draft misc.

[Ellie Cutler <ellie@oreilly.com>]

flotsam & jetsam from watching TNT too long...

 - the 1st shot of Lamar Odom, he was on his cell phone

 - I don't like David Falk getting Elton Brand

 - Jerry Krause is an embarrassment - all he could talk
about was Brand's body (long arms! no neck!).  But I do
think Chicago got two great picks in Brand and Artest.
They need someone solid and that's not Odom - he would
have drifted on the current Bulls team.  They need a rock
and a leader, both of which fit Elton to a T. And Artest is
a tough kid (with a beautiful smile).

 - Steve Francis either was totally overwhelmed with emotion
or was hugely upset at the prospect of going to Vancouver. I 
suppose he could still end up elsewhere if a PF trade materializes. 
I can't imagine what it feels like to an East Coast city kid to think
about moving to western Canada

 - Portland seems to be overhauling their backcourt. With
Walt W., Stoudamire, Jackson on the block,  they're interested
in Mercer and Steve Smith. And they took Roberto Bergerson (#52)
from Atlanta.  Would they be interested in Kenny Anderson, too?

 - I'm happy for Kevin McHale. At last Minnesota has drafted
someone who seems to sincerely be thrilled to be a T-wolf, doesn't
mind a cold-weather town, and will stay put! I didn't know Szczerbiak's 
dad was a player - that was a great piece.

 - Peter Vescey was twiddling his thumbs all night. With few major
deals going down, he was left to look decidedly unimportant.

 - Good deal for Indiana to get Bender for Antonio Davis, though
I was surprised they would take a kid that young again.  Al
Harrington (their H.S. draft pick from last year) was living with
Antonio and his family, so that's got to be a shakeup for him. 

 - loved Richard Hamilton hugging David Stern. Nice kid - hope
he helps the Wizards turn things around.

 - What's with Cleveland taking Trajan Langdon, when they have
Wes Person, Derek Anderson, and Sura?  Will they be trading
Anderson after all?  Will they keep Andre Miller?

Last but not least, we got lucky that Kris Clack was still on the
board at #55. After getting MVP at the Nike Desert Classic,
he had moved way up in most mock drafts. Gives us more
flexibility in the backcourt - he can slash, steal, and hop (good
rebounder/shotblocker for his size).  If he was a better shooter
he would have gone much higher - send him to Andy Enfield!