4:35: Leaving work, a thunderstorm hits and it begins to rain REALLY hard….that's not a good sign…
5:53: The probability of Channing Frye being picked by the Raptors dominates the conversation. Objects will be thrown if that is the case. First drinks are served; strangely, someone orders a Sterling. The bar staff had to wipe the dust off before serving it.
5:56: This draft is making everyone TOO nervous…case in point â€" 2 members of our party have just gone to play Big Buck Hunter…there has to be a joke involving Kobe and Bogut somewhere in there.
6:30: Through the first round, debate rages as to whether more objects would go airborne if the Raps take Frye or Felton. Bar staff start wondering if now would be a good time to remove us from the premises.
6:33: Chapman says Luther Head will be a first round pick. Apparently, the pints of Keith’s are made of 100% booze.
6:33: Lacas does not care about Luther Head. Instead, being focused solely on the menu, he wants a pyramid of chicken balls for dinner.
6:37: First Dave Feschuk sighting of the night…bad sign number 2…
6:50: Villanueva is on TV and, suddenly, every alien movie reference ever is brought out in about 1.23 seconds...the wager is that his favourite movie is Goonies.
6:51: Lacas looks completely lost with all the basketball talk. Still thinking about the pyramid of chicken balls.
7:00: The one couch parade has quickly become two. Number of projectiles for a Channing Frye choice has multiplied. Bar staff now VERY concerned.
7:06: In our first Cavs blunder of the night, it’s announced that the Cavs trade Jiri Welsch to the Bucks for a second round pick in next year’s banner draft. Interesting move, considering that they traded a 2007 first round pick to Boston for him only four months ago. Is Bobby Beathard really the GM in Cleveland?
7:14: At the first sight of a plate of wings, all menus come out.
7:19: First Channing Frye interview. Chorus of boos quickly follows.
7:22: Trivia question on the nearby NTN screen asks who Hulk Hogan defeated to win the 1984 WWF title. A resounding chorus of "The Iron Sheik" fills the room.
7:25: 5 Minutes to first pick…
7:33: It’s like being a six-year old on Christmas, waiting on the top of the stair for your parents to say it’s ok to come down and see what Santa brought. Or, if you are Chris Wilcox what hand-gun is sticking out of the top of your stocking.
7:36: Is that really Lenny Kravitz “Are You Gonna Go My Way†playing for the intro? Was Andrew Bynum even born when this song came out?
7:37: David Stern enters and immediately gives props to the 200 countries watching. Has this number been confirmed. I mean, is Burkina Faso really watching?.
We all wait in anticipation, Lacas actually stops eating. Hold up, Milwaukee has 5 minutes? WHY? Is a month not enough time? It is like asking an 18 year old virgin guy if they need more time to determine whether sex should wait.
7: 40: Waitress comes by with an extra Guinness. Matt Rose snaps it up quicker than Hoffa picks up two fouls.
7:41: The first pick: Andrew Bogut. No one reacts. This may be the first time that North America sits quietly through the first overall pick. Meanwhile, Foster's explodes all over Australia at 7 a.m. This is bigger than West Coast beating Melbourne in Aussie Rules.
David Stern looks like Bilbo Baggins when Bogut hits the stage. Things from now on could be completely out of control.
7:42: Atlanta is up. Could madness ensue? Stephen A. Smith bashed the Milwakee brass for not being serious about winning. Apparently he has mistaken Milwaukee for a premier free agent destination. Someone should banish Stephen A. Smith to Siberia. And what does the A. stand for???
7:44: Bogut's dad is being interviewed. No tears. Probably because Bogut does not have eight children to feed. Half of the United States is wondering what the heck he just said. Bogut's Dad and T.J. Ford are sure to have some unintelligible conversations this season.
ESPN informs us that Bogut’s favorite food is soup. Jerry Seinfeld wonders if that is considered a meal. Raptorshq mock is perfect so far. So is Chad Ford.
7:47: Atlanta is on the clock. Time is up. The Gold Club is now wondering who their next regular patron will be. Apparently, it’s Marvin Williams. Raptorshq is 2/2. Chad Ford is being equalled. Jay Bilas is all over Marvin, saying in five years he will be the player of the draft. He also said that Josh Smith would be 2004's biggest bust.
7:50: Dick Vitale makes his first appearance, blasting Atlanta for not taking Chris Paul. "Upside" has made its first appearance as well. Some woman with the last name Gittens is pretending to be Marvin's mother. He promises her nothing in terms of gifts.
7:51: After giving up the farm to move up three spots, Utah is ready to pick. Stern gives a pregnant pause before announcing the pick. NBA is all drama! Deron Williams. Is he worth three picks? Lacas claims that Paul falls to seven. Stephen A. Smith is doing his best impersionation of Hubie Brown, but we all know he is reading the stats off the teleprompter.
7:53: Talk of what New Orleans will do has Raptor fans worried. Deron Williams' wife is put on screen. The New York fans are silent. In fact, so are we. All those who had Deron Williams' child in the "First Kid to be Seen" pool collect their winnings.
7:55: The Hornets take Paul. No surprise. The real drama starts with the next pick…
7:55: Howland watches the pick from the washroom. Harbour Sports Grille is a true sports bar with TVs in the lavatory.
8:00: Half-hour in. Chris Paul needs a booster seat for this interview. A backcourt of him and JR Smith will be TIGHT.
8:02: Jay Bilas is talking. Does anyone care what he has to say? Felton to Charlotte? PLEASE. Or Frye. Ok, maybe they won’t take Frye.
8:03: FELTON! Thank you Charlotte. Apparently, they did not turn the ball over enough last year with Brevin Knight singlehandedly winning the assists category in every fantasy league. The Raptorshq team blows its first gasket of the night. Felton says he feels no pressure. Did he not go to a hotbed of basketball? Bilas slams the pick. Felton says Bilas' opinions are irrelevant. We agree.
8:08: TSN's update focuses on Jeremy Roenick. Apparently, they did not get the memo stating that hockey is no longer relevant. I think Stephen A. Smith just slammed the Raptorshq.com mock draft.
8:10: Portland's up next and it seems like they'll get their man, Gerald Green.
They pick Martell Webster. WHAT?! You passed on Green? The bar is out of control . If the Raptors pick Frye, the ACC might be burned down. There is ZERO consensus amongst the group. Stephen A. Smith slams Portland and their lack of leadership. No one on this panel says anything intelligent. In fact, Greg Anthony doesn't speak at all. His broadcasting skills are more suspect than his point guard skills.
8:14: Raptors on the clock. This is HUGE. Another Dick Vitale appearance. Webster is compared to Dennis Scott. Hopefully, he doesn't have the late career weight gain.
Vitale disses Portland for not picking Antoine Wright. Does he have full control of his arms?! Because they are really distracting. Webster’s grandmother has the greatest hat since….well….EVER. She is clearly hiding her flask under it. Apparently she balled in the 30s.
8:17: Maybe the biggest pick ever…..and…we take….CHARLIE VILLANUEVA! Um…in the words of the immortal Lil' Jon…WHAT? Everyone here is in mad hysteria…this makes no sense. A lackadaisical power forward who got yanked in crucial minutes last year at UConn for NOT PLAYING DEFENCE? This is unbelievable. We all hope that Babcock has some trade up his sleeve because now we get to watch the more talented players get picked by teams below us.
8:22: Knicks pick Channing Frye. We were pretty sure that Gerald Green would be the pick. The Knicks fans don't begin the "Fire Thomas" chant, so they seem content.
8:25: Howland is ecstatic because Golden State has a shot at Green or Granger, two players who he feels will be studs on his team…only to see…
8:27: Golden State takes Ike Diogu. This draft is crazy. No one saw this coming at all. In fact, I don’t think from the look on Diogu’s face that he saw this coming either. Sidenote â€" the temperature in here is at least 32 degrees.
The group wonders whether Howland is more upset that the Warriors chose Diogu over Green/Granger or the fact that he owes Chapman a beer because Ike was chosen before Sean May.
8:32: Bynum goes to the Lakers. He's apparently the youngest player ever drafted. The upside of this is that we were sure Green was going to the Lakers. Now there’s a chance someone the Raptors wanted at 7 drops to us at 16.
8:37: Orlando continues the most surprising draft I’ve ever seen by taking Fran Vasquez. While we predicted this in our first mock, with Green, Granger and Wright still on the board, we thought there would be no way he’d be picked here.
8:43: The Clippers redeem Chad Ford and mock drafts everywhere by honouring their “soft promise†and taking Yaroslav Korolev. Things are getting really interesting as the top guys who were projected to go early are still dropping. The good thing now is that we’ve got a great shot at some of the guys we wanted at 7.
8:47: Could someone cut off Stephen A. Smith's mike please?
8:50: The madness continues as Charlotte takes May. They really are trying to build up their home fanbase. Once again, we’re freaking out as now Granger, Wright, Joey Graham and Green are all still available with only 2 picks left before the Raptors next pick.
8:54: This is unreal…Minnesota passes over all the aforementioned players and takes Rashad McCants. The players we want keep dropping.
8:57: Jeremy Roenick is freaking out on TSN again…
9:00: Jay Bilas diss of the night. After the McCants pick, Bilas proclaims that if he had a nickel for everytime McCants guarded someone, he’d have a nickel. That tops last year’s Josh Smith comment.
9:04: The Nets finally end the madness and take Wright. This pick doesn’t make much sense having Vince and Jefferson but the Nets do need depth.
9:05: Now we’re worried. Sure Granger, Graham and Green are on the board but based on last year’s 8th pick and the Villanueva decision, let’s just say we’re REAL WORRIED RIGHT NOW.
9:08: And well…we should be a bit….the Raps take Joey Graham. Stephen A. Smith likes the pick. Smith lost his relevance around the time his hometown Eagles last won the Super Bowl. As we’ve written on the site, he’s a great athlete but in the context of what happened at 7, you have to wonder. No one really knows what to make of the draft just yet. Maybe Granger will fall to us at 41.
9:14: Granger goes to Indiana. Great…well…at least we got Granger doing some singing in a random blooper obviously meant to be shown way earlier. Yikes…maybe with the help of Just Blaze, it might be tight…
9:18: The Celtics take Gerald Green. Unbelievable that he fell this far. A potential steal for the Celtics. Ainge sure is stockpiling young talent.
9:24: Memphis takes Hakim Warrick. Not sure where he fits in with the squad. This is a team that has major point guard and center issues.
9:32: Julius Hodge goes to Denver. He wins the award for best suit of the night.
9:35: Jerry West interviews about the Hakim Warrick pick and mentions how he had a great season at PRINCETON. The logo doesn’t know where his own pick played last year. That pretty much sums up this draft.
9:39: Phoenix decides to keep the run and gun plan going by taking Nate Robinson. Nate goes earlier than some expected and the bar toasts Leandro Barbosa's inevitable trip back to Brazil.
Hold up….he’s not going to be a Sun. Apparently, he’s going to be included in the Quentin Richardson trade to the Knicks in order to bring Kurt Thomas to Phoenix. Second trade of the night…hopefully more to come…including one where we see the Raps trade for the Flux capacitor, go back in time 4 hours and draft the right players.
9:49: We get an explanation of the Raptors picks. Apparently, Sam Mitchell is ecstatic at the picks. He thinks they’re getting two athletic players who will play tough D.
9:53: Sacramento takes Francisco Garcia. Interesting pick considering the team has Mobley and Stojakovic as shooting guards.
9:55: Luther Head goes to Houston. Apparently, Chapman was not off his rocker. Interesting pick as the team needs to address both needs at PF and PG. Looks like point guard wins out. The Chris Taft Plummet continues...
9:59: Our mock draft is about 4 for 25 now as Johan Petro goes to Seattle. So much for the Petro Canada idea.
10:02: Our third trade of the night is announced. This one has Portland sending two second round picks to Denver in exchange for Jarrett Jack. Looks like the Jailblazers aren’t quite sold on the Telfair.
10:06: The Pistons make an interesting choice with their first round pick. They go with undersized PF Jason Maxiell. The Pistons appeared to be needing a shooter after the finals but decided instead to add someone who Darko could practice dunking on.
10:11: The Blazers up again with Utah’s old pick. The pick is Linas Kleiza. Seems like the Blazers after drafting Monya and Khryapa last year are looking for an all-Eastern Bloc lineup.
10:17: Ian Manhinmi goes to San Antonio. The Spurs are the Patriots of the NBA. You can't knock their picks. The panel gives us nothing on this guy except some tidbit about him being a good volleyball player. The AVP on NBC...it's fantastic!
10:23: The Miami Heat take Wayne Simien…chock up another point for Raps HQ…barely. This pick makes total sense though with the impending free agency situation of Udonis Haslem. Great rebounder and a tough player who will be a great fit for the Heat.
10:29: Last pick for the Knicks…David Lee. Isiah’s getting the boos now. Lee is a solid player but Knicks fans aren't feeling it.