From what I recall in my young life, I’d rank this draft in the top 5, not because it was utterly surprising as far as picks go, but mostly because of how much Twitter enhanced the viewer experience. OK sometimes the pre-pick “sources told me blank team is taking blank player” tweets ruined the surprises; it was a little too NFL Drafty for my tastes.
But at the end of the day, the evening was filled with some great laughs, highs (Tristan Thompson‘s jump up the boards to No. 4) and lows (Josh Selby falling to No. 49 overall).
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So Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams going 1-2 didn’t utterly surprise anyone. However, the temperature in the green room started steaming at the No. 6 pick, when the Wizards chose Jan Vesely. Let’s just say that Jan is a lucky man with a tall girlfriend, who pulled him in for a little more than a kiss on the cheek when David Stern read his name.
@jeffborzello: AIYYYOOO Jan Vesely…automatically the man
@HPbasketball: VESELY WINS.#sheusesveeeeeeeeeeeeeesely
Intriguing and young prospect Bismack Biyombo was taken next by the Kings and shipped to Charlotte. According to ESPN’s glut of analysts:
@treykerby: “You can’t run any plays for him.” Cool prospect.
Oddly enough, the influx of foreign prospects led to the three best point guard prospects – Brandon Knight, Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker – slipping to the eight-through-10 picks, respectively. Jimmer will team up with the King’s Tyreke Evans in a shot-happy backcourt and Walker could be throwing lobs to the uber-athletic Biyombo in Charlotte.
@TheProkhorov: Hey Kemba Walker. Go and see the sights of Prokhorovs beautiful Newark. I have a feeling you’ll have time
@GoodmanCBS: Source told me that The Jimmer will be mentored by DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento.
@HPbasketball: They should just play that “SHOT SHOTS SHOTS SHOT-SHOT-SHOTS” song in Sacramento all the time now.
While it certainly wasn’t a star-heavy draft, there were some highly-valued and talented picks taken in the second round. Seasoned college guys like JaJuan Johnson and high potential talents like Josh Selby were available.
@SebastianPruiti: Kevin Garnett is going to do wonders for Johnson…after punching him in the mouth a few times first…
But nearing the end of the evening, the Lakers, uh, made of teeny stretch with the 56th overall selection.
@johnhollinger: Chukwudiebere Maduabum – perilously close to 140 characters just by itself.
Who? The ESPN guys couldn’t even tell you, to no fault of their own. But they did have some more serious issues. Heather Cox asked Spike Lee about last year’s draft pick by the Knicks, “Carl Landry,” after the Knicks reached for Iman Shumpert.
@landryfields: Adopting the nickname “Carl” and and changing my last name to “Landry”.. #alterego
@KBerg_CBS: And Knicks fans boo, because Stern pronounced Jimmer Fredette’s name like this: Iman Shumpert.
On the production side of things, ESPN went repeatedly (too much, in fact) with Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” as the theme song.
@AlexDonno: If I was taking a shot every time I heard that Adele song during ESPN’s draft coverage, I would have died 3 times by now.
Speaking of drinking, the NBA Draft is quickly becoming like Cinco de Mayo — not an actual holiday but treated as one in finding an excuse to drink. You can’t help but notice Jay Bilas’ repetitive breakdowns of the players’ “great hands” and “7-foot wingspans,” nor the trends we see every year from certain teams (i.e. Suns picking up the lesser of a twin, San Antonio being sneaky with trades).
@sammyg4545: @HPbasketball at this point bilas is just on replay and is at the bar getting hammered with us
@sleedy15: @HPbasketball Saavy Spurs draft day move…. Drink!
In the end, all of us left with dreams of being Jan Vesely and some of us feeling a little sluggish in the morning.
@TheProkhorov: Prokhorov just wake up from nap. Who we pick?
What was your favorite tweet from last night?
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