Thoughts and notes on last night's NBA draft

At the risk of coming off crotchety and cranky, does anyone besides us wish TNT (Ernie Johnson, Hubie Brown, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith) had the rights to televise and comment on the NBA draft rather than ESPN?

Stephen A. Smith looked like he was literally giving up after his third or so 'interview' with the top picks. Talk about a square peg/round hole positioning -- whose idea was it to have Smith, known for his unbridled opinions, as an interviewer?

Despite a load of on-line and in-print articles about who would be the first pick and hours of jabbering about it, was anyone surprised that Chicago nabbed Derrick Rose as the first pick in the draft? If so, please contact us immediately as we have exclusive selling rights to a number of bridges and we'll throw in some extra fine swampland for free.

We're still waiting for one of the middle first-round picks, while being interviewed, to say "What were those general managers thinking? I can take every one of those clowns chosen ahead of me with one hand tied behind my back, blindfolded and wearing those funky throwback short shorts.." Come to think of it, the Lopez brothers just may have a shot at their own reality show if their professional basketball careers don't flourish -- they were the most entertaining presences all night.

One pet peeve: can the term 'War Room" be retired? Such jargon has been outlandish and inappropriate from its first usage. How does adding a couple of new players to the roster of a sports team have any connection to military action? What's next? Dick Vitale is camouflage clothing saluting General Robert Montgomery Knight. Come to think of it, last night would have been so much better with just Bob Knight and Jay Bilas and a innocuous moderator.

Nobody actually knows how any of the selections are going to do so all the writers and bloggers providing an instant analysis today owe it to their readers to keep their predictions handy and revisit them a couple of years from now -- to claim credit and to seek forgiveness.

We wouldn't know Anthony Randolph from Zack Randolph but why did the Golden State Warriors choose 6-10 197 Anthony Randolph one season after trading Jason Richardson for draft pick Brandon Wright, who goes 6-10 205?

Congrats to Russell Westbrook, going from a relatively unheralded late signee by UCLA, to the fourth pick in the draft in two years. A marvelous physical talent and solid defender, he appears to be someone who is going to get better and better in the next few years or so but right now has limited ball skills and scoring ability. He is not currently a major difference maker but many NBA picks are not made for the 'right now' but rather the 'down the road.'

Ryan Anderson sure proved his doubters wrong -- at least as to where he would go in the draft.

DeVon Hardin being the 50th pick is not what he had planned. Let's hope the situation he has stepped into turns out to be a good one and both his wallet and skills set prosper.