-Portland: I think a pass first PG like Augustin would have been ideal, but having a Bayless and B-Roy backcourt means they have two guys that are capable of either running the offense or playing off the ball. Gives them a huge scoring punch…nice job. And Diogu could still turn into a productive bench guy.

-Miami: Nothing new I can say here than what others have said…real savvy move landing Chalmers. I’ll also add that Darnell Jackson is a real good pick…total bucket and pale blue chipper, I think he’ll add some toughness.

-Clippers: They have to be thrilled. They essentially have no backcourt other then an aging Mobley…and landed a future 20 ppg NBA scorer. And I don’t care what the knocks are on De’Andre Jordan, landing a project center with that much upside in the mid 30′s is an absolute steal. With their forward glut (Maggette, Thornton, Q Ross), I’d expect them to pursue Felton now that TJ Ford has been traded.

-Rockets: For where they had picks (25th and 2nd round) to get basically a mid 1st round talent in Donte Greene, when they desperately need bench SF scoring…and Dorsey, who I see in the Ben Wallace mode to give them backup C help…is a real successful night.

-Cavs: I have knocked the Cavs for years for being the worst run, and worst architected team in the NBA…so I was surprised when they made, aside from us, probably the best non lottery pick of the 1st round. Speights and Hickson have the most upside of any PF’s that didn’t go top 10…great move.

-Nets: Brook Lopez really boosters their frontcourt, giving them a nice young and up and coming core in Josh Boone, Sean Williams and Brook Lopez. IMO, CDR should have gone in the 18-25 range, so I think he’s a steal at 40. Ryan Anderson is a nice piece.

-Golden State: Lots will disagree with me here…but like the Nets, they now have a great trio of PF/C’s to grow (Biedrins, Brandon Wright and A Randolph). And they picked up my favorite player in the 2nd round in Richard Hendrix. I got the chance to see LSU a lot (sadly) this past year…I really, really like Randolph’s game. He is a guy that would look awful in workouts and draft camps…but get him on the floor, he produces. This guy can ball, skill set is great…great shot blocker, great team defender, has legit post moves on the block, can slash to the basket, nice feel for the game. In two years, G-State is going to look real smart for having Brandon Wright and Anthony Randolph.

Winners: 1) Miami. They picked Beasley instead of trading the pick and they got a steal in Chalmers. 2) Memphis. They came out with Mayo and Arthur. 3) Tie between Seattle and Indiana. I like the Rush pick better than the Westbrook pick, but I like D.J. White better than Hibbert.

Losers: 1) Washington, for JaVale McGee. 2) Sacramento. I think Jason Thompson is going to be a lottery bust to be remembered. 3) San Antonio. Picked George Hill while Chalmers was still on the board.

Head Scratcher: Milwaukee. Why would they pick Alexander after they just traded for Jefferson?

On another note, though, James Jones opted out of his contract with Portland. If one of our needs is a sharpshooting swingman, this is the guy. He has some injury concerns, but I hope they take a solid look at him.

I’m not sure what to think about Minn. and Mem. I mean Al Jefferson is a PF, not a C. Also, Cardinal’s bad contract is merely swapped for Jaric’s bad contract. They only got the good contract, Miller, off their books.
In fact, Jaric’s contract is longer than Cardinals. Was Mayo worth that much? I doubt it.

So Mem. now has 4 guards , Conley, Lowry, Crittendon and Mayo. I oyu were a Mem. fan, how much confidence would you have that they make the right move trading 2 of those 4?

I can’t do the losers because I don’t know enough about the 2nd round picks to make an educated guess but I’ll never understand why teams would use draft picks on guys that won’t join the team for a few years.

I would “sell” the pick instead of wasting it on a guy that will stay overseas. Maybe you can enlighten me as to why this is a good idea.