NBA Draft 2007

Note: I will be making updates all night as the 2007 NBA Draft takes place in New York. The Draft is about 35 minutes away from getting started. Their are rumors flying around but no one really knows what's going to happen. The Celtics are rumored to be sending the No. 5 pick, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to Seattle for Ray Allen (the No. 5 pick of the 1996 Draft). There is still talk of a three-way trade that would send Kevin Garnett to Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire to Atlanta and the No. 3 and No. 11 pick's (as well as a player or three) to Minnesota. I posted my final Mock Draft yesterday and today I did an analysis of every Lottery/Draft since 1985. Hopefully I'll be getting some inside from Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated throughout the night. Also, check out Celtics Blog, WEEI 850 AM and Fox Sports New England for updates on the Celtics throughout the night. Be back shortly before the C's go on with the No. 5 pick (6:55 pm)... Here are the first four picks: 1. Portland: Greg Oden, Ohio State 2. Seattle: Kevin Durant, Texas 3. Atlanta: Al Horford, Florida 4. Memphis: Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State C's trade finalized, back after the pick (7:48)... The Celtics have made a trade. They will send Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the No. 5 pick (Jeff Green was just chosen) for Ray Allen and the No. 35 pick. More on that later (8:01)... My initial reaction of the trade ... I like it. I know Allen is getting older (he'll be 32 in July) but he is still a very good NBA player. Paired with Pierce and Jefferson, I expect Allen to put up big numbers. Just remember, he is coming off of elective surgery on both ankles that took place in April. Giving up Szczerbiak is no big loss. His knees are shot and he wasn't a great fit with the C's. I like Delonte but to get something you have to give up good things -- I'm just happy we didn't give away Rajon Rondo. As for Green, who knows? My review of all the Lottery picks snce 1985 shows the Draft is no sure thing. With the Draft still rolling along (for now the C's have both the No. 32 and No. 35 picks) and an eternity until the season tips off, here is a quick look at what the C's could look like in 2007-08: PG: Rondo, Sebastian Telfair, Allan Ray, Gabe Pruitt SG: Allen, Tony Allen SF: Pierce, Gerald Green PF: Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Brian Scalabrine C: Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Leon Powe Not great but not bad. They still need experience and defense up front and a veteran point guard. However, a healthy Ray Allen and a healthy Paul Pierce teamed with Jefferson, Rondo and Green in the East that could be enough to get the job done (8:14)... Just waiting for the 32nd and 35th pick. Here is how the rest of the first round went down: 6. Milwaukee: Yi Jianlian, China 7. Minnesota: Corey Brewer, Florida 8. Charlotte: Brandan Wright, UNC 9. Chicago: Joakim Noah, Florida 10. Sacramento: Spencer Hawes, Washington 11. Atlanta: Acie law IV, Texas A&M 12. Philadelphia: Thaddeus Young, Georgia Tech 13. New Orleans: Julian Wright, Kansas 14. L.A. Clippers: Al Thornton, Florida State 15. Detroit Pistons: Rodney Stuckey, Eastern Washington 16. Washington: Nick Young, USC 17. New Jersey: Sean Williams, BC 18. Golden State: Marco Belinelli, Italy 19. L.A. Lakers: Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech 20. Miami Heat: Jason Smith, Colorado State (traded to 76ers) 21. Philadelphia: Daequan Cook, Ohio State (traded to Heat) 22. Charlotte: Jared Dudley, BC 23. New York: Wilson Chandler, DePaul 24. Phoenix: Rudy Fenandez, Spain (traded/sold to Trailblazers) 25. Utah: Morris Almond, Rice 26. Houston: Aaron Brooks, Oregon 27. Detroit: Arron Afflalo, UCLA 28. San Antonio: Tiago Splitter, Brazil 29. Phoenix: Alando Tucker, Wisconsin 30. Philadelphia: Petteri Koponen, Finland (traded to Trailblazers) Some well known names slid out of the first round. Josh McRoberts, Gabe Pruitt, Glen Davis, Nik Fazekas and Marcus Williams all expected to go higher. Back with the C's second round picks and some final thoughts (10:52)... Here are Boston's two second round picks: 32: Gabe Pruitt, USC 35: Glen "Big Baby" Davis, LSU I like both picks. Pruitt is a project but is tall and athletic. The C's still need a veteran point guard behind Rajon Rondo but if he can make the roster, Pruitt could be a player down the road. Davis is a bull under the basket who can hopefully turn out like the No. 35 pick in the 2002 Draft, Carlos Boozer. Both were beasts in college who didn't go high in the draft. His weight may be an issue but he can score and rebound. The C's still need a veteran point guard and some more interior defense. To address the defense, Ainge could package Theo Ratliff's contract and Gerald Green for either Marcus Camby of Denver or Andrei Kirilenko of Utah. Brevin Knight, Steve Blake, Chucky Atkins, Earl Boykins and Jacque Vaughn are all free agent options to backup Rondo on the point. Be right back to close this out (11:12)... Other than the Ray Allen-to-Boston trade, a few other moves of significance were made. The Knicks acquired Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau and Fred Jones from Portland in exchange for Channing Frue and Steve Francis. The Trailblazers needed to dump Randolph with Oden coming aboard and adding Fye fives them a great young nucleus up front (Oden, Frye, LaMarcus Aldridge). Randolph is a force but he's also more whacked up than almost any chick you will ever meet. Letting him loose in New York could be dangerous. The Heat dealt the rights to Jason Smith to Philadelphia for the rights to Daequan Cook, a 2009 second round pick and cash. There was a rumored deal that would send Jason Richardson to Charlotte for the draft rights to Brandan Wright. Stephen A. Smith said the Bobcats would be crazy to make this move ... if I were Michael Jordan right now that would give me more incentive to get it done. SAS is an idiot! Some final thought: Joakim Noah's suit was easily the best of the night ... I didn't know Spike Lee was the Knicks assistant GM ... Al Thornton's mom -- Philomenia -- wins the "Best Name" award ... Yi and Prince Fielder probably won't be tight friends ... In the eyes of Jay Bilas, a player can't be an athlete, he must be a terrific athlete ... The girl who brought Acie Law IV to the podium after he was drafted had to be Rachel Dratch of SNL fame, had to be ... According to ESPN, Spencer Hawes has to improve his defense, shot blocking and rebounding -- good thing he's not a center ... I'd love to be a patron the first time Zach Randolph and Sean Williams meet up in a New York City strip club ... Could Oden be LeBron's father? ... Good night! Go Celtics (11:30)...