The gentleman on the right is LaMarcus Aldridge, the highest draft pick in Texas Longhorns history. Barring a mooted swap with Portland, he’ll be suiting up for the Bulls next Autumn. Eddy Curry, however, is all yours! Nice work.
(ADDENDUM – Portland steps up to get Aldridge, Chicago has the rights to Tyrus Thomas, plus the Bulls acquire Viktor Kyrapa as part of the deal.)
Your draft results thus far :
1) Toronto – Andrea Bargnani, F, Benetton Treviso
2) Chicago – LaMarcus Aldridge, F, Texas (rights traded to Portland)
3) Charlotte – Adam Morrison, F, Gonzaga (highest Gonzaga player selected since John Stockton)
4) Portland – Tyrus Thomas, F, LSU (supposedly grew 8 inches between his sophmore and senior years of high school — imagine how tall he’d be had he never graduated!…negotiating rights held by Chicago in exchange for Aldridge)
5) Atlanta – Shelden Williams, F, Duke
6) Minnesota – Brandon Roy, G, Washington (traded to Portland)
7) Boston – Randy Foye, G, Villanova (traded to Minnesota via Portland)
8) Houston – Rudy Gay, F, UConn (rumors of a trade to Memphis flying around)
9) Golden State – Patrick O’Bryant, C, Bradley (a smart move — a team full of perimeter threats that sorely needs an inside presence, one they aren’t likely to get from Adonal Foyle)
10) Seattle – Saer Sene, F, Senegal (lots of talk about a 7’8″ wingspan, but I am assuming he has arms rather than wings)
11) Orlando – J.J. Redick, G, Duke (I’ll drink to that!)
12) New Orleans – Hilton Armstrong, C, UConn
13) Philadelphia – Thabo Sefolosha, G, Angelico Biella
14) Utah – Ronnie Brewer, G, Arkansas
15) New Orleans – Cedric Simmons, F, NC State
16) Chicago – Rodney Carney, F, Memphis
17) Indiana – Shawne Williams, F, Memphis (groans are heard in the Knicks war room, and not merely because J.D. is tuning his guitar)
18) Washington – Olexisy Pecherov, PF, Paris Basket Racing
19) Sacramento – Quincy Douby, SG, Rutgers
20) New York – Renaldo Balkman, F, South Carolina (the crowd is booing, presumably they know that Isiah has not drafted Ronaldo Blackman. Balkman hasn’t turned up, perhaps warned that he might have to attend a J.D. & The Straightshot gig after the draft. Stephen A. is “almost speechless”, the key word being “almost”.
21) Phoenix – Rajon Rondo, PG, Kentucky
22) New Jersey – Marcus Williams, PG, UConn (amazing, the Nets have not attempted to trade the 22nd and 23rd picks)
23) New Jersey – Josh Boone, C, UConn (shot-blocking demon, has also chosen to skip this beauty pageant. I like him already!)
24) Memphis – Kyle Lowry, PG, Villanova
25) Cleveland – Shannon Brown, SG, Michigan State
26) Los Angeles – Jordan Farmar Superstar (above, left), PG, UCLA
27) Phoenix – Sergio Rodriguez, G, Adecco Estudiantes
(UPDATE : Houston have completed the deal, sending Rudy Gay and Stomile Swift to Memphis in exchange for Shane Battier).
(UPDATE II : Philly and Chicago have swapped the rights to Sefolosha and Carney)
(UPDATE III : Boston are sending Randy Foye, Dan Dickau and Raef LaFrentz to Portland in exchange for Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and a 2008 2nd round pick).