2008 NBA Draft pick-by-pick analysis

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Seconds before the first pick is announced, there are a series of flashes coming from a camera. You'd think Robin Lopez is a paparazzi photographer for TMZ the way he's snapping photos over there. Pretty bizarre scene — 7-foot guy, Sideshow Bob hair, just snapping away like he's Annie Leibovitz. On top of being a defensive minded center who likes Disney and Michael Jackson, Lopez is apparently a real shutterbug, too. Who knew? When David Stern utters the words, "The Bulls are on the clock...", the New York crowd erupts in a chorus of boos. Still some lingering bad will from all those Charles Smith missed layups, apparently. Derrick Rose, the hometown boy, is selected and the place erupts. Coach Cal is hugging,clutching, and loving. Cory Hart would love Rose's crew. Lot of sunglasses at night.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Heat, who pretty much tanked the second half of the season in '07 (David Stern now has my name on his "list"), are announced as on the clock and the Garden crowd reacts with a shower of boos ... again. This time, it's clearly over P.J. Brown body slamming Charlie Ward eleven years ago. You have to feel for Knicks fans. All their ill will and anger stems from ten to fifteen years ago. Their team hasn't played a significant game since. They still consider Dale and Antonio Davis as threats. The last time the Knicks played a game that meant something, Michael Beasley was in his crib. Beasley is selected and a rather unoriginal "Michael ... Beasley" chant washes over the place. Yawn. Beasley's wearing a purple tie, while the women at his table are all decked in purple. Kansas State colors. Or they're just big supporters of all things grape. Who doesn't love grape?

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: O.J. Mayo, who was the best dressed man at the Media Session yesterday, is dressed like a middle school librarian tonight. You can see him whispering in your ear, "Read the "Phantom Tollbooth" lately? "Study your Dewey Decimal System. It's rad!" Beige suit, wacky glasses meant for a woman named Phyllis, and sneakers. Or, are those bowling shoes? Hands down — most creative outfit of the night.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Russell Westbrook — a kid who as recent as two years ago wasn't even recruited by a major Division I school — goes fourth overall in the NBA Draft. The Defensive Player of the Year in the Pac-10 last season, Westbrook can D up with the best of 'em, but the rap is he can't shoot. Like he can't throw a rock in the ocean. Which is fine. Seattle won't be playing an important basketball game for at least another ten years. Somewhere, Robert Swift, Sene, Mickael Gelabale, and Johan Petro are bumping chests and doing secret handshakes. Their fraternity of question mark draft picks taken by the Sonics now has another member! I look at Kevin Durant, seated just a few seats away, and you can see the expletives running through his head.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Memphis goes with Kevin Love, who has lost 10 pounds and now looks like a cross between Kevin Federline and an enormous rec soccer player. Love is the highest Beach Boys relative to ever be taken in the NBA Draft, surpassing John Stamos, who went 20th overall in the 1991 Draft. I can't get over all the weight that Love has shedded. He looks sculpted. Memphis — well, make that Minnesota — may have a player on its hands.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Yesterday afternoon, I looked Gallinari straight in the eyes, and straight up asked the kid, "Do you have any idea what you're in store for if you're drafted by the Knicks?" And he looked at me blankly and nodded his head. NOT A GOOD SIGN. That said, I kinda like the kid. He said he was "absolutely devastated" by Italy's Eurocup 08 loss to Spain, said AC Milan is his favorite team, and he emulates his game after Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton. He also calmed down the stupid spiky hair look for the draft, coming to New York with a mop top instead. The Knicks fans are downright brutal. Just a steady chorus of boos and exasperation. One guy in a Charles Oakley jersey (no undershirt) is mugging for the cameras, holding his head in his hands, doing the whole "c'monnnnnnn" thing. Another guy in a Starks jersey is flipping the middle finger to no one in particular. Just tons of middle fingers, being thrusted into the air at a feverish pace. All the while, Gallinari is being interviewed by Stephen A. Smith. Neither individual speaks much English.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Whatever Gallinari faced over the past five minutes, Gordon faced it times two when Indiana traveled to Champaign for the Illinois game this year. On February 7th, not only was Gordon and his family taunted to no end, but he had garbage and beads thrown at him throughout the game, too. The Clippers select Gordon and "Back in Black" by AC/DC is played. Lang Whitaker (SLAM Magazine), Jeff Goodman (FoxSports.com), and I are still trying to figure out the connection there. Oh, that's right — there is none. Meanwhile, Gallinari walks through the crowd and is showered with hatred by the fans. Welcome to America, kid. Ciao, Bella! Or something like that.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: I asked Joe Alexander yesterday if he was the Mike Mamula of this year's draft — a guy who worked out really well but may not be worthy of a top-10 pick. His response was, "Who's Mike Mamula?" I explained myself. He then turned his head and asked the other reporters if they had any other questions. Joe Alexander, ladies and gentlemen! Not a fan of Peter Schrager. And apparently, not a big fan of mid-90's Boston College football. In truth, the "workout warrior" is a fantastic ballplayer who elevated his game during the Big East Tournament and the NCAAs. The Bucks haven't been good since Ray Allen played there, but they have some nice pieces. It could be a great fit. In the crowd, there's a large contingent of Alexander fans. One sign says "Vanilla Sky." That's either because Joe Alexander is Caucasian, or a huge fan of Tom Cruise before he jumped off the deep end and became a freak. Or, maybe both!

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Did you hear that breeze in the wind? That was the Raymond Felton era passing us by in Charlotte. Augustin joins a team of college standouts that includes Sean May, Felton, Emeka Okafor, Adam Morrison and Jared Dudley. That squad could make up the greatest college squad of the past ten years. As a pro team, they might be competetive in the NBDL. Maybe. I love Augustin as a player. Chatted yesterday and he stressed how much he hates to lose. I hope he comes to terms with that soon.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Nets select Sideshow Bob's brother Brook, and add another big man to their roster. He joins Josh Boone and Sean Williams as 7-footers taken in the past two years. Nets fans, meanwhile, breathe a collective sigh of relief. They'd been longing for a twin from Stanford ever since Jason Collins was traded at the deadline. Phew. They can sleep again. The Nets fans in the building are chanting "Lebron ... James". It's not that loud. There's only two of them.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The ESPN blurb on Bayless — "Position: Point Guard; Weakness: Passing". YIKES. In truth, I'm a huge Bayless fan. He scored 39 against Arizona State, 33 against Cal, and 31 against Stanford — all in one week — last season. He was a shoot-first point guard because he had to be on that Arizona team. He'll be a fine pro. As for the crowd reaction, there's not much of one. Instead, I'm blown away by a guy going WILD for Brook Lopez wearing an Ed O'Bannon jersey. Ed O'Bannon! He must have purchased it at the same store they sell Randolph Childress and Nikoloz Tskitishvili jerseys. And you thought you weren't going to get a Tskitishvili mention tonight.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: I know three things about Rider University. Their mascot is the Bronc, Digger Phelps played there back in the '20s, and my mother is a proud alumnus. The last one — well, I never ever asked for another detail about my mother's time as a college co-ed. Now, add this guy to the mix of notable thing about Rider. Sacramento coach Reggie Theus, better known as Coach Bill Fuller from the NBC Saturday morning program "Hang Time", goes with the kid. Thompson's not in attendance. The NBA invited Brook Lopez's brother, Justin Guarini, instead.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Rush, a hero on the NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks, goes to Portland where he'll be the 100th player to be drafted by the Blazers in the past three years. I asked Rush yesterday if Mario Chalmers is still living off his game-tying 3-pointer in the national championship game. His response: "Mario brings that shot up all day, every day. He'll never live it down." Can you blame the guy?

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Warriors draft an actual string bean, a guy named Anthony Randolph out of LSU. Would you like some body with those legs, dude? Randolph weighs close to 20 pounds. Tall drink of water. The crowd erupts when he's selected, as several of his family members and friends are in attendance. None of them resemble a piece of polly-o string cheese.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: An NBA commercial featuring the Celtics comes on during the commercial break, and a "Boston Sucks" chant erupts. A passionate one, too. Meanwhile, the Celtics fan in the front row responds by shoving his Paul Pierce jersey in his buddy in the Knicks jersey's face. New York — Boston is kinda tired by now, isn't it? We need two new cities. How about a Portland-Atlanta rivalry? Des Moines-Lexington? Justin Guarini is scooped up by the Suns with the 15th pick, where he'll watch Disney movies, play some golf, and long for a time when he and Kelly Clarkson were mentioned in the same breath. Maybe he can butter up to Shaq and tell him he's an awesome rapper. Like the entire sports media did.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Speights was on that second Florida national championship team, but played only sparingly. Last year's NIT squad — well, with that crew, he was a star. The Philly contingent in the crowd seems pleased, but the New York-Boston thing is starting to flare up again. Charles Oakley jersey (no undershirt) guy just did some bizarre "popping" of the jersey in Pierce guy's face. It was a really AGGRESSIVE shirt pop. BOOM. There may be a fight in here, soon. Perhaps Gallinari jumps in and endears himself to the New York crowd.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Big Roy Hibbert joins big Chris Bosh and big Jermaine O'Neal in Toronto. Hibbert could have been a top-10 pick last year, but slips to 17 this time around. The Boston-New York "fight" has simmered down a bit, as the crowd has shifted their focus to some blooper reel on the television sets above. Whatever happened to sports bloopers? Now, a blooper is a mascot doing something zany or wacky. Back in the day, it was an outfielder's pants falling down or a goofy white NBA guy's glasses shattering. I'm watching Charles Oakley jersey (no undershirt) guy and he's not finding any humor in these bloopers. None at all. Despite all his pomp and hair gel, there's an underlying sorrow to Charles Oakley jersey (no undershirt) guy. A sorrow that can't be fixed by a guy named Gallinari.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: I don't know much about JaVale McGee, but he's apparently now a member of the Washington Wizards. The crowd reacts with a rather polite golf clap. Not exactly the reaction you're looking for. Someone in the media pit just mentioned that there's a sex tape involving Mini Me floating around the Internet. There are now 20 giggling 40-year-old white sportswriters typing the name "Verne Troyer" and the word "sex tape" into Google. The rest of the guys are typing the name JaVale McGee in.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Cavs pick up Hickson, a solid ACC performer who could maybe possibly kinda help LeBron James. Perhaps. The thought here in the Garden is that LeBron's already a New Jersey, er Brooklyn, Net, and today's R.J. for Yi trade solidified that. The Ed O'Bannon jersey kid is indifferent to the Cavs selection, but is very interested in the whereabouts of George Zidek and Toby Bailey.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The word down here in the media pit is that Ajinca has the best basketball big man body in the entire draft. Just a monster; a physically gifted beast. Word has it that he was in New York's Lower East Side last evening, in attendance at a charity soccer game hosted by Steve Nash. Did he suit up and kick the ol' futbol around the night before the biggest evening of his life? No. He's not an idiot. Speaking of idiots, the guy in the Pierce jersey just started up a solo "Boston Rules" chant. Yep, "rules". I haven't heard an anything "rules" chant in a good 10 years.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Nets grab Ryan Anderson, an offensively gifted small forward out of Cal who canʼt play a lick of defense. The Ed OʼBannon kid, again, remains un-phased. Heʼs either asleep, not a fan of the Nets, or just unaware that Ed OʼBannon last played an NBA game in the late 70ʼs. Anderson is not in attendance, but Darrell Arthur sure is. The big man out of Kansas is this yearʼs Rashard Lewis. He needs a hug. So does Charles Oakley jersey (no undershirt) guy. For what should be a festive night, there sure are a lot of people in need of loving in this building at the moment.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Lee was the leader on that surprise Western Kentucky Sweet 16 team this season. Millions of Americans watched his Hilltoppers get by Drake while watching the game in cubicles on minimized computer screens back in March. Several can tell you the exact spreadsheet they were working on when WKU hit that game-winning shot. Meanwhile, Darrell Arthur is still sitting there, a stone's throw away from me, with a look of sadness washed across his face. A fan is chanting "Bea Arthur" over and over again directly behind him, and I'm absolutely baffled. What the hell does Dorothy from "The Golden Girls" have to do with the 2008 NBA Draft? A Florida connection somehow? I'm racking my brain, when I finally realize the dude's chanting "D. Arthur", not "Bea Arthur". Of course, this leads to a very important question: Has Darrell Arthur has ever seen an episode of "The Golden Girls"? And if he has — what are his feelings on Blanche, the sexpot Southern Belle? Can Steven A. Smith ask him THAT?

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: The Jazz snag Koufos, a cat a lot of people in the media expected to go much higher in the draft than 23. I watched him a few times this year and was impressed by his inside/outside game. Not sure if he can play any defense, whatsoever, though. I do a quick scan of the crowd, looking for some sort of crowd reaction, and realize that there are absolutely zero fans here from Utah. Not one. Yet, the "Bea Arthur" chant continues. No word as to when a "Betty White" one gets going.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: I saw a YouTube clip of Ibaka earlier in the week and it had him tipping a rebound to someone else. That was it. No dunk. No jumpshot. Not even a blocked shot. Just a tipped rebound to another player, who promptly took it up court in transition. From that one play alone, I knew right then and there — SERGE IBAKA IS GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT BASKETBALL FOREVER! Serge is in attendance tonight, though, so the crowd has some reason to cheer for the first time in 40 minutes. He's a tall glass of water, too, weighing about 40 pounds. He still looks twice the size of that Randolph kid Golden State drafted earlier in the evening.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: Houston goes with Batum, a French kid who plays basketball. Charles Oakley jersey (no undershirt) guy is fully asleep. The French bore him.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: San Antonio stockpiles more talent with the 2008 All-American Honorable Mention, Hill. I'd never heard of IUPUI, so I do a quick search on Wikipedia. Did you know that IUPUI plays in the Summit League? Did you know that IUPUI's soccer team made the NAIA Playoffs in 1993? Interesting stuff. Meanwhile, "Bea Arthur" chant kid is knocked out unconscious. Straight up exhausted. He didn't have the stamina for this venture. Ambitious effort, but it just wasn't meant to be. Arthur, meanwhile, remains seated — flat-out devastated.