'm halfway between surprised and bummed that Holiday, Jennings, and Lawson all passed the Knicks, but my instinct is to trust Walsh. I take some solace in the Knicks skipping the guard-bounty with the pick of...
- Toney Douglas. Turns out Jordi was more on point with his one Fanpost than any of the mindless blathering I've been doing for the last two months. Ghostface is known for scoring and defense. If he can guide an NBA team as well, then we may have a sleeper on our hands. Sorta sucks that Walsh had to cough up a 2011 second-rounder for the pick, but these things happen.
- The Darko Milicic deal is a win. Richardson's departure opens up more time for Chandler and Gallinari, while Darko may immediately slide into the starting 5-spot. I've never actually seen proof that he can defend, but that's what they say. As expiring contracts go, he's a solid pick-up. Walsh needs to hire Denzel Washington to give Darko the "You got anger? That's good. You're gonna need it. You got aggression, that's even better. You're gonna need that to." talk before every game.
- With teams like Minnesota making some weird pick combinations (Flynn AND Rubio?), and the Knicks defying expectations, I fully expect trades. Walsh has something up his sleave.
Some other highlights from the evening:
- I'm pretty sure I was on ESPN after the Kings drafted Omri Casspi. Some fellow chosen folk were sitting behind me with an Israeli flag, and got a few seconds of camera time when Casspi's name got called. In fact, there were two separate factions of fans with Israeli flags, each competing for camera time after the Casspi pick. We need solidarity, guys.
- Whoever thought that shining strobe lights on the crowd was a good idea owes me a bottle of Ibuprofen. Next year I may come with one of those helmets Natalie Portman wears in Garden State.
- Mark Jackson's contribution to the evening was repeatedly deciding that each team "needs talent".
- Speaking of which, we used to have Stephen A. Smith's Cheezy Doodles, and now Mark Jackson's got his own thing. I hereby christen Mark Jackson's Fritos the new trendy draft announcer snack of choice. Buy Frito-Lay stock.
- Jay Bilas's response to repeated chants of his name was the surefire "spirit finger salute". It's something that needs to be seen.
That's all for now. I'm gonna head back into the draft room and catch the last few picks. We'll talk at length tomorrow morning. Thanks to all of you who participated in the epic thread. I really wish I had the internet to join in.