Draft ramblings

Here are some random thoughts from the NBA draft:

* Derrick Rose's grandmother gave him the nickname Pooh as a child, because of his love of sweets. So, what is a boy to do? Get a tattoo on his shoulder that says "Poohdini" -- I wonder if Chicago can still get a refund for their pick.

* O.J. Mayo's full first name is Ovinton J'Anthony. This led to a discussion about whether we should change the name of this blog to J'Seattles Got Balls. J'Kidding.

* Russell Westbrook and Michael Jordan share this fun fact - neither played on the varsity until their junior year. Before we extrapolate too much, this also holds true for the Dice Game.

* In profiles of players done by ESPN, they have a section called "Must Improve." For Kevin Love? "Explosion ability." Some intern at ESPN needs to get a full-time job for managing to get "explosion ability" into the profile of the player with the best porn name in the draft.

* Thumbs up to Danilo Gallinari's PR coach/english teacher -- he's here "to help the team win." Message received, loud and clear.

* Joe Alexander -- born in Taiwan. Grew up in China and Japan. Holla!

* DJ Augustin. Yes, he's short, but his wingspan is ... wait for it ... wait for it ... 6'3". Wowza. No wonder the man has a custom made suit. It's the third straight year a Texas player went in the top 10. Three straight lottery picks - zero Final Fours.

* Brooke Lopez goes at 10. This man's voice is great. It's a mixture of Dikembe Mutombo and Nelson from the Simpsons. If there is a God in heaven, he will be mic'd up for a game next year.

* Jay Bilas is effusive in his praise for Jason Thompson from Rider. Says Thompson has a "great motor" and is ready to play in the NBA although he got tired during the always tough MAAC tournament. You don't understand the meaning of the phrase "digging deep" until you are down 8 on the road at Marist.

* Here's my prediction Brandon Rush: a dynamic hi-top fade, the likes of which we have not seen in the league since Dee Brown 1.0

* The Sonics draft an African guy named Serge in the first round despite his agent's best efforts to not get drafted until the second round. I can see why Presti had to take him. He looks absolutely unstoppable against the Congolese high school team he is scrimmaging against.

* George Hill!

* The Sonics deal their top two second round picks for DJ White. I love this guy. He's a bruiser with skills. In fact, I'd offer 1-4 odds of victory if he fought all three of the Sonics centers -- at once. He'll be in the league for a decade if he can stay healthy.

* With their two second round picks, the Sonics take DeVon Hardin and Sasha Kaun -- two centers (and stop me if you've heard this before) whose offensive skills are suspect. Hardin, who was sporting a nice headband/wristband set, has more potential than Kaun, who managed to average 4 rebounds a game at Kansas despite being 6'11". Kaun also signed a big contract in Russia so it seems unlikely that he will ever play in the NBA. I guess this is the NBA draft equivalent of folding when you could have checked. Sene, don't worry pal -- your future is safe. For now.

(Editor's Note: We've heard that the Sonics traded Kaun to Cleveland for cash considerations. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Mike Brown calls Lebron and says: "Hey King, we got you some help. Sasha Kaun from Kansas. Averaged 7 and 4 for a national champion. Hello?")