Bit of a disappointing night for one of my favorite events of the year (at least in my opinion, but maybe I was distracted by the 10,000 assignments I was going; Sports Guy was a little more enthusiastic): NBA Draft Night. First blow came upon realizing it was on ESPN. I guess it was on ESPN last year too, but I'm always hoping for a TNT broadcast because the Inside guys make everything better. Less analyzing and near Stephen A. blood vessles bursting, more Chuckster making fun of people's clothes. There wasn't much to work with this year though. Loud suits, litters of illigitimate children, and screaming grandmothers were few and far between. It's always funny watching David Stern act like he's enjoying shaking hands with someone 3 feet taller than him, but it's that much better when the person is wearing a red pinstripe 3-piece suit. Stu Scott did a nice job of interviewing, with questions ranging from "Randy Foye, your parents abandoned you, how'd that work out?" to "Adam Morrison, you have diabetes AND you cried in public. You really think you'll fit in in the NBA?" By far the worst part was ESPN announcing all the 5,647 trades before they were finalized with reports from one of their 274 scattered analysts, totally ruining the excitement of Stern announcing "we have a trade." Not that any of the trades where that groundbreaking.

Everyone said this wasn't a deep draft, but after watching it I think it was pretty strong. There were no superstar names really, but there were solid players way into the 2nd round. Perhaps partially because of some of the mindboggling overseas/project player picks during the lottery. And the Knicks, as always, were a debaucle, causing near riots from the MSG crowd, which is fun. Nice night for the Big 5, and I think the Sixers did a pretty good job. I'm not sure about their trade, but I guess getting cash never hurts.

Now it's just time to wait for the Iverson trade announcement. I know it's coming, and I think I'm prepared, but it's going to be tough. Just during the draft last night, when the commish announced a trade before the Sixers' pick, my stomach dropped. All I can hope is that someone has enough sense to not trade him to Boston or anywhere else in the division.