NBA Draft Redux

- I hope the Celtics have something more coming in the next few days, because right now it's impossible to see the worth of what Ainge did last night. The Telfair deal I could live with. I looked at it as Ainge saying that he thought Telfair was a better PG prospect than anyone else in the draft pool. Plus, we save a little money, pick up Ratliff, not horrible. Then, however, he not only trades away a future first rounder, but takes on Brian Grant's contract to obtain the services of Kentucky underachiever Rajon Rondo. Unless someone like Philadelphia wanted Rondo and this is the first step in a major deal, it just doesn't make any sense. Rondo does not have the offensive skill set to contribute in the NBA right now. To call last year's Kentucky team mediocre would be generous. If Rondo had played at somewhere like Washington State, we would have never heard of him. But, because he was at a "powerhouse" like UK, he is a first round pick. It baffles me.

-I also don't buy this whole "He was the best player at workouts. They would have taken him seventh" mentality. If they had loved this guy so much, they wouldn't have made the Telfair deal in the first place. As far as the workouts, how does two hours of playing two-on-two with the likes of Will Blalock and Louis Hinnant overshadow two mediocre seasons full of basketball. When your career highlight is a last minute shot to beat 20-point underdog Central Florida at home, it's hard for me to say that you are headed for NBA superstardom.

-For all the grief Renaldo Balkman has received (all of it deserving), with his team's season on the line against Kentucky in the SEC tournament, he helped the Gamecocks pull out a 65-61 win. Rajon Rondo finished with six points. Balkman would ultimately carry South Carolina to an NIT title, while Rondo and co. were given a dubious dance ticket and bounced in the second round. If Balkman is such a laughable pick, how is Rondo not held in the same regard?

-One final Celtics note. Orien Greene is probably going to be released within hours. Not a great player by any means, but for a late second rounder, he overachieved. He hit some big shots and handled the offense sufficiently. He will be a solid backup point guard for someone down the road.

-I expected it, but I was still disappointed not to see Gerry McNamara's name called. The new NBA fad is drafting obscure foriegn players in the second round and hoping they develop overseas. I can't think of an instance where it worked out that way, but still everyone does it. What's more frustrating though is the midlevel college players that teams took in the second round. James Augustine? Denham Brown? David Noel? DJ Pinnock! Blalock? I don't think any of those guys are on-par with what Gerry did in his career. Then again, they probably looked like stars at the light shootarounds they attended.

- Memphis' acquisitions of Rudy Gay, Stro Swift and Alexander Johnson don't really speak loudly of the NBA future of Hakim Warrick. I hope Hakim gets a fair shot to develop, but the competition just got a lot harder.

- There are few analysts of any sports on any network better than Jay Bilas. He doesn't scream or make ridiculous statements. He just tells you what he believes and that's what I want in an analyst. He also was robbed of an Academy Award for his work in Dark Angel, which is a plus.

- 5 Winners:

• Jazz - Three players who could contribute next year.
• Sixers - Good value on Carney, who could start for this team next year.
• Hornets - They still need a scorer, but they needed size and they got it.
• Timberwolves - Randy Foye is still my pick for Rookie of the Year.
• Grizzlies - Gay could be a star, Lowry could be a great point guard. The most potential of any team.

-5 losers

• Knicks - Surprised?
• Clippers - Paul Davis and Guillermo Diaz. If you were building an all-underachiever team, you'd probably start there.
• Suns - Chose not to participate.
• Wizards - Fran Fraschilla loved their picks.
• Sonics - Wow.