NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mitesh Anand and Justin Schrager reporting.
Knick fans were loud, the Nets welcomed a couple of local stars, and there were 11 trades completed. The evening started with an anti-James Dolan protest outside Madison Square Garden, and chants of "Sell the Knicks" rained down all night. The NBA... it's FANTASTIC. Here's how the events of the evening unfolded... from pick number one all the way to pick number 60.
1010 WINS at the 2006 NBA Draft from Madison Square Garden:
Who will go #1? Are there any future Hall of Famers waiting in the Green Room? And how will Isiah screw this up? 1010 WINS tries to answer those questions and more in this live blog from MSG.
7:30pm: The draft is just about to start and there's already big news. Coney Island's own Sebastian Telfair is headed to Boston as part of a deal that sends the number 7 pick tonight to the Portland Trailblazers. We just got David Stern's welcoming remarks and the Toronto Raptors are on the clock.
7:35pm: Mitesh Anand and Justin Schrager are bringing you running commentary. Anand: Andrea Bargnani has just been selected first overall by the Raptors. Schrager: No big surprise here. He's the firs European to go number 1 overall. Anand: The Raptors seemed to have settled on this pick. They had been looking to trade down. Schrager: And now the Knicks have the second pick.... OH WAIT.... that's right Isiah Thomas traded the pick. Anand: There has been a constant chant of "Fire Thomas" and "Sell the Knicks."
7:42pm: Anand: The Bulls take LaMarcus Aldridge with the second pick. Schrager: This was supposed to be the Knicks pick but New York is stuck with Eddy Curry. Still Aldridge to me doesn't seem like a game changer. The Knicks may have gotten the better of that deal. Anand: Although Isiah already traded next year's pick in the same deal. Aldridge needs to show more toughness or big men in the NBA will eat him up. Michael Jordan returns to the NBA as the Charlotte Bobcats are on the clock..
7:49pm: Schrager: Adam Morrison to the Bobcats. Let's see if he cries now. Anand: Morrison has been berated by New York fans with chants of "shave that moustache." Schrager: In the last few years, Charlotte has collected a lot of experienced college stars, and that's the best way to build a winning team. Anand: A lot of people said Jordan fell in love with Rudy Gay in pre-draft workouts, but he went with a proven clutch performer. Schrager: Portland wanted Morrison with the fourth pick because he's a local kid without a criminal record, because that's a surprisingly, consistant problem for the Jailblazers. Anand: Marcus WIliams would be a perfect fit here at four.
7:55pm: Anand: Blazers take Tyrus Thomas... the LSU freshman who's stock rose during the NCAA Tournament last season. Schrager: He's very tall. Anand: That and an amazing athlete. The word "upside" has been overused with this guy. Schrager: ESPN's Jay Bilas just called him "FREAKISH" but he meant it as a compliment.
7:57pm: Anand: The Atlanta Hawks are up. Schrager: Everyone says they are going to pick Sheldon Williams from Duke. A solid... if unspectacular... pick.
8:01pm: Anand: And as Justin just told you... the Hawks take Williams. The crowd didn't like the pick.... most likely because Sheldon went to Duke and no one likes duke. Schrager: They're just warming up for J.J. Redick.
8:06pm: Schrager: The anti-Dolan contingent in the crowd is getting vocal again. Anand: Chants of "Sell the Knicks" and "Dolan Sucks" are raining down from the back of the theater. Schrager: And the Timberwolves select Brandon Roy with the sixth pick. It's a good selection, especially since Rashad McCants is probably out for the year. Anand: Roy is the best all-around player in the draft. He could be the next Dwayne Wade.
8:17pm: Schrager: Celtics take Randy Foye with the 7th pick, but he's probably headed to Portland as part of the Telfair deal. Anand: We've moved upstairs to the Play-by-Play, Justin wanted air conditioning. Schrager: Madonna is playing at the Garden tonight and she apparently turns down the AC. What the Material Girl wants, the Material Girl gets. Anand: Houston Rockets are on the clock, and there are rumors of a trade. Apparently, Houston would select Rudy Gay from UCONN and send him to Memphis for Shane Battier.
8:23pm: Anand: And the Rockets do take Rudy Gay... one of six UCONN players that could get selected tonight. Schrager: It's a bad pick if they keep him, but if the Battier trade goes through, it's a great move for Houston. On a team with McGrady and Yao, Gay would never get the ball and would lose interest pretty quick. Anand: That's been the knock on Gay his whole career. With all the UCONN players available tonight... there's a lot of Huskey support... enough to drown out any Bronx cheers for Gay. There was even one fan holding a "I heart Gay" sign.
8:29pm: Anand: Another trade in the works. Chicago may send #2 overall pick LaMarcus Aldridge to Portland for a package including 4th pick Tyrus Thomas. I heard ESPN's Dan Patrick say earlier that he didn't want his Bulls to get Thomas. Oh well. Schrager: The Warriors have taken Bradley Center Patrick O'Brien with the 9th pick. Anand: Another player whose stock rose in the NCAA Tournament. Schrager: It smells like B-O in here. Anyway, a team like the Warriors is interesting cause they're not good but they have decent players in every positoin. So they were drafting for depth because you can't teach height.
8:35pm: Anand: The Sonics select Saer Sene from Senegal. He used to play in Belgium. Justin any thoughts? Schrager: I don't have a big enough satellite dish to have seen this guy play. Anand: Everyone says he's a raw talent. It could be a reach for Seattle.
8:39pm: Anand: In a draft that didn't have a clear cut number one... you'd expect crazy things. Well there's been another trade rumored.... Schrager: Randy Foye, who was drafted by the Celtics, who's apparently already been traded to Portland is now headed to Minnesota for Brandon Roy. Anand: Foye for Roy huh? Schrager: It ryhmes.
8:41pm: Anand: And here comes Commissioner Stern from that secret room behind the screen... and the Orlando Magic select J. J. Redick from Duke. I can't hear Justin with all the boos. Schrager: You know what happens when you combine JJ and Florida? You get Good Times. Seriously.. this pick is Dyn-o-mite! Redick is the best shooter in the world and Orlando is building around a great inside presence like Dwight Howard.. so he'll need someone to kick it out too. It looks like JJ is happy too. He'll be having a few Appletinis with dinner tonight. Someone get his keys. Anand: Justin referring to Redick's recent arrest for DWI. The fans are reminding him of that also.
8:48pm: Anand: The Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Biloxi, Omaha, Baton Rouge Hornets are up with the 12 pick. They select Hilton Armstrong... the second UCONN player selected tonight. Schrager: He went too early. He averaged less than five points a game in four years in college?!??!?!? But on a good side he only missed two three pointers the whole time. Anand: He only took three.
8:52pm: Anand: There are few words Stern can say to get a crowd to cheer. "We have a trade to announce is one of them." Stern confirms the Telfair to Celtics trade. The Philadelphia 76ers are up... and they select Thabo Sefolosha of Switzerland by way of South Africa and Sweden. Schrager: He better be a good defender or I can see the headlines now "Swiss Cheese". Anand: Speaking of foreign players... Sene's suit rocks! Talk about earth tones. His milky brown outfit definitely leads the way for most fashinonable.
8:59pm: Anand: We got pastels now. The Jazz select Ronnie Brewer and his powder blue suit with the 14th selection. He can score, handle the ball, defend, and is very athletic. The problem... he has trouble taking over games and is not a consistant scorer. He'll also have problems getting his shot off in the NBA. When Brewer was a child... he broke his right arm. Doctors never set it right and it healed all weird. So he's got an awkward release. Schrager: They have very good cookies on the media buffet table... but I just dropped it on my shirt.
9:04pm: Anand: Justin's back at the buffet table, so I'll tell you the Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Biloxi, Omaha, Baton Rouge Hornets select Cedric Simmons from NC State with the 15th pick. Schrager (he's back): My friend Kevin Hull covered Simmons in high school and says he's a super nice kid (that's Kevin Hull WECT-TV Channel 6, Wilmington, NC). Anand: On a side note... the Commissioner just confirmed the Foye for Roy trade. Schrager: It rhymes.
9:11pm: Schrager: The Bulls have their second first round pick and take Rodney Carney from Memphis. Rumor has it he's headed to Philly for that Swiss-guy. Anand: Carney is wearing a Bulls hat during his TV interview. This is all confusing.
9:17pm: Anand: The Aldridge for Thomas trade is now official. Senegal sensation Saer Sene just met with the media. To call him soft-spoken would be an understatement. He answered four questions. The questions were longer than the answers. The Pacers are up and they take Shawne Williams. That makes back to back Memphis players taken. Justin has headed back downstairs awaiting the Knicks pick and of course the fan reaction. Wizards are on the clock, the Kings on deck and the Knicks in the hole.
9:23pm: Anand: The Wizards take Oleksiy Pecherov... 6'11" who played in France. As is with most European players, Pecherov needs to gain some strength to be productive in the NBA.
9:27pm: Anand: The crowd goes crazy as they show Spike Lee on the theater's giant screens. I wonder if he's ever directed a tragedy as great as the James Dolan-owned New York Knicks.
9:29pm: Anand: With the 18th pick the Kings take Quincy Douby of Rutgers. A pure shooting guard who can score the basketball. The Knicks are now on the clock. A picture of Isiah just popped up on the screen and the fans have already started rumbling. Hopefully Justin doesn't get killed by disgruntled fans.
9:34pm: Anand: Knicks fans sitting on the edge of their seats.... Stern up at the podium... "We have a trade". Spike Lee doesn't want to hear it... he wants Stern to get on with it. (The Carney for Sefolosha trade if official) "With the 20th Pick in the draft the Knicks select Renaldo Balkman." Right on cue... "Sell the Knicks" chants. Balkman was thought to be a mid to late 2nd round pick. Isiah apparently thought otherwise. Balkman is a forward out of South Carolina. He was born in Staten Island, NY. He's been described as a Dennis Rodman type player. Thomas should know... having won two NBA championships with him.
9:45pm: Anand: Phoenix Suns take Rajon Rondo out of Kentucky. That's the first point guard taken in the draft. The Nets are on the clock and Justin is back.... Schrager: well, the Nets just took Marcus Williams... the entire press corps is holding their laptops a bit tighter. He was the guy Knicks fans wanted... so if Isiah was wrong.. he'll be seeing a lot of what might have been. and buy learning under Jason Kidd, Williams has the best teacher he could ever want. When David Stern announced the Knicks pick.. the crowd exploded in boos... but that would have happened with anyone. The truth is.. no one knows if Balkman will be any good. The one thing Isiah is good at is drafting so maybe this kid will work out. First thing first, though, Knick fans need to learn the difference between Balkman, and former Knick Rolando Blackman. Let's hope they don't give him number 20.
9:50pm: Schrager: The Nets complete a UCONN double... taking Josh Boone. Anand: That's the fourth UCONN player taken. Schrager: Its not even fair to compare the Knicks and Nets anymore... organizationally. When they move to Brooklyn.. its gonna be a real problem here at MSG.
10:00pm: Anand: Memphis takes Villanova Point Guard Kyle Lowry. He's a tough-nose defender who lays it on the line everytime he's on the floor. He's got to work on his outside shot. Schrager: After the chocolate stain... I just found something yellow on my shirt. Must have been the angry Knick fans.
10:03pm: Anand: The Cleveland Cavalieres take Shannon Brown out of Michigan State. He needs to keep improving his shot if he's going to play along LeBron James.
10:10pm Schrager: The Lakers just took Jordan Farmar, from UCLA. At least he won't have to move. This pick came to the Lakers as part of the deal that sent Shaq to the Heat.. so in a way, he's responsible for Miami winning the championship. Or not at all.
10:15pm Anand: The Suns are up with another pick and take Sergio Rodriguez from Spain. He can handle the ball and is a good passer. If he plays, his talents could fit in with the Suns style. The NBA runner-up Dallas Mavericks are on the clock.
10:21pm Anand: Mavs take Maurice Ager from Michigan State. And its that time again... the New York Knicks are on the clock.... as Justin ponders... "I wonder who is available right now?"
10:25pm Anand: With the 29th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft... the Knicks select Mardy Collins, guard from Temple. Schrager: Mardy Collins looks to me to be exactly like Aaron McKie... given the fact they both went to Temple. Kind of ironic, because McKie was one of the players Larry Brown wanted the Knicks to acquire last year. I'm sure that's a comforting thought to the ex-coach... and if not he can snuggle up with his $40 Million. Anand: The pick left Knick fans shaking their heads and Spike Lee unmoved. Seriously... he just sat still. No emotion. Isiah's team is coming together.
10:30pm Anand: Portland rounds out the first round selecting British-born Joel Freeland. And instead of Stern handing him a jersey on stage... Freeland gave him a English soccer jersey. Schrager: He's the first draftee to give the commissioner a gift tonight. It's true... the British are classier than we are. Anand: Portland also picked up Sergio Rodriguez from the Suns for cash. That's like the 20th guy the Blazers have gotten in the first round... and they lead off the 2nd round.
10:35pm Anand: Stern hands the stage over to deputy commissioner Russ Granik who is leaving the NBA after 30 years. And Granik gets a huge standing ovation from the New York fans.
10:39pm Anand: Granik announces that Portland has taken James White out of Cincinnati. Schrager: He was a track star in college. Anand: He's not slow.
10:42pm Anand: Rockets up and take Steve Novak out of Marquette. Schrager: That's a good pick. It's the 2nd round... what you want from me.
10:50pm Schrager: Hawks take Solomon Jones from Central Florida. Clippers with their first pick of the night take Paul Davis. He's the third player from Michigan State taken tonight. Every now and again one of those guys who seems like he's on his college team for 110 years.... Paul Davis is one of those guys. And every year... they said he was about to take it to the next level. Anand: We're still waiting. Raptors take Texas star P. J. Tucker. A great scorer in college. Schrager: He won't get playing time right away because he's going to be behind Chris Bosh and Charlie Villanueva... as well as the Raptors first pick... Andrea Boccelli... errr... Barignani.
10:56pm Anand: The T'Wolves have two straight picks and take Craig Smith out of Boston College and Bobby Jones out of Washington. So Minnesota does get a Huskie tonight. The Warriors keep adding size.... by selecting 7'2" Kosta Perovic out of Croatia.
11:00pm Schrager: The crowd has all but left. All that screaming at Dolan must've tired them out. But it should be pointed out that if any of them bought anything from the concession stand... part of the money is going right into his pocket. Don't forget... Dolan owns this whole arena.
11:04pm Anand: We welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to the draft. They take UNC standout David Noel. Seattle up next... and they select Denham Brown from UCONN. Schrager: That's five Huskies... how did they not win it all last year?
11:09pm Schrager: Another great pick for Orlando... taking James Augustine from Illinois. Here's a guy with experience as both a complimentary player and a team leader. For a young team like Orlando.... that's huge. No Hubie Brown sightings... that's sad. Anand: The Cavs are up and they take Daniel Gibson out of Texas. A guy who has lots of potential... but hasn't put the entire package together.
11:11pm Anand: The Hornets take Marcus de Souza. We don't know much about him because he isn't in the media guide. Schrager: The Magic just took Lior Eliyahu.. from Israel. The last Jewish player in the NBA was Danny Schayes. With Jordan Farmar and Eliyahu.. we have two drafted tonight. Anand: It looks like the T'Wolves just take Washington Huskies so they can trade them. Bobby Jones has been sent packing to Philly for a future 2nd round pick and cash. Pacers select Florida State forward Alexander Johnson. Schrager: That's the guy I thought the Knicks would take with their second first round pick.... not because they needed him... just cause it seemed like a silly thing to do.
11:19pm Anand: Dee Brown goes to the Utah Jazz. Not the Slam Dunk guy... but the point guard from Illinois. Lightning quick whose stock dropped this season. He would've been a 1st round pick after the Illini's Final Four run in 2005.
11:21pm Schrager: The Suns have traded Rajon Rondo and Brian Grant to the Celtics for a future 1st round draft pick. This is getting exhausting. I don't know the record for most trades on one draft day... but this has to be close. With names like Garnett and Iverson being floated around... we've had to settle... so far... for Sebastian Telfair.
11:24pm Anand: Paul Millsap from Louisana Tech is headed to Utah. We're told he led the nation in rebounding for three straight years. Another trade... a couple of 2nd round guys got swapped. Schrager: No one that's going to make a difference. Wizards take Vladimir Veremeenko... the last guy here in person. Denver up next... and they take Leon Powe from California. Good pick... solid player... especially if they trade Kenyon Martin.
11:29pm Anand: Jordan and the Bobcats go for size... taking 7-footer Ryan Collins from UCLA. Schrager: Lakers take Cheick Samb from Senegal. His picture in the media guide is really blurry. But he looks a little bit like Bernard King. Anand: Or my press credential picture.
11:32pm Anand: Two more trades.... we're losing track. I think every player has been with every NBA team at some point tonight. Schrager: I don't even know if Portland's going to know who they drafted they made so many trades tonight. Clippers take guard Guillermo Diaz from Miami.
11:35pm Anand: Seattle take Yotam Halperin... who was born in Israel. He's a guard who played in Europe. Here's a shocker... another trade. Schrager: Forget all the stuff I said about Leon Powe with Denver... he just got dealt to the Celtics. Nets are up.
11:40pm Anand: Hassan Adams from Arizona is headed to New Jersey. Schrager: Draft guide says he enjoys movies and working out. Anand: He also is an aggressive defender... who will add depth to the Nets' backcourt.
11:45pm Anand: Cavs take Eijke Uboaja.... Toronto Edin Bavcic selects and Minnesota picks Loukas Mavrokefalidis. Three more picks left.
11:51pm Anand: J. R. Pinock from George Washington goes to the Mavs. Schrager: We're like the only media left.
11:55pm Anand: Spurs and Pistons left. Schrager: San Antonio takes Damir Markota from Croatia. The Spurs stash Europeans over seas like Enron executives stash money in offshore bank accounts. Which is to say often.
11:59pm Anand: With the last pick of the 2006 NBA Draft... the Detroit Pistons select Will Blalock from Iowa State. Good Night from MSG.
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