Wall goes first overall in the draft to the Washington Wizards, and four of his old college teammate are also NBA-bound. All first-rounders, too: DeMarcus Cousins goes fifth to Sacramento, Patrick Patterson 14th to Houston, Eric Bledsoe 18th to Oklahoma and Daniel Orton 29th to Orlando.
Evan Turner, Derrick Favors and Wesley Johnson round out the top five, going second, third and fourth to Philadelphia, New Jersey and Minnesota respectively.
The Celtics fill two needs in one night — they get a wing defensive stopper in Texas' Avery Bradley, and a big-time power forward in Notre Dame's Luke Harangody.
11:59 p.m.: Tonight's Mr. Irrelevant is Dwayne Collins, who goes 60th and last overall to the Phoenix Suns.
Best of luck to him.
Let's call it a night.
11:49 p.m.: The roller-coaster night continues for Solomon
Alabi. First, he falls all the way to No. 50 in the draft; then he's
traded from Dallas to Toronto on draft night.
The Raptors could really use some size and some defense. Alabi is right up their alley.
The draft is just now wrapping up. Just a couple of picks to go.
11:32 p.m.: The Celtics have made their second pick of this NBA draft, and it's Luke Harangody, a 6-foot-8 power forward out of Notre Dame.
Harangody is a senior with an NBA-ready game. He can score, he can pile up rebounds, he can contribute right away.
Rasheed Wallace's shoes aren't easy to fill, but it looks like Harangody will give it his best shot.
11:28 p.m.: The wait is finally over for Solomon Alabi, who falls all the way to the Dallas Mavericks at No. 50.
What a steal for the Mavs, who get a legitimate beast in the low post late in the second round. Alabi is a 7-footer who brings a tremendous defensive presence to the Mavericks down low. Can't do better than that at 50.
11:23 p.m.: Here's something you don't see every day: The Miami Heat are drafting a D-Leaguer.
Latavious Williams, a 21-year-old forward and a Texas native, has been plucked away from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League. Williams never went to college — instead, he skipped from high school straight to the D-League, and he's now being drafted into the big show.
Another oddity in what's been a very odd night already.
11:21 p.m.: Jerome Jordan to Milwaukee, Paulo Prestes to
Minnesota, Gani Lawal to Phoenix, Tiny Gallon to Milwaukee. My
condolences to Solomon Alabi and his entire family.
11:08 p.m.: Ebanks is finally off the board — and lucky him. He's heading to the defending champions.
The Lakers get Ebanks with the No. 43 overall pick. It's their first and only draft pick of the night, and they make it count.
Alabi just keeps falling.
11:03 p.m.: Turns out Devin Ebanks isn't even the first West
Virginia Mountaineer selected in this draft. That honor is bestowed
upon Da'Sean Butler, who goes No. 42 overall to the Miami Heat.
The fall continues for Ebanks and FSU center Solomon Alabi.
There's one of these every year. This year, we've got two, and it's no fun to be either one of them.
Will the torture end soon?
10:54 p.m.: The locals have said their piece. It'll be Andy
Rautins and Landry Fields, a Syracuse guard and Stanford forward
respectively, going No. 38 and 39 respectively to the Knicks. Not
exactly LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The Big Apple has another week to
wait for the big stars.
10:48 p.m.: Thunderous applause ripples through Madison Square
Garden as Adam Silver announces that the Knicks, for the first time
tonight, are on the clock.
It's been a long decade for the local squad. We shall see if they turn things around this summer.
10:44 p.m.: You know who I really don't envy? Adam Silver, the
league's deputy commissioner. Where's the glamor in announcing all the
second-round picks? Especially when no one's ever heard of most of the
players you're naming, and some of their names are borderline
unpronounceable (Nemanja Bjelica!)?
The night continues to grind on. The superstars are well in the past, but the draft is still young.
10:36 p.m.: Tibor Pleiss to New Jersey, Dexter Pittman to
Miami, and then finally Hassan Whiteside to Sacramento. The second
round is underway — for some, it's delightful news, and for others,
it's torture.
Imagine what this must feel like for Solomon Alabi right now. The Florida State center was seen as a solid pick in the late teens or early twenties — he's now waited 33 picks, and still no luck.
Equally agonizing, no doubt, is Devin Ebanks' draft night. The guy led West Virginia all the way to the Final Four this spring, but his summer isn't off to a very good start.
10:19 p.m.: Lazar Hayward, a small forward out of Marquette,
rounds out the first round, going to the Washington Wizards. Still no
Alabi, still no Whiteside. Not a big night for the big men.
Lots of talent still left on the board in round two. Alabi, Whiteside, West Virginia's Devin Ebanks, and a couple of solid guards, Armon Johnson out of Nevada and Terrico White from Mississippi.
Who goes next? And who falls the furthest?
10:13 p.m.: History is made — the Kentucky Wildcats are the
first college basketball team ever to produce five first-round picks in
a single draft. Daniel Orton is the fifth, going No. 29 overall to the
Orlando Magic.
It's a hard knock life for Orton. He goes straight from backing up DeMarcus Cousins at Kentucky to backing up Dwight Howard in Orlando.
For crying out loud. Will the kid ever get to play?
9:59 p.m.: Craig Brackins to OKC, Elliot Williams to Portland,
Booker to Minnesota, Damion James to Atlanta, Dominique Jones to
Memphis, Quincy Poindexter to OKC. The Nets, Grizzlies, Magic and
Wizards will round out the first round.
Not a good night to be Hassan Whiteside, Daniel Orton or Solomon Alabi. All continue their horrific free-fall through the first round.
Not a lot of demand tonight for big men, and that's an understatement.
9:41 p.m.: Here's a bizarre fact: This is the first time we've
ever seen a draft with zero seniors picked in the lottery. Trevor
Booker, a senior out of Clemson, is the first. He goes 23rd overall to
Minnesota.
We're officially in the age of the 19-year-old wunderkind. Freshmen have ruled the night, as expected.
9:27 p.m.: And thus James Anderson, the pick many expected to
fall to the Celtics, slips even further to San Antonio at the No. 20.
Anderson is a superb athlete and a phenomenal scorer. Big-time steal
for the Spurs, and an NBA-ready talent.
9:21 p.m.: The Celtics have made their pick, and as expected,
they've done the expected. It's Avery Bradley, the freshman guard out
of the University of Texas, who's set to wear Celtic green.
Bradley is a tremendous athlete and one of the nation's best perimeter defenders in college basketball last season. He could be a good role player in Boston off the bench next season.
Not an earth-shattering pick by Danny Ainge, but a smart one that could add another element to the Celtics' second unit.
The C's refuse to reach for a big man. Solomon Alabi and Hassan Whiteside remain on the board, as does Kentucky's Daniel Orton, with the San Antonio Spurs due up next at No. 20.
9:15 p.m.: The Oklahoma City Thunder already added one draft
pick earlier, in trading for Cole Aldrich; now they have another. Eric
Bledsoe, the fourth Kentucky Wildcat of the draft, goes 18th overall to
OKC.
The Celtics are next. Will they go for a big man, filling a need opened by the recent retirement of Rasheed Wallace? Hassan Whiteside and Solomon Alabi are available if so.
Or do they want a scorer? James Anderson, the Oklahoma State scoring dynamo, is out there as well.
Or will Danny Ainge throw us a curveball? That's distinctly possible.
9:11 p.m.: Kevin Seraphin, another monster big man, is picked
No. 17 by the Chicago Bulls. But don't expect him to stay long in the
Windy City — it looks like he's headed to the Wizards as part of the
Kirk Hinrich salary dump announced earlier today.
9:06 p.m.: Luke Babbitt, a forward out of Nevada and a
dominating scorer, is going to the Timberwolves. Yet another solid
addition to Minnesota's stockpile of young talent. But will it ever
translate into wins?
9:01 p.m.: Larry Sanders, a monstrous big man from Virginia
Commonwealth University, is headed to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Unfortunately, he didn't head to New York to show up for tonight's
draft.
8:56 p.m.: And then there were three Wildcats. Patrick
Patterson, a junior out of Kentucky, rounds out the 14 lottery picks.
He's headed to the Houston Rockets.
With his strength and unbelievable length, Patterson is going to make a great power forward in the NBA. He'll look pretty darn good next to Yao Ming.
8:49 p.m.: Ed Davis missed half a season with the North
Carolina Tar Heels with a broken wrist, and it cost him a whole lot of
draft stock. But he's finally found a home — he's going to Toronto at
No. 13.
Davis is a solid all-around power forward — and perhaps a good replacement for Chris Bosh, who's on the way out in free agency this summer.
Say hello to your future, Raptors fans.
8:44 p.m.: Xavier Henry heading to Memphis. Good fit — he's a
solid role player at the wing position and will fit in well by taking a
backseat to Zach Randolph (and perhaps Rudy Gay, if he should stick
around).
8:41 p.m.: Cole Aldrich is excited to be heading to New
Orleans, but it doesn't look like he's going to be a Hornet after all.
Multiple sources indicate that Aldrich is headed to Oklahoma City
instead, part of a trade for two late first-round picks.
8:37 p.m.: New Orleans opts for a big man, taking the very, very big Cole Aldrich with the No. 11 pick.
Aldrich broke the Jayhawks' all-time single-season blocks record last season as a junior; he'll surely bring a strong defensive presence inside to the Hornets.
Maybe now the Hornets can make a move to unload the massive contract of Emeka Okafor? At least now, it'd make more sense from a basketball standpoint.
8:30 p.m.: Paul George, a versatile forward out of Fresno State, goes 10th to the Indiana Pacers.
It's a shame for Indiana fans, who just barely missed out on their local boy, Hayward. But as history has shown, the Pacers aren't always swayed by the sentimental value of the local kid anyway — 23 years ago, they had a chance to take Indiana Hoosier Steve Alford, but passed. Instead? They got a kid out of UCLA named Reggie Miller.
This year, they get George.
We're done with the top 10. Now things get really murky.
8:25 p.m.: Wow — what a difference one phenomenal postseason
run makes. Gordon Hayward, who led the Butler Bulldogs to the NCAA
championship game against Duke this spring, is headed to the Utah Jazz
as the No. 9 overall pick.
Didn't I say these later picks would be unpredictable?
Hayward is a fine player — a smart playmaker and a creative scorer with a skill set that will translate well to the NBA. But ninth overall? Pretty crazy.
8:18 p.m.: The L.A. Clippers get an NBA-ready scoring and rebounding machine in Al-Farouq Aminu, an athletic forward out of Wake Forest.
The Clippers are going to be scary next season, with both Aminu and last year's No. 1 Blake Griffin making their professional debuts. Surround them with another quality youngster in Eric Gordon, and a pair of All-Stars in Baron Davis and Chris Kaman, and they're in good shape.
The Utah Jazz are next, using a first-round pick acquired from the New York Knicks.
8:12 p.m.: The Detroit Pistons get a steal at No. 7 in
Georgetown big man Greg Monroe. Monroe is a versatile, intelligent
young player that can rebound with the best of them.
Now things get really interesting. After the top tier of players, it's a complete mess — no one left in the green room has any clue whether they're going eighth or 28th.
The L.A. Clippers are on the clock. Who knows what they've got up their sleeves?
8:06 p.m.: In the first real surprise of this draft, the Golden
State Warriors have gone out on a limb and taken Ekpe Udoh, the
6-foot-10 big man out of Baylor who led the nation in blocks, with the
No. 6 pick.
In going sixth, Udoh has leapfrogged over several notable big men, most notably Georgetown's Greg Monroe and Kansas' Cole Aldrich, into the upper tier of the lottery.
Tonight's a big night for Udoh, and it's an intriguing move for the Warriors, who take a big step toward solidifying their interior defense with the No. 6 pick.
7:59 p.m.: DeMarcus Cousins isn't slipping too far. He's headed to the Kings at the No. 5, making it two Wildcats in the top five.
Last time a school produced two top-five picks in the same draft? It was two years ago, actually. UCLA products Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love went No. 4 and No. 5 overall in the 2008 draft.
UK isn't done yet. It's going to be a good night for the men from Lexington.
7:54 p.m.: Wesley Johnson to the Minnesota Timberwolves, meaning
Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins will to at least fifth. Not a good night so
far for Wildcat No. 2.
Johnson's a good fit for the Wolves, who were looking for another scorer and they've now found one. Johnson will look good next to Minnesota bigs Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.
Does Cousins go next, to the No. 5 Sacramento Kings? Or will he slip further?
7:48 p.m.: Derrick Favors goes No. 3 to the New Jersey Nets.
Favors is big, NBA-ready and all kinds of talented — the Nets have
chosen wisely.
Favors struggled at times with a weak supporting cast at Georgia Tech. Can he do better with a Nets team that lost 70 games last season?
It'll be a challenge for him, no doubt. But down the road, Favors has a promising career ahead of him.
7:42 p.m.: Still no surprises — John Wall goes No. 1 to the
Wiz, and Evan Turner has been announced as the No. 2 overall pick,
headed to the Philadelphia 76ers.
It'll be interesting to see how the Sixers put Turner to work. He can play either guard position, or small forward — how does he best fit into the Sixers' plans? He and Andre Iguodala could make a scary combination on the wings. That's something to watch for.
Now the real drama starts. Who goes No. 3? Will it be Derrick Favors headed to New Jersey, or are there some surprises in store for us?
7:37 p.m.: In the mother of all surprises, John Wall has been selected first overall by the Washington Wizards.
Wall is the sure thing to end all sure things in the NBA. A guaranteed All-Star, a guaranteed franchise-changer for a Wizards team that could desperately use one.
Usually, you should be a little cautious about believing all the hype. But with Wall, you can believe it. He's the real deal.
7 p.m.: All right everyone, make your picks — how many
Kentucky Wildcats do we see in the first round tonight? How many in the
lottery?
Looks like three — John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson — are favored to go in the top 14 tonight. Another two — Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton — have an outside shot as well.
Say what you will about John Calipari, but the guy sure can develop talent.
The draft is now a half hour away. Everyone grab your popcorn and get ready.
6 p.m.: Plenty of teams have been looking to trade down in this
year's draft, most notably including a New Jersey team that doesn't
appear happy with its No. 3 overall pick. Rather than get an elite big
man like Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins, the Nets may trade down
and try to get something back.
The moral here may be that after John Wall and Evan Turner, it's unclear where the next-best talent in this draft might be hidden. It might be Favors or Cousins, it might be one of the other projected lottery picks, or it might be someone buried at the bottom of the first round or in round two.
With a draft class this deep and this unpredictable, the safe move seems to be trading down and making a low-risk, high-reward pick toward the bottom of the first round.
3:45 p.m.: File this under both "draft news" and "LeBron watch
news" — the Bulls are including their No. 17 overall pick in a deal to
unload the contract of Kirk Hinrich.
Hinrich still has two years and about $17 million left on his contract — by getting rid of his deal, the Bulls ensure that they'll have more financial flexibility down the road to pursue two max free agents — like, say, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
Ric Bucher over at ESPN broke the story. He's got the Wizards landing Hinrich and the No. 17, and at the moment, it's unclear what the Bulls are getting back. Besides the obvious — cap space.
10:30 a.m.: What will be the look on John Wall's face when he
goes No. 1 to Washington, or Evan Turner's when he goes to the Sixers
at No. 2?
Who else will round out the lottery picks?
What will the Celtics do at No. 19?
Soon enough, all these questions and more will be answered. Follow along here with NESN.com's NBA draft blog, where you'll get updates and analysis on all the evening's news.
For the hardcore NBA fan, it's the best night of the year.
It's draft night.
