Javaris Crittendon, huh?

Javaris Crittendon - In reality, I'm just deeply relieved that we didn't take Josh McRoberts or, worse, Fat Baby Davis. So Crittendon was met initially by me with a mighty exhale and a sweeping calm. Then I considered the pick. There are two camps, here. Some people think the Lakers took the best available player. I think we ignored the fact that we just took a far more capable, far more polished point guard in Jordan Farmar last year and chose to ignore getting the help we so desperately need on the front line. Whether or not Crittendon develops into a nice player, we shall see, but it should be the Lakers' goal to compete immediately. Always. As if Kobe wasn't jaded already, now this. Jared Dudley went just three picks later. Also would've been content with Tiago Splitter or, hell, even Jason Smith.

Sun Yue - Work with me here, we just used our first round pick on a PG with size who is unpolished, concerned primarily with scoring, and needs to improve his defense. So for our next pick we take... what? His Chinese counterpart? Still available at this point: Derrick Byars, Jared Jordan, Chris Richard. Nice work, Mitch...

Marc Gasol - Chad Ford writes, "Pau Gasol's brother isn't a great prospect, but he does take up space in the middle. He probably stays in Spain." Great... Maybe Staples Center should be held hostage until Jerry West comes back. That's our only hope for regaining any competency in the draft.

Gotta say, I'm sadly unsurprised, yet still disappointed with this haul. I grade the Lakers a D+.

Other thoughts about last night...

Just like everyone else on the planet, I have to give it up to Portland. Sure, they got Greg Oden, but then they went out and made a big statement by shipping Zach Randolph to the Knicks (that'll be an interesting experiment), officially making this Oden's team, while acquiring a very-gifted, all-but-forgotten Steve Francis and another hard-working big man in Channing Frye. They can even be forgiven for picking Josh McRoberts at 37.

Honestly, though, I'm just as impressed with the Spurs for taking Tiago Splitter. The 7-foot Brazillian is an absolute perfect fit in San Antonio and I'm a little burned that the Lakers didn't invest their #19 in this guy. He's been touted for a couple years, now, as having lottery-talent and down on the Riverwalk is the perfect place for him to flourish. The Spurs are also probably the one team in the league that can bend Marcus Williams' ego to their will while maximizing his talent.

Michael Jordan is a terrible GM. Why isn't more made of this? He's awful. (And while we're wondering aloud, why haven't the media castrated David Stern for putting a franchise back in Charlotte after the Hornets left due to lack of interest? This never should have happened!) First, MJ drafts Kwame Brown 2.0 in Brandan Wright (guess he doesn't learn from his mistakes). That is to say, an over-hyped quitter. Then Jordan ships him for a fat contract in Jason Richardson that isn't going to do anything other than fill Gerald Wallace's spot. Maybe.

Al Thornton is a steal for the Clippers at #14. AND they also grabbed Jared Jordan in the 2nd round. It's enough to make me think about jumping ship. Or, you know, kill myself as I'll be in the same city rooting for the other LA team. Big props to the Clipps.

There's been so much said about how Boston screwed up, I don't really feel the need to pile on. Except to say that we'll finally get the answer to the mystery of "What would Oliver Miller look like in green?"

Hopes for the Draft

With regards to the Lakers, of course. Duh. Coming up in just a couple hours and, short of pulling some sort of trade for Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal, Kupchak will be making a pick at #19. Picks #40 and #48 are pretty much already headed for the D-League, according to Kupchak, barring some serious wowing during summer ball.

The wish list for pick 19 (assuming, of course, that likely lottery picks Spencer Hawes, Al Thornton, Julian Wright, and this Joakim Noah guy are actually taken in the lottery):
- Derrick Byars F/G Vanderbilt: Love his athleticism, the guy's a baller and a scoring machine. Sweet touch from the outside, but can also hit the glass. Really impressed me during the tournament and I'm a bit shocked he didn't get more pub this year, being SEC player of the year. But I guess that's what happens when you play for Vanderbilt instead of Florida. If we were to trade Odom away, Byars could fill in nicely and, in time, possibly surpass Lamar's talents.

- Jared Dudley F Boston College: It might be considered a big reach to grab Dudley at #19, especially when there is a fair chance that he may magically slip to #40, but he's a tough forward who can work the mid-range game and bang inside. Besides, picks 16-30 are such a crap shoot anyway, why not just say "screw it" and get the right guy? Dudley has a serious motor, too. I think it should be the goal of the Lakers to get as many guys on the roster who have fire and hustle similar to Ronny Turiaf.

- Marco Bellineli G Italy: Guard is not a pressing need for the Lakers by any mean (especially if Kobe is sticking around) and lord knows you can never tell with the Europeans, but the word on Belinelli is that he's an elite ball-handler and distributor. I know we just took Jordan Farmar last year (and I like Farmar a lot), but he's not 6'7".

- Jared Jordan PG Marist: I haven't forgotten about this guy and still think that he could be the next Steve Nash. Lunacy? Maybe, but I love this kid's game. At #48, why not? Remember the name, people, because he's going to land with somebody and work his way into the mix.

Stay the hell away from my team:
- Josh McRoberts F Duke: Don't even think about it. Pudgy, under-developed, underachieving at Duke, would get flat out-hustled in the Western Conference, and already has a questionable work rate. And he's a Dukie to boot!

- Glen "Fat Baby" Davis PF LSU: If you can't tell where I'm headed with this, you're not terribly bright. I saw all I needed to see during the '06 Final Four when he was winded four minutes into the game against UCLA. Think he'll be able to play at an NBA pace? In the Western Conference?! Ladies and gentlemen: The next Oliver Miller!

- Marcus Williams F Arizona: This is more of a caution for the second round. Part of me feels conflicted for going against a UofA guy, but I watched Williams play all through his career and made it my job to follow this team and let me tell you: This guy is a headcase. Don't need him in the locker room.

Wild Card:
- Sean Williams C Boston College: If not for his off-court issues, Williams would be a perfect fit for the Lakers. Great interior defender and a handful to deal with one-on-one. But his character is the most questionable in the draft. He's the front-runner for the Ruben Patterson award.

Bouncing into the weekend

Because it is Friday and things are a little slow at the moment, some quick bullets on the hot (and not so hot) issues this week. Everything aside from Kobe, that is, because he still isn't going anywhere before next summer.

Pacman Jones
Let's just drop the whole issue, shall we, and just fire him already. People don't seem to be aware that this suspension imposed by the league doesn't just apply to the coming season, it spans forever. So let's just accept that this guy isn't going to play golf or watch daytime TV in his spare time and cut our losses. Whaddya say, Roger?

Sammy Steroids
It wasn't long ago that 600 homeruns meant you were a baseball immortal. But as Jayson Stark said in an interview, last night, this is the price we're paying for the steroids era. The numbers -- particularly the power numbers -- have been devalued to such an extreme that when a scumbag like Sosa finally does hit 600, it barely illicits a response. By tacitlly allowing rampant steroid and growth hormone abuse, Major League Baseball has sacrificed the very lore that makes people sentimental over the sport in the first place. Without the numbers -- 755, 61, 191 -- what does baseball have left? I'll be very curious to see how people react to Ken Griffey Jr. hitting 600, which will probably happen by season's end. Griffey deserves all the accolades coming his way. It's pretty fair to say that Sosa does not. And while we're condemning one of baseball all-time shadiest characters, a message to all the baseball writers and media personalities absolving Sosa of the past while still condeming Mark McGwire: PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS. If Big Mac only received a HOF vote in the low 20s, then damn it, Sosa should, too. All or nothing. If anything, Sosa was an even bigger cheater (corked bat), more deceitful (left the country, forgot how to speak English in front of Congress), and was never at any time considered one of the best to play right field (not that the Hall of Fame values "excellence" anymore. You just have to be "good and well-liked"). The Baseball Hall of Fame: Becoming more irrelevant by the second.

Kevin Garnett
If one superstar is getting traded, this summer, it's him. And it will be to the Suns. No one else has a chance. Is Chicago going to mortgage Hinrich/Deng/Gordon? Not likely. Phoenix isn't budging when it comes to keeping Amare off the table, either. Just the thought of a Nash/Amare/KG trio should be enough to make everyone else concede their games against the Suns and just play for second place.

Thierry Henry
Unfortunately for Gunners supporters, there will be no miracle. Henry is off to the Catalan. Surprising? No, not at all. Re-read the part where I said there will be no miracle. What does it mean for Arsenal? Well, they were without Henry for a large chunk of the season and still managed fourth place in the table. I'd say that no longer having the distraction of whether or not he'll play could be advantageous. While I maintain that there's no better striker in the world than a healthy Thierry Henry (that includes Drogba), Arsenal should recover rather quickly. Adebayor needs to work on his consistency, though.

Wimbledon
I'm a sucker for Grand Slam Tennis and it doesn't get much better than this one. Federer's gunning for Borg's record of five consecutive Wimby titles. He's going to get it, too. Can't imagine he's too happy about just missing out on the French... again. Watch out.

Gold Cup
Not many people even know it's going on and, really, they don't need to. It's been some miserable, miserable soccer. But -- and there is a big but -- the US and Mexico have managed to sleepwalk their way to the final. USA v Mexico? Count me in. Prediction? Please, how could I possibly offer anything other than 2-0 to the Americans? Copa America is right around the corner... By the by, terrible luck for Canada in the semi against the US. That equalizing goal in the dying seconds definitely was not offside. I'm rather amazed that Paul Stalteri didn't murder the ref on site.

NBA Draft
Less than a week away. Strong crop of talent, too. At least at first glance. However, is it just me, or has there been so much attention focused on why Oden will go ahead of Durant that people haven't bothered to ponder what will happen between picks 3-58?

Tri-Nations
Springboks host the All Blacks tomorrow in Durban, 5 a.m. PST. COMME BOKKE!

Draft lottery madness!

Tonight's NBA Draft Lottery was shock galore.

1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
4. Memphis
5. Boston

Wow. Bill Simmons just had a coronary. And my buddy Brent (that's me doing my best Bill Simmons impersonation, although I should probably give Brent some ridiculous nickname like "Tub"), the most die-hard Phoenix Suns fan ever, is crying in his milk, right now. Obviously, Portland and Seattle are the huge winners of the Oden-Durant sweepstakes (duh!), while Memphis and Boston, owners of the two worst records in the league, are terrible losers (duh, again!). The Celtics brought this on themselves, though, as no cosmic universe worth it's salt would allow a team that just re-upped Doc Rivers to have a chance at Oden/Durant. Memphis? Forget 'em. Everyone else has (POW! I'll be here all the week, folks. Try the veal and tip your waitress).

Phoenix could've used that lottery pick in the hopes of making a play for Kevin Garnett. Guess the time has arrived for them to parlay their other two first-round picks and either Marion of Amare and probably their 1st rounder in '08 for that final piece to put them over. Question is: will that offer be better than what Chicago or the Lakers can come up with? Steve Nash had better hope so. The clock is ticking. And, honestly, I don't see the Suns parting with Amare.

And how scary did the Western Conference just become? Already light years better than the East, Portland and Seattle just stepped up as potential playoff teams for next season. That brings the total of Western Conference teams playing out the season down to three (Memphis, Minny, and Sacto). I just have to say it: relegation would be such a sweet play for the NBA. Stack all thirty teams in one table, have the top 20 in division one and the bottom 10 in division two. Switch out the bottom four from division one for the top four from division two every season, while the top 16 from D1 advance to the playoffs. Then we'll see some fairness for these Western Conference teams. No more of these 39-win teams making the playoffs. Not in my NBA.

Alas, my utopian NBA is but a pipe-dream. But at least I can dream.

Oh wait, did I mention that Isiah Thomas is the biggest idiot the league has seen in ages? I guess that goes without saying, huh? I know the Bulls are a fan.