2012 NBA Draft Open Thread

Feel free to post your thoughts on the NBA Draft below! We'll have stories out as soon as possible covering all of tonight's happenings, so be sure to check the front page as well!

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J.A. Sherman - I'm live-blogging the draft in the Prudential Center. I'm sitting in media row, I'm next to Will Purdue, and I can see Henry Abbott's shiny bald head. I'm in the moment. Stick with me, most recent posts are at the top.

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And that concludes it. The crowd boos lustily one last time for Emperor Palpatine, cheers maniacally for deputy commish Adam Silver, and everything is right in the world once more.

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#30 the final pick in the draft...the Warriors take Festus Ezili. I'm sure Zorgon approves.

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#29 Bulls take Marquis Teague. Can he shoot? If so, he's an upgrade.

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The Thunder now have a Durantula, a honey badger, a Congolese, a beard, and a Perk. And now they have a "III." That rounds things out nicely.

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#28 the Thunder pick Perry Jones III. Wow, great crowd response.

He's like KD's twin. If OKC keeps him, clearly they'll try to develop him as the backup SF. It makes sense.

Jones was still in the house, so he's a few feet away from me now. He looks really happy. He said he did not work out for OKC prior to the draft.

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salary cap talk now. Of course all of that is in the shadow of the Harden/Ibaka situation. Nobody knows anything, but they act like they do.

Let's see what kind of pop the Thunder get here in NJ.

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#27 the Heat take...ah, THERE's the BOOS!...Vince McMahon could take a pointer or two from the Commish. He's just gloating up there.

Heat take Arnett Moultrie. Ok, whatever. They're trading him anyway.

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They're showing Finals highlights. I need to find a happy place. At least the crowd is universally against the Heat.

Many, many more random comments after the jump.

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#26 Pacers take Miles Plumlee. That is just...so...perfect...too perfect for words.

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#25 Grizzlies take Tony Wroten. I wonder if this means O.J. Mayo is on the outs.

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#24 pick Cavs take Jared Cunningham. We're starting to get into 'that' range, where even the fans can't muster decent boos against the Commish.

I don't really understand what the Cavs are doing with all these guards though. It is doubtful they'll have a meaningful impact without a decent post presence, and defenses will just crowd them out.

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just saw a young fella with about 10 cell phones strapped to his person and wires coming out of his ears dejectedly carrying a plate of nachos to someone more important than he. Might be my saddest image of the night. So far.

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#23 pick Hawks take John Jenkins. That's great, I guess.

I can't shake the feeling the the Hawks are always going to win 45-48 games every year, be mostly unwatchable, and lose in the 1st round. Maybe we should cryogenically freeze the Hawks for a few seasons.

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#22 pick, Celtics take Fab Melo. I'm excited for a kid who can't really speak English try to learn the game from Kevin Garnett, who doesn't really speak English either. It's more Dothraki than English.

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This is the NBA draft. It's kind of a big deal. Shouldn't Kate Upton be around here somewhere?

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#22 pick also goes to the Celtics from the Perkins trade. here Boston, take my beloved dog too, I think I forgot to fax you my homework last week.

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#21 Celtics take Jared Sullinger. I was about to quip "the Thunder's 28th pick," but I'm still kind of ticked off about that.

He looks like he's a solid rebounder, and that's one of the secret weaknesses of the Celtics - they were terrible on the boards this past season.

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Celtics with 2 picks in a row. I wonder if they might look for a shooting guard.

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The boos for David Stern can best be described in the word 'lustily.'

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#20 Nuggets take Evan Fournier. Was he on the Thunder's draft board? We'll never know.

International power struggle between Danilo Gallinari and Fournier, no doubt.

Fournier is a youngster, and he definitely has a swagger about him. I'll bet he owns dozens of library cards.

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Roy Williams just sat down next to me. The man is tiny. He's also exactly what you'd think he looks like up close. His skin is practically purple.

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#19 Magic take Andrew Nicholson. He joins lofty Canadian company there. Canadians are starting to make their case.

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There's a Magic fan next to me holding a sign that says "In Rob We Trust."

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#18 Rockets continue their hoarding by taking Terrence Jones. Another power forward.

Two forwards and a guard now. At least they're drafting for needs.

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Is it necessary for ESPN tv guys to have body guards? Apparently so.

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#17 Mavericks take Tyler Zeller. Probably a good move, b/c Dallas is really hurting at the center spot ever since Tyson Chandler left.

Good build on the kid, representative of the way things are moving for big men in the West. He won't have to worry too much unless he's going against Bynum.

Zeller's mom looks like she's attending the Oscars. His dad looks like he's a proctologist.

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#16 Rockets take Royce White. He was one of the peculiarities in the draft, but the Rockets are guys who do their homework.

Could they be planning on moving Scola?

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There's one guy on the radio line who looks like Robert Wuhl as Arli$$. I have a strong desire to smack him.

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#15 Sixers take Moe Harkless.

I like the 76ers youth movement, but they still seem to be lacking a bona fide playmaker, a guy who can just create his own shot. They tried Iggy in that role and it didn't work.

Ribbed socks, in case you were wondering.

I like the way he's bantering with the radio guys. Shows he's comfortable with himself, which is good when Doug Collins blows a gasket trying to get him to run a man-weave.

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#14 Bucks take John Henson. Mixed crowd reaction there.

I guess they needed a power forward after losing Bogut, but it's still the Bucks here.

Then again, I do have a thing for lefties...

Henson is much more subdued in his attire, but he does sport some sparkly buckles on his shoes.

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#13 Suns take Kendall Marshall. Goodbye Steve Nash, I suppose.

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Radio is interviewing Doc Rivers now. He's so dang happy right now. really cool.

He's making Lamb wait around as well. Power move there.

#12 Rockets take Jeremy Lamb.

I really dig what the Rockets have been doing. They lost Chase Budinger and may lose Goran Dragic, so it's good that they're restocking the guard position.

Wow, the kid is skinny though. He's going to have a tough time guarding the 2-guards for a while.

Up close Lamb looks like he's 14 years old.

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#11 Blazers take Meyers Leonard. Because it's not like they don't have a center or anything. And of course I'm talking about Hasheem Thabeet.

Leonard can hang out with Luke Babbitt, I'll bet. Is that a white guy joke? I think it is.

Memo to Leonard's PR person - the black checked shirt is not working. Makes him look like he's wearing a straight jacket.

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#10 Hornets take Austin Rivers.

Doc is beaming. What a proud papa.

I like the red checked shirt. Unfortunately he doesn't follow Lillard's lead and match his sock to it.

Where's the Duke loyalty though? No Duke blue in his ensemble.

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#9 Pistons take Andre Drummond.

Wait, don't they already have a center?

Apparently what this world needs is more 7 footers who shoot 3's

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#8 - Terrence Ross goes to the Raptors. Aaaand...this guy is skinnier than Barnes. how can a kid be 6'7" and weigh under 200 lbs? Is Toronto known for good cuisine?

I like the boldness of the green bowtie, although I am confused as it is against his blue checked shirt.

Actually now that he's up close, I kind of like his frame. You can tell he's wirey but has what you might call prehensile strength.

And oh man, he's rocking blue striped socks with his tan shoes and grey suit. I think I have a Brooks Brothers tie in that exact same pattern.

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#7 Warriors take Harrison Barnes. He looks like he'll fit in well with Mark Jackson's defense-first approach.

My goodness, he's skinnier than Durant. No shoulders at all. He's gonna have to be a jump shooter for quite a while until he bulks up. In other words, he'll fit right in with GS.

Subtle touch - brown shoes with the black suit.

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#6 Blazers take Damian Lillard. He's got an excellent cheering crew here.

I'm sure that all Blazers fans are super excited that the Ray Felton era is coming to an end.

Next up for Felton - dropping 50 on a blogger somewhere.

I really like Lillard's look. Nice checked sport jacket, and he's actually rocking red socks to match his lapel. Weber St. ya'll!

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Stu Jackson just walked past me. I really want to ask him about his feelings on jurisdictional reach in regards to penalizing players for making public statements while not acting in an NBA capacity.

Alas, the moment escapes me.

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#5 Kings take Thomas Robinson. Thank goodness they don't already have a young power forward.

Very sharp black suit on Robinson. Good shine on the shoes.

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My SU guy Waiters has been taken by the Cavs. Will he play along side Irving? Kind of strange, given they practically play the same position. I like the fact that he's sporting an SU orange tie. And dang, his watch is sparkly.

He's pretty well built, but not as tall as you might expect.

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Ok guys, I'm in press row and finally connected. I'll give you some immediate feedback as things happen here. Right now I'm sitting next to Beal, and he's definitely wearing a Wizards cap. Er, holding it anyway. So no, James Harden is not being traded for him.