Shout out to the Ref, who did a great job in analyzing the draft as it happened. But now that the dust has settled, it’s my turn to jump into the melee with some (possibly outrageous) thoughts on this years’ draft.

1. What in God’s name were the Portland TrailBlazers Thinking? Who fires their General Manager an hour before the draft??Removing a GM an hour before the draft is like punching a pregnant lady in the gut right before she’s about to give birth. In both scenarios, the future is screwed. Let’s also not forget that Kevin Pritchard has been largely responsible from changing the culture of the Blazers from Jail to Trail. Even when I thought he was an idiot for signing Andre Miller, Miller proved to be hugely important late this season, especially in the playoffs.

2. Chicago>New York….again. It seems like the Bulls have positioned themselves far better than New York in the upcoming free agent frenzy. It’s funny, because in the 90′s, it wasn’t uncommon for Chi-town to diminish New York’s basketball dreams on the court. Now, off the court, the Bulls have more money available, two franchise guys in Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, and a new coach (Tom Thibideau). The Knicks have Eddy Curry, Spike Lee, and….oh that’s right, nothing. New York is the greatest city on earth, but I still don’t think anyone wants to play there. Miami, another old school Knick rival also made some deals to drop salary to put themselves in quality position as well. Keep your fingers crossed New York.

3. Abe Pollin is Smiling from Heaven. Man, the Wizards are in goooooood shape. They plucked John Wall with the first pick. No surprise there. In addition, they dealt their way to acquiring Kirk Hinrich who will bolster a back court which already has the aforementioned Wall and gunslinger Gilbert Arenas. Trevor Booker, another first round pick, is a guy I personally am a fan of. He’s a senior from Clemson and will provide some youthful maturity in addition to interior toughness. I could see him being in impact in the…playoffs? There, I said it. I think the Wizards aren’t far from that. This year? We’ll see.

4. Paul George? Luke Babbitt? Who are these clowns? George played for Fresno State, while Babbitt starred for Nevada. I kept seeing their names in my pre draft research and thought…eh. I feel like teams do so much to reach for a diamond in the rough, but I live by the rule K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid. Luke Babbitt has Adam Morrison written all over him. Except in this case, at least he wasn’t the third pick. Paul George will join Indiana along with all the other bums they’ve drafted in their history.

5. Free agency is going to be bezerk. The draft was cool, but everyones’ minds were on free agency next month. Negotiations start the first of July, from where players can sign a contract on July 8th. I know the big names are out there, but don’t forget to keep an eye on the likes of Rudy Gay, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Luis Scola, JJ Redick, Raymond Felton, and the Shaq-daddy himself. There’s a lot of talent out there. It’ll be exciting to see what happens when the dust settles.

-G