The new cover of Vogue magazine features basketball superstar LeBron James and fashion supermodel Gisele Bundchen. The two are on the cover of the April issue of the fashion magazine.

It is only the third time ever a man has graced the cover of the magazine. The other two being George Clooney and Richard Gere.

I guess Tom Brady got the ax from the shoot after the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Not a bad cover but it would have been nice to see LeBron dressed up in a sharp suit. Or perhaps Lebron in a suit and Gisele in a super tight basketball uni.

UPDATE: LeBron James/Gisele Racist King Kong Vogue Cover

Lebron James has been asking his GM Danny Ferry to get him some good players to help the Cleveland Cavaliers compete in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.  Ferry finally delivered at the deadline today in a massive 11 player trade that brings Ben Wallace of the Chicago Bulls and Wally Szczerbiak of the Seattle Sonics to Cleveland to play alongside King James.

The deal involved three teams and a total of eleven players.  Here is a look at how it breaks down.

Cleveland Gets:

• Ben Wallace F/C
• Wally Szczerbiak G/F
• Delonte West G
• Joe Smith F
• 2nd Round Pick from Bulls

Chicago Bulls Get:

• Larry Hughes G
• Drew Gooden PF
• Cedric Simmons PF
• Shannon Brown SG

Seattle Sonics Get:

• Ira Newble G
• Adrian Griffin F
• Donyell Marshall SF

The deal seems to be a good one for the Cav’s.  They get rid of the erratic Hughes and inconsistent Drew Gooden.  They had a tough guy rebounder in Wallace and a great shooter in Wally World.

The Bulls were favorites coming into the season but have been one of the biggest letdowns of the year.  Ben Wallace in Chicago just wasn’t working out.  They can replace him in the starting rotation with either Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah.  Adding Hughes gives them another guy who can penetrate and score.  Gooden should get good minutes and produce as well.

Seattle acquired players with contracts that are expiring.  They are looking to free up cap room at they continue to rebuild around Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

King James should be happy now

Dwight Howard was robbed in last years NBA Slam Dunk contest. Howard made sure that the judges didn’t shaft him again this year at the All-Star festivities down in New Orleans. The video above shows Howard practicing for the event down in Orlando before the contest. The below video was ripped off TNT showing Howard doing the ‘Superman’ dunk, complete with cape, that will go down in NBA lore as one of the greatest slam dunks in the history of the contest.

The Minnesota Timberwolves Marko Jaric is dating Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima.  Big J chartered a plane to fly down and see her overnight before her big Victoria’s Secret commercial debut during the Super Bowl.

Lima, a Brazilian native, is the star of the new Victoria’s Secret commercial that debuted on the Super Bowl.

The day before her ad premiered last weekend, “Marko chartered a plane to be with her on her big day,” says a source to People Magazine. “He flew in Saturday and flew back early Sunday morning so he could be on time for practice.”

Our generation has Marko and Adriana.  Yesteryear it was Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio.

Photos of the Average Looking Adriana

And Here is Marko

The Memphis Grizzlies have traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, Marc Gasol and two first round draft picks in 2008 and 2010.

The Lakers will get the Grizzlies second round pick in 2010.

Pau was Rookie of the Year in 2002 and has been an All-Star. For his career he has averaged 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for his career. He will play center for the Lakers until young sensation Andrew Bynum returns from a knee injury.

Marc Gasol is the younger brother of Pau who was drafted in the second round last year.

Below is a photo of Pau before losing his virginity and becoming Americanized.

Voting results for this year’s 2007-2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans were released today.  Kevin Garnett received the most votes with 2,399,148.  Reserves are selected by the coaches and will be announced next Thursday.

Eastern Conference

• G - Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets)
• G - Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)
• F - Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
• F - Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics)
• C - Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)

Western Conference

• G - Allen Iverson (Denver Nuggets)
• G - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
• F - Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
• F - Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
• C - Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)

Spousal abuser Jason Kidd is expecting a baby with his new victim girlfriend Hope Dworzczyk.  It is the first kid for the new couple.  Kidd has three kids with his former wife.

Kidd plead guilty to domestic abuse against his first wife Joumana Kidd. During their ugly divorce she said Kidd “broke her rib and damaged her hearing by smashing her head into the console of a car” according to divorce papers.

New Jersey Net basketball star Jason Kidd, who just split from his wife about one year ago, told sources that his girlfriend Hope Dworaczyk is expecting his baby. I’m sure his ex-wife was shocked.

Jason Kidd currently plays for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets.  He is one of the top five point guards in the NBA.  He played his college ball at the University of California.

Good luck Hope! I really hope Jason doesn’t go all kung-fu on you as well.

“We call this a ‘Brokeback Mountain’ game, because there’s so much penetration and kickouts.  It was one of those games.”

Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers coach, when asked if too much penetration was leading to open outside shooters for the Spurs.

Portland Trailblazers rookie-to-be big man Greg Oden will miss his rookie season after having microfracture surgery today on his right knee in Vancouver, Washington.

“Greg had an arthroscopy and a microfracture surgery today, team physician Dr. Don Roberts, who performed the surgery, said in a statement posted on the Trail Blazers’ Web site. “He was found to have articular cartilage damage in his right knee. The area of injury was not large and we were able to treat it with microfracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage.”

“There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture surgery.”

I think everyone saw this coming except ESPN’s experts and blind Trailblazers fans. Welcome to the second coming of Sam Bowie.

Click to read the rest of this entry at BumpSports

Shaquille O’Neal has filed for divorce from his wife of five years, Shaunie.  The two have four children together and six total between them.

Attorney Ira Elegant said the petition was filed on behalf of the Miami Heat center in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear who is representing Shaunie O’Neal in the case.

According to the filing, which was first reported by The Miami Herald on its Web site Tuesday night, Shaquille O’Neal is asking Shaunie O’Neal to provide a “correct accounting of all money, funds, stocks, bonds, and other securities� that she had access to or obtained during the marriage.

via BumpSports

Kobe Bryant is denying rumors that he and his child bride Vanessa are getting a divorce.  Kobe is currently training with Team USA for the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying tournament later this month.

The NBA player has been traveling in Europe with his family, which includes two young daughters, and has been working out with Team U.S.A.  He tells Kevin he has no idea how the rumors got started because he and Vanessa are happily married.  He goes on to tell Kevin that he initially wasn’t going to respond to the reports but then felt compelled to set the record straight.

Kobe initially said things were great, then two hours later said they were getting a divorce, then the next day said it was such bliss they are living in, then said they almost choked each other to death, and finally today he said they are happily married.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett has been traded to the Boston Celtics in one of the biggest trades in NBA history.

The Celtics acquired Garnett, a 10-time All-Star and the NBA MVP in 2004, from Minnesota in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first-round draft pick and a return of Minnesota’s conditional first-round pick previously obtained in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade.

The Timberwolves also receive cash considerations in the deal. The 2009 pick Boston is sending to Minnesota is top-three protected.

It is the largest amount of players, picks and money ever traded for a single player. With Garnett joining Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, you can expect for the Celtics to be an early favorite in the decimated Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are finally a powerhouse again after 15 years.  Now if they can just get a couple of NBA referees fixing games for them, then they can win it all.

Pau Gasol of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies is rather popular in his native Spain as you can see by looking at the cover of the latest Spainish Rolling Stone.

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Tim Donaghy is the NBA referee under investigation by the FBI for fixing games and betting on games he officiated.  He has since resigned from the league.  The above video shows numerous questionable calls by Donaghy and crew member Eddie F. Rush.
Bill Simmons had this to say in his column two days after Game 3 between the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs.

Congratulations to Greg Willard, Tim Donaghy and Eddie F. Rush for giving us the most atrociously officiated game of the playoffs so far: Game 3 of the Suns-Spurs series.

Other than the latest call in NBA history (a shooting foul for Manu Ginobili whistled three seconds after the play, when everyone was already running in the other direction), my favorite moment happened near the end, when the game was already over and they called a cheap bump on Bruce Bowen against Nash, so the cameras caught Mike D’Antoni (the most entertaining coach in the league if he’s not getting calls) screaming sarcastically, “Why start now? Why bother?” What a travesty.

NBA commish David Stern has a gigantic problem on his hand and it serves him well.  Stern has always been cocky about his officals and the superb job they do according to him.  Anyone who has watched the NBA the last decade knows otherwise.

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If you are a Boston Celtics fan you will get a good laugh at the You Tube video.  If you don’t follow the NBA too much, Danny Ainge is the General Manager of the hapless Boston Celtics.  The player personal moves he makes are usually considered somewhere in between bad and horrible.

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Pete Maravich is the greatest scorer in the history of the NCAA. He scored 3,667 points while playing basketball for the LSU Tigers under his father.
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One of the most amazing performances in NBA history. ‘Pistol’ Pete scores 68 points in this game before FOULING OUT against the New York Knicks on February 25, 1977 (see all of his made shots in the clip). He also had one basketball called off due to a very questionable charge.REMEMBER there was NO 3 POINT LINE during this time in the NBA. So Maravich likely would have had 80+ points easily.

Check out one of the nastiest shots I have ever seen on a basketball court at the 3:47 mark of the above clip.

Pistol Pete’s Scoring Dominance in College (via Wikipedia):

In only three years playing for his father Press Maravich at LSU, Maravich scored 3,667 points — 1,138 points in 1968, 1,148 points in 1969 and 1,381 points in 1970 while averaging 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game. In the process, “Pistol Pete” set 11 NCAA and 34 Southeastern Conference records, as well as every LSU record in points scored, scoring average, field goals attempted and made, and free throws attempted and made, and assists. In his collegiate career, the 6′ 5″ (1.96 m) guard averaged an incredible 44.2 points per game in 83 contests and led the NCAA in scoring three times. He also set an NCAA record by scoring more than 50 points 28 times. He was named a three-time All-American and still holds many of these records, more than 35 years later. Notably, his 3,667 points don’t factor in the 741 he scored his freshman year, or the fact that they played without a three-point line.

Maravich played 10 seasons before dying of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 40.

“I don’t want to play 10 years in the NBA and then die of a heart attack at 40.” - Pete Maravich (age 25)

Live Blogging last night’s 2007 NBA Draft I stated that Bill Simmons would be pissed about his beloved Celtics trading the #5 pick, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak to the SuperSonics for Ray Allen and the #35 pick.

Here are the comments Simmons had dedicated specifically to the Celtics-Sonics trade in his ‘Draft Diary XI’ column this morning.

Thanks to rumors that the Celtics might trade the No. 5 pick, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West for a soon-to-be 32-year-old shooting guard coming off double ankle surgeries (Ray Allen), I just spent the last 20 minutes on basketball-reference.com trying to find one great shooting guard who didn’t decline significantly in Years 12 through 14 of his NBA career. Here’s the list: Reggie Miller. That’s it. Also, I just threw up in my mouth and some of it went up the back of my nose.

Funny shot of 12 employees in Portland’s draft room realizing they were being shown on TV, then inexplicably standing up and applauding happily. It’s just like I feel about the rumored Ray Allen trade, only the exact opposite.

Andy Katz reports that Boston agreed to deal the No. 5 pick, Szczerbiak and West for Allen. Not even 10 seconds later, the Sonics take Kevin Durant … the guy I’d been rooting for the Celtics to get since December.

(Hold on, I’m picking my jaw off the ground.)

Unless there’s another major move coming — and Lord, let’s hope so — are we really contending for the title in 2008 or 2009 with Pierce, Jefferson, Allen, Doc Rivers and nine unproven young guys? Are we even winning 47 games? Three seasons from now, if you’re watching Doc and Danny Ainge announcing the same TNT game, then you flick channels and see a broken-down Ray Allen jogging around a half-empty TD Banknorth Center at age 34, you’ll think of me. I promise you.

They just spent the last two minutes discussing Durant and I didn’t even feel jealous of Jay Bilas’ orgasmic hyperbole because I was so rattled by the Allen trade. (Hands off, Jay — I have the No. 1 media man-crush on Durant.) To be clear, I’m a big Allen fan: He’s an excellent player; he always wanted to play in Boston (unlike everyone else in the league); I would have loved this trade if he were 28 or 29; and it’s hard to top the comedy of Ray Allen and Allan Ray playing for the same team.

Here’s the problem: His draft class was the year before I wrote my first draft diary. His movie (”He Got Game“) came out nearly a decade ago. He played at UConn with Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall and Doron Sheffer. This guy is not a spring chicken — just look at his hairline, for cripes sake. This feels like Mitch Richmond going to the Bullets for C-Webb all over again. I’m somewhere between “quitting coffee and trying to make it through day three” rattled and “waiting for the results of an HIV test”-level rattled. And you know who’s going to suffer? You, the home reader. That’s who.

(Note: And just wait until John Hollinger comes out with his inevitable “Every quality two-guard in NBA history declined as a player after Year 12 except Reggie Miller” feature to torture me. You know it’s coming. Damn you, John Hollinger. Damn you.)

Marc Stein sends me an e-mail about the Allen trade that ends, “It could have turned out worse.” Great. That’s just the celebratory e-mail I was hoping for on draft night — “it could have turned out worse.”

I’d tell you more, but I’m busy trying to find the right adjective for my father on the phone right now. Beaten down? Distraught? Perplexed? Horrified? Apoplectic? All of them fit. He’s absolutely appalled by the Allen trade.”Shooting guards always lose their legs when they hit 32 or 33!” Dad yelps. “It happens to all of them. They can’t avoid it. Make sure you put in your column that we traded the fifth and seventh picks in consecutive years for a point guard who was too short and a shooting guard who was too old. Put that in your column. Put it in. I hate this trade.”

Dad calls again: “And by the way, I liked Delonte West. Put that in, too. Terrible. This is just terrible.”

Just had the following exchange with my buddy House:–House: “I’m driving home from softball, did your team make a trade?”
–Me: “Yeah, we traded the fifth pick, Wally and Delonte for Ray Allen.”
–House: “Noooooooo!” (Raucous laughter.)

Looks like Boston acquired the 35th pick in the Ray Allen trade as well. Hmmmmm. I’m feeling a little better about things. I was a 2 out of 10 two hours ago … now I’m a 3 out of 10, and I’ll be a 5 out of 10 if they take Big Baby with one of their second-rounders. As for my Dad? Let’s call him.

“I’m still a 0 out of 10,” he says.

With the second-rounder obtained from Seattle, my Dad and I were on the phone rooting for Big Baby … and when it happened, we both cheered and did the whole “I can’t believe we got him at 35!” routine. Sure, it was a minor victory, but when you’re a Celtics fan these days, you take what you can get.

Read Bill Simmons ‘Draft Diary XI‘

Read Bumpshack’s Running Live Draft Blog from last night.

2007 NBA Draft Live Blogging. Check out my mock draft from earlier this morning.

(Refresh for minute-by-minute updates)

9:44 PM: Congrats to all of those ballers selected in tonight’s first round. A rather unsurprising draft with just two trades. The trade of Ray Allen to the Celtics was even boring unless your a Celtics fan and it made your blood boil to acquire a 32 year old soft shooting guard.

9:39 PM: Philadelphia 76ers select Petteri Koponen, PG, Finland, with the thirtieth pick. A guy from Finland got selected before Duke’s Josh McRoberts? I find that pretty amusing. Mr. McRoberts, perhaps you should have stayed at Duke for another year.

9:30 PM: Phoenix Suns select Alando Tucker, SF, Wisconsin, with the twenty-ninth pick. A great pick and team player. A steal this late in the draft. He was a first teamer all-American last year. Earlier last season experts had Tucker as a top five pick for this draft. Phoenix has a deep track record of getting good quality with their draft picks.

9:24 PM: San Antonio Spurs select Tiago Splitter, PF, Brazil, with the twenty-eighth pick. The Spurs continue to be more international than Angelina Jolie’s family. I have read about Splitter for years and supposedly he is a lottery type of talent but restrictions with his current contract with Brazil caused him to fall in the draft.e

9:19 PM: Detroit Pistons select Aaron Afflalo, SG, UCLA with the twenty-seventh pick. Aaron turned pro early and is at the draft and walking down to shake hands. I would be nervous being there at the draft and being selected this close to the second round when the deputy commissioner takes over and starts announcing the draft picks.

9:12 PM: Houston Rockets select Aaron Brooks, PG, Oregon with the twenty-sixth pick. A super quick small point guard who can run the pick-n-roll and score when he has to.

9:03 PM: Utah Jazz select Morris Almond, SG, Rice, with the twenty-fifth pick. A very prolific scorer.

8:56 PM: Phoenix Suns select Rudy Fernandez, SG, Spain, with the twenty-fourth pick. Portland has bought the pick from the Suns. So Rudy will be going to Oregon to join Oden and Bradon Roy.

8:53 PM: New York Knicks select Wilson Chandler, F, Depaul, with the twenty-third pick. Spike Lee predicted this one moments before Stern went to the podium. I am waiting to see where Pau Gasol’s younger brother Marc goes now. Hopefully he will go in the first round before I have to move on to the gym for the night.

8:47 PM: Charlotte Bobcats select Jared Dudley, SF, Boston College, with the twenty-second pick.

8:41 PM: Philadelphia 76ers select Daequan Cook, SG, Ohio State, with the twenty-first pick. Word from ESPN is that Cook and Smith will be switching teams.

8:36 PM: Miami Heat select Jason Smith, PF, Colorado State, with the twentieth pick.

8:29 PM: Los Angeles Lakers select Javaaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech, with the nineteenth pick. Kobe Bryant has to be thrilled with the Lakers taking a point guard for the second straight year. Crittenton is a tall point guard that can create his own shot. A good selection based on talent.

8:22 PM: Golden State Warriors select Marco Belinelli, G, Italy, with the eighteenth pick. A tall guard who has been pro in Italy for five years. He scored 25 on Team USA last year during the World Championships.

8:16 PM: New Jersey Nets select Sean Williams, F, Boston College, with the seventeenth pick. A troubled past and legal history with marijuana but he is going to Jay Z’s team so it’s more than welcomed.

8:14 PM: TRADE- New York Knicks have traded Steve Francis and Channing Frye to the Portland Trailblazers for Zach Randolph and Dan Dickau.

8:10 PM: Washington Wizards select Nick Young, SG, USC, with the sixteenth pick. Nick slipped a bit but a great addition by the Wizards. He could create a nasty scoring combo with Gilbert Arenas. Young shot 44% from the three point line last year.

8:05 PM: Detroit Pistons select Rodney Stuckey, G, Eastern Washington, with the fifteenth pick. He can take his time adjusting to the Pistons and they won’t ask too much out of him early on. He can score and the Pistons could use another guy who can put the ball in the hoop.

7:58 PM: Los Angeles Clippers select Al Thornton, PF, Florida State, with the fourteenth pick. Great pick this late in the draft. Some mocks had him going as early as the eighth pick. He will help legitimize the Clippers front line with Chris Kaman and Elton Brand. The Clippers still need to add another point guard to back up Sam Cassell.

7:53 PM: New Orleans Hornets select Julian Wright, F, Kansas, with the thirteenth pick. Not too familiar with Julian but I like what the Hornets have been doing of late. The Hornets playing all of their games at home this year should help boost their record as well.

7:46 PM: Philadelphia 76ers select Thaddeus Young, SF, Georgia Tech, with the twelfth pick. A very raw player who should be a great second option to Andre Igoudala who blossomed into a terrific score and all-around player last year. The Memphis native is young and raw but should develop into a great NBA player.

7:38 PM: Atlanta Hawks select Acie Law IV, PG, Texas A&M, with the eleventh pick. They probably would be better off with Conley but adding Horford and Law makes the Hawks a lot better in one night. Law’s size in the big boy’s league could create a problem for him. His passing skills and blow by defender ability are weak.

7:32 PM: Sacramento Kings select Spencer Hawes, C, Washington, with the tenth pick. I have no clue what the Kings are doing. Their new coach Reggie Theus is going to need a lot of luck. Kind of bad when you are seven feet tall and don’t average your height in rebounds. Sacramento is quickly becoming the most boring team in the league.

7:25 PM: Chicago Bulls select Joakim Noah, C/PF, Florida, with the ninth pick. A great pick and Noah should fit in mighty well with the 49 win Bulls from last season. Their front line is nasty now with Noah joining Ben Wallace, Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown if he stays on board.

7:17 PM: Charlotte Bobcats select Brandan Wright, PF, North Carolina, with the eighth pick. Michael Jordan adds another Tarheel to the Bobcats. Some debate whether Wright or Joakim Noah would have been a better pick here. Jay Bilas seems to think he is a steal this late in the draft.

7:09 PM: Minnesota Timberwolves select Corey Brewer, SF, Florida, with the seventh pick. I love Brewer and he would fit in great with Kevin Garnett if he stays in Minny. If so the Wolves have to get rid of Ricky Davis. The Wolves will be a pretty nasty team on defense witih Corey.

7:03 PM: Milwaukee Bucks select Yi Jianlian, PF, China, with the sixth pick. He is the Chinese version of Brad Lohaus for you retro NBA fans. I hear mixed things about this guy. At the sixth pick he is not a bad selection. I would have taken a chance on him at sixth. Wolves will pick Brewer next.

6:56 PM: Boston Celtics select Jeff Green, PF, Georgetown, with the fifth pick. Green will go to the Seattle Sonics and team up with Kevin Durant. Ray Allen is a great shooter but I have always thought he has been over rated. It will be interesting to see how Allen mixes with Paul Pierce for Boston. I feel Bill Simmons will be PISSED!

6:51 PM: Memphis Grizzlies select Mike Conley, Jr., PG, Ohio State, with the fourth pick. Ok! I am breathing a bit better. I can live with this but I am not for certain he won’t be traded later tonight. The Grizz need a powerful rebounder and shot blocker. A trade of Ray Allen to the Celtics for the #5 Jeff Green, Wally World and Delonte West is about to go down..

6:45 PM: Atlanta Hawks select Al Horford, PF, Florida, with the third pick. They should have picked Mike Conley, Jr but got caught up in Horford’s rise last week. Perhaps they trade Horford later tonight. Great my Grizzlies are on the clock now. Why do I have the feeling that this new GM from Boston is about to totally screw this up?

6:41 PM: Seattle SuperSonics select Kevin Durant, SF, Texas, with the second pick. He is my favorite player in this draft and I would have taken him with the first pick. A great guy and even better basketball player.

6:36 PM: Portland Trailblazers select Greg Oden, C, Ohio State, with the first pick.

6:33 PM: David Stern is one of the most boring commissioners ever, perhaps only topped by Bud Selig. Probably time for a change and for Stern to step down but I don’t feel his ego will let him retire short of death. While we are cleaning house get rid of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith as well. Easily the most annoying commentator ever.

6:30 PM: As a GM I would still have a theory to never draft a guy that looks 20 years older than myself and whose legs are different lengths, especially carrying 300 lbs. on them. Seattle is blessed to have the #2 pick. They can’t mess it up that way.

6:26 PM: Four minutes to the draft and still no trade of Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant. The Golden State Warriors of all teams have entered the Garnett sweepstakes.

6:19 PM: The 2007 edition of the NBA Draft is about to begin. Hopefully the first two teams will not waste any time and make Greg Oden and Kevin Durant the first two selections.

Feel free to drop comments during or after the draft about your team or any of the players selected or traded.

Tonight I am planning on doing a live blog during the 2007 NBA Draft. So check back in around 7:30 ET PM, 6:30 CT or 4:40 PT.

Here is a quick last minute mock draft of how I believe the lottery picks will unfold. It is hard to be too accurate when there will probably be several trades and therefore different teams with different needs moving up.

2007 BUMPSHACK MOCK NBA DRAFT LOTTERY

1. Portland Trailblazers- Greg Oden, C, Ohio State

Old Man Oden has one leg that is longer than the other, a bad wrist, an ‘ok’ love of the game was born during the Kennedy administration. If I have the #1 pick I go with Durant and his love of the game. I am not sure Oden will be in the league in five years due to health issues. So Portland fans he could be the second coming of Bill Walton in that aspect.

2. Seattle SuperSonics- Kevin Durant, SF, Texas

The kid is 6′10″, can nail threes, drive to the hole and is a scoring machine. He is a good kid by all accounts and all he ever talks about is becoming the best player to ever exist. Does he make you think of a certain guy who use to play for the Bulls and won six rings? Don’t worry he even resembles a young Jordan in his interviews. Seattle is lucky they have the second pick because if they had the first pick they would probably mess up and take Oden. Sometimes #2 is #1. Jordan went #3 in his draft. Durant is an cold blood killer.

3. Atlanta Hawks- Al Horford, PF, Florida

Big Al’s stock has really risen in the past week. If the Hawks don’t draft and keep Horford then they will probably trade the pick to a team trying to move up with the specific purpose of drafting him. I am hoping he falls at least one more spot to my Grizzlies.

4. Memphis Grizzlies- Mike Conley, Jr., PG, Ohio State

The Grizz really want Horford but so does everyone else this week. I believe the Grizzlies will draft Conley because he is going to be a Tony Parker/Gary Payton in his prime type of point guard. New Grizz GM Chris Wallace supposedly has fallen in love with Corey Brewer. He better not dare attempt to draft him at #4. Other possibilities at this spot include Joakim Noah or Brandan Wright. They will draft Conley, Horford or hopefully trade the pick.

5. Boston Celtics- Corey Brewer, SF, Florida

Celtic fans should be glad if they get Brewer, that means Danny Ainge didn’t mess it up as bad as he usually does. Brewer is a young Scottie Pippen who is a better shooter than Pippen was at the same age.

6. Milwaukee Bucks- Yi Jianlin, PF/SF, China

Chinese players are hit or miss. Yi won’t be a Yao but he is tall, athletic (yes Chinese and athletic), and he can shoot really good for a big guy. Maybe he is the Chinese version of Dirk Nowitzki (choke).

7. Minnesota Timberwolves- Spencer Hawes, C, Washington

This kid is big, white, ugly and a good post player. Kevin McHale is drafting the second coming of himself to replace the great Kevin Garnett who should be traded before the night is done.

8. Charlotte Bobcats- Brandan Wright, PF, North Carolina

Michael Jordan is loyal and blind to a fault. If Wright is there, Jordan will take him and at the eight spot it might actually be a really good pick, but then again M.J. has a horrible draft history (see Kwame Brown).

9. Chicago Bulls- Joakim Noah, C, Florida

Noah would have been the #1 pick if he had entered the draft last year. Going back to school pays off right? He did win a second National Championship with Florida and not many college players in the history of the game can claim that. He should fit in nicely with the Bulls and on the weak side of Ben Wallace. I see Noah splitting time with Tyrus Thomas.

10. Sacramento Kings- Jeff Green, SF/PF, Georgetown

It has been said that Green does a lot of things but none of them very good. Kind of makes you think of Paris Hilton doesn’t it?

11. Atlanta Hawks- Acie Law, PG, Texas A&M

Nice layup against Memphis, Acie! He is a fast point guard that is very competitive. The Hawks could use a point guard to go along with Joe Johnson, Joe Smith and Horford (see above).

12. Philadelphia 76ers- Al Thornton, SF/PF, Florida State

I don’t know much about this cat and neither do the 76ers and that is why they will draft him. Congrats you are about to be the owner of the MVP of the Greek basketball league.

13. New Orleans Hornets- Nick Young, SG, USC

I would be weary anytime drafting anyone from Southern Cal that doesn’t play football. Ask the Miami Heat how it went in the early 90’s when they drafted Harold ‘Baby Jordon’ Miner.

14. Los Angeles Clippers- Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech

Is a tall point guard who put up good numbers in the basketball tough ACC. The Clippers will add yet another lottery pick and still be around .500. I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade this pick or if the 76ers try to nab Crittenton.

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Point guard Derrick Rose is the basketball prodigy from Chicago that will be playing at the University of Memphis this fall.  He was rated the #1 overall high school player in the country (yes, even about O.J. Mayo) in several ranking services.  Check out the clip….you will be impressed.  He is a big reason the Tigers are ranked preseason #1.