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Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: NBA Draft Mania!

Jun 26, 2008, 12:18 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Pat Riley vs. Michael Beasley, Knicks vs. OJ Mayo, Grizzlies vs. Everyone, Fresno State vs. History, Shawn Chacon vs. Ed Wade, Wakefield and Johnson vs. AARP, NYC Pick-Up Soccer vs. Euro 08 and More! â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: Pat Riley better be able to trade out of that No. 2 and slightly further into the Top 10. â†µ

â†µâ†µBecause if he keeps the pick and passes on Michael Beasley to draft OJ Mayo, it would be the biggest draft blunder since Sam Bowie. â†µ

â†µâ†µTo me, that’s THE big storyline of tonight’s draft (followed by “Where will Mayo go” and “What did the Knicks do?”). â†µ

â†µâ†µThat’s not to say that OJ Mayo isn’t a star talent; he is the consensus No. 3 player in the draft class. â†µ

â†µâ†µBut he isn’t Beasley. Statistically, even Kevin Durant a year ago wasn’t as promising as Beasley. â†µ

â†µâ†µ(If Beasley preceded Durant, we’d be talking about Beasley as the transformational player and how Durant is too skinny and can’t play D.) â†µ

â†µâ†µFor whatever reason, Pat Riley doesn’t like Beasley. And he looks willing to bet the franchise future on his out-of-touch intuition. â†µ

â†µâ†µI will be stunned if Miami keeps the pick, but even more stunned when -- it doesn’t even look like “if” -- they pass on Beasley. â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Looking for real-time fun tonight during the draft? Be sure to follow along with me at my Twitter page.) â†µ

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â†µMeanwhile, it sounds like the Knicks are willing to give up David Lee to move into the Grizzlies' No. 5 spot. â†µ

â†µâ†µFrom there, the Knicks could try to trade up to No. 2, up to No. 3 or collect two key pieces to their rebuilding effort. â†µ

â†µâ†µThat is, unless the Grizzlies beat them to it and trade up into Miami’s No. 2 spot, happily nabbing Michael Beasley as The Franchise. â†µ

â†µâ†µThen again, other rumors have the Grizzlies trading down, as far as the Bobcats at No. 9. Hey, at least people are talking about the Grizzlies. â†µ

â†µâ†µToronto’s new Twin Towers: Raptors get Jermaine O’Neal for TJ Ford and the No. 17 pick, which go to the Pacers. â†µ

â†µâ†µSpeaking of the Pacers, they may not want/need Texas PG DJ Augustin at No. 11 anymore, though Augustin is the center of much attention, including a rumor that the Blazers are trying to trade up to the Nets’ pick at No. 10 get him. â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Or, alternatively, are the Blazers trying to get the Nets’ No. 10 pick so they can flip it and go even higher -- perhaps into Mayo or Westbrook territory? The T’wolves and Knicks have both been mentioned.) â†µ

â†µâ†µNuggets trade out of the draft: I’m trying to figure out how the Nuggets were so good or so young that they didn’t need the No. 20 pick. â†µ

â†µâ†µ(As for the Bobcats, that is one more first-round draft pick for Michael Jordan and Larry Brown to screw up, inevitably.) â†µ

â†µâ†µMore Trade Talk: Baron to Motown? Are the Pistons on the cusp of landing Baron Davis from the Warriors for Billups and Sheed? That’s less a shakeup than a reshuffle; Davis and Billups seem like a wash, except Billups will cost his team more years of salary-cap hits. â†µ

â†µâ†µCollege World Series: Fresno State Cinderella story ends in a championship, and you’ll be sorry you weren’t paying much attention. â†µ

â†µâ†µThey become the most unlikely champ in recent college baseball history (first No. 4 regional seed to reach CWS, unranked all season, more losses than any champ in history), but don’t call them unworthy. â†µ

â†µâ†µThey got two particular stand-out performances last night: SP Justin Wilson had 8 IP, allowing only 5 H and 9 K, and RF Steve Detwiler had 2 HR and 6 RBI. Congrats to the Bulldogs. â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Instant History: The Twins are on fire. Eight straight Ws. Just .5 GB the ChiSox in the AL Central. Carlos Gomez -- yielded from the Johan Santana trade -- was last night’s hero. â†µ

â†µâ†µFenway Park is the new “Del Boca Vista”: Tim Wakefield and Randy Johnson faced each other to combine for 85 years of life and 37 years of pitching experience. â†µ

â†µâ†µIt was the oldest combined age of pitchers not in MLB history, but Fenway Park history, at least (although when Schilling faced Clemens last September, they combined for 85 years, too). â†µ

â†µâ†µMore: The Rays keep rolling, with a 15-3 win over the Marlins. (Fantasy Stud: Carl Crawford, with 2 HR and career-high 5 RBI). ... Joba Watch: 6.2 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 114 pitches, 1 W. ... Wow: Barry Zito got a win (and an interleague win, at that)? ... Welcome, Max Ramirez: The Rangers rookie got his first MLB HR as part of his first-ever MLB game with hits, in a Rangers W. ... Injury Watch: David Ortiz is weeks away from returning to the lineup (and is Curt Schilling really coming back? Not soon, but ever?). ... Suspended: Shawn Chacon, exiled from the Astros indefinitely after beating down GM Ed Wade; Chacon would certainly be welcome in Philadelphia. â†µ

â†µâ†µBarry Bonds will not play for an independent league team: Not that he should have to. It’s a joke that no MLB team has picked him up. The guy may be tainted, but he can still hit at a way-better-than-VORP rate. It just goes to show you how un-cut-throat MLB is; if this was the cut-throat NFL, a player with Bonds’ talent would be starting for sure. â†µ

â†µâ†µEuro 08: What a wild ending to Turkey-Germany! First, the TV signal went down, so you come back and it’s suddenly 2-1 Germany, after a goal at the 79th minute. Then Turkey scored at 86 to tie. Then Germany scored the winner at 90, making it the most exciting 10 minutes of sports (um, minus the TV blackout) of the month so far. Germany faces today’s Russia-Spain winner in the championship game. â†µ

â†µâ†µWish you were at that Steve Nash celebrity pickup soccer match in New York’s Lower East Side? Here is a nice recap. â†µ

â†µâ†µBrandon Jennings vs. the NCAA/NBA, Cont’d: Mike DeCourcy weighs in. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: The annual NBA Draft drinking game! Take a sip for each of the following phrases: â†µ

â†µâ†µCliche (No. of sips)
â†µ
â†µ“Upside” (1)
â†µ“Tweener” (1)
â†µ“The next...” (1)
â†µ“Best player available” (1)
â†µ“Need pick” (1)
â†µ“On the clock”/“On the board” (1)
â†µ“Intangibles” (1)
â†µ“Sleeper” (-1)
â†µ“Athletic”/“Ath-a-letic” (2)
â†µ“Length”/“Long” (2)
â†µ“Rondo” (5)
â†µ“Bouncy” (1)
â†µ“Should’ve stayed in school...” (3)
â†µ“Character” (3)
â†µ“But what do I know?” (10)
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â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. â†µ

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