The Finals are over (thank GOD), and the Draft is about to begin

I should say something about the NBA Finals, so I'll say this - I'm old. Game 7 started at 9pm. I opted to read a little and go to bed. I watched the last 5 minutes of the 1st quarter, then went upstairs. I joked a little with my wife the next morning, asking if she packed my prune juice & metamucil in my lunch. I wouldn't have liked the outcome anyway, given that I was rooting a) against the Heat, and b) for Tim Duncan & the Spurs. 

I had switched over to kind of rooting for the Heat this year, given their level of play. I would describe it as a begrudging admiration. LeBron lost me this playoffs, however. He's become a massive whiner, and he complains about good calls & bad calls with equal intensity. He does it in a way that borderlines on pro wrestling showmanship, playing to the crowd. Drives me nuts. It's actually taken him out of the play several times this finals, which should never happen with a great player, but it happens with LeBron a lot. He's still growing up. I used to hate Duncan for his Tim Duncan Face, which he put on any time a call went against him. He's basically put it away & I've found it easier to like him.

Anyway, Spurs lost, Heat won, on to the draft...

...Which is tomorrow! I've really been looking forward to the draft, especially since Dumars flubbed the coach hiring. It actually reminded me of The Office episode "Halloween" in season 1, where Michael decided to fire Devon instead of Creed because he'd already talked to Creed & didn't want to look stupid. Kind of like how several high quality coaches became available (or more likely to sign with Detroit), but Dumars was already on his 3rd interview with Cheeks & didn't want to look stupid. Yes, I just compared Joe Dumars to Michael Scott. That's not good.

Anyway, it's looking like 1 of a couple top prospects could slip to the Pistons at the 8th pick, which would almost make up for the fact that they didn't tank and played themselves back by 3-7 picks. If Zeller or McCollum slip into the top 7 picks, Detroit could be in really good shape. First, Trey Burke is definitely in play. The Magic could end up with Noel if CLE goes another way, or they could pick Oladipo (like most think they will). After that, there are only a couple of teams that are even THINKING of drafting a PG and they both seem to be lukewarm on Burke.

Second, Bennett is probably more likely than Burke to slip. He needs to drop some weight and work on his speed if he's going to be an NBA SF (at the moment he's a combo-forward, which isn't great), but he's got the skills that make him well worth the pick.

Lastly is Ben McLemore (yeah, nbadraft.net did a mock in which Detroit got Porter, but they're CRAZY). His stock has been slipping since the combine, and he's basically flipped places with Oladipo. This is probably a case of over exposure, like HD making an attractive person look less so because you can count their pores. McLemore has his flaws, but so does everyone in this draft. I don't think he falls to the Pistons, but it's in play.

There has been lots of talk about trading picks in this draft, more than usual to be sure. A couple possibilities are trading back to OKC's pick at 12 or Dallas' pick at 13 (which would include taking on Shaw Marion's contract). Shabazz Muhammad might be still around then, or a guy like Dennis Schroeder. I'll be sure to check in tomorrow if there's any late moves worth talking about.