Day: June 28, 2006 (Page 2 of 3)

The Portland Trail Blazers drafted LSU power forward Tyrus Thomas with the No. 4 pick in the NBA Draft. The pick completes the Trail Blazers’ trade with Chicago in which the two teams swapped selections and also sent Viktor Khryapa to the Bulls.

The Bulls acquire the rights to Tyrus Thomas, which some enthusiast had as the No. 1 ranked player in the draft. He redshirted his first year at LSU, but decided to declare himself eligible for the draft after a freshmen year in which saw him lead the Tigers over highly touted Duke in the NCAA Final Four Tournament.

Thomas will join Tyson Chandler and an overachieving unit in Chicago that might be ready to take the next step in 2007.

If the EA Sports’ NBA Live video game commercial holds any water, Adam Morrison won’t be the one crying on the court this time.

It will be his opponents.

The Charlotte Bobcats selected the small forward from Gonzaga to do one thing: provide offense. Morrison is a scoring machine and a threat from anywhere behind the arch. He’s not a strong defender or rebounder, but should be an immediate impact in Charlotte.

There were reports before the draft that suggested newly acquired front office man Michael Jordan was in love with UCONN star Rudy Gay. But when push came to shove, more people in the Bobcats’ brass liked Morrison.

Long time college basketball analyst Dick Vitale commented that Morrison is the most NBA ready of any player in the draft.

The Bulls have agreed to send the No. 2 pick to the Trail Blazers for the No. 4 selection and Viktor Khryapa. Since the trade was made after the 2 p.m. ET trade moratorium, the trade cannot be announced until after both teams have picked.

The Bulls used the No. 2 pick to select power forward LaMarcus Aldridge from the University of Texas and therefore guarantee the guy that Portland wanted.

ESPN loudmouth Stephen A. Smith commented that with the selection of Aldridge, the Trail Blazers look “lost” and are ‘heading the wrong way in trying to re-build their team.’

The 6-11, 234lbs Aldridge draws comparison to Raptors star Chris Bosh.

The NBA Draft has officially started with the Toronto Raptors selecting Andrea Barnani from Italy. Barnani is the first international player selected No. 1 overall in NBA history. He has been compared to Dirk Nowitzki, but others have called him a “one trick pony” as well.

The overall analysis from ESPN is that Barnani will be more effective in years three and four in the NBA, rather than being an immediate option right away. He is a pure shooter who apparently struggles playing defense and isn’t a strong rebounder either.

However, with the recent addition of Rasho Nesterovic, Barnani won’t be forced to play right away.

The No.1 pick in the NBA Draft is yet to be announced, but that doesn’t mean the action hasn’t started yet. ESPN.com is reporting that the Portland Trailblazers have agreed to a deal to send PG Sebastian Telfair to Boston for the No. 7 overall selection.

The Boston Celtics acquired second-year Portland Trail Blazers point guard Sebastian Telfair, center Theo Ratliff and a 2008 second-round pick for the No. 7 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft, as well as forward Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

The trade was agreed upon Wednesday afternoon but it came after the 2 p.m. ET deadline which means the Celtics will still be on the clock, selecting for the Blazers, when the No. 7 pick comes up during the draft.

Portland will pick at No. 4 and No. 7, barring any more trades.

Apparently, the Celtics were not thrilled with the point guard options at the seven spot in the draft. Telfair became expandable in Portland after missing most of last season with a thumb injury. Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack took over for Telfair during his absence and played well enough for the Trail Blazers to part with the young guard.

There also have been reports that the Celtics are actively seeking a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for Allen Iverson.