sudden realization

I just realized that… hey, I’m in the United States right now, and that means that I can actually watch the NBA draft tonight!

Wow. I really am excited by that. You have to understand the depressed resignation of living 6 time zones ahead of the Eastern U.S. and knowing that I will always get sports news after it’s already happened, by reading it on a website. The idea that I can actually watch it happen live tonight is a stunning treat.

There’s a TV right here, and I know where I will be at 7 P.M.

One thing we know is that the Cleveland Cavaliers will be rebuilt tonight, at least potentially. They have the 1st *and* 4th picks in the draft.

The draft I remember most vividly was 1996. Allen Iverson went #1 to Philadelphia. But the big gamble was the Lakers trading Vlade Divac to Charlotte in order to select a high school player named Kobe Bryant. I didn’t know what I thought of that at the time, but they showed some Kobe high school footage on the broadcast and he looked just great. Obviously, that pick turned out very well for the Lakers, as they ended up with one of the 10 greatest players of all time, and some people say the best guard other than Jordan.

As for tonight, Kyrie Irving from Duke seems to be the likely #1 pick by Cleveland. Looks like a nice kid.