Draft: As Expected, Until The Fifth
by: David Kolb
Marketing. Marketing.
It's amazing. It wasn't even 60 seconds after Greg Oden was announced as the NBA's No. 1 pick and there it was. In the "Draft Room" in Portland, there was a No. 52 jersey unfurled by a team exec. No. 52!
They gave Buck Williams' number away? No respect! A moment later a picture with Oden posing in his No. 52 jersey was already posted on NBA.com.
Fourth, Mike Conley who rode shotgun to Oden most of his basketball life was selected and then we saw our first trade, and it was a blockbuster!
Seattle then chose Kevin Durant as expected, and then Atlanta picked Al Horford, forgetting that they already have too many forwards. They never learn!
Seattle now has a fresh nucleus with Durant and Green, while Rashard Lewis (unrestricted free agent) might be gone and Allen is going east. For the Celtics the trade won't do much, but the games in Beantown will be more exciting with Allen playing alongside Paul Pierce.
Seattle traded Ray Allen to Boston for the No. 5 first-round pick, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak, and the Celtics picked Jeff Green at No. 5 for Seattle. An interesting trade indeed.
