NBA Schedule Puts Clips and Lakers at Beginning and End

The NBA released it's 2009-10 season schedule today, and the Lakers will start the season on October 27 against the Clippers. The two teams will also battle in the last game of the season. The marquis game though will be the Christmas Day spectacular, as Kobe and the Lakers take on LeBron, Shaq, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Staples Center. The Clippers will also have their own Christmas game as they take on the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers' ring ceremony will be held on Opening Night.

2009 NBA Draft: Nothing Unexpected

In the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers used their first overall pick to select PF Blake Griffin from Oklahoma. Griffin is 6-foot-10, and was the College Player of the Year last season. His selection though creates a problem for the Clippers, who have four power-forwards/centers already in their lineup. Los Angeles is expected to trade either Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby or Zach Randolph. The Lakers had no first-round pick for the second straight year, this time selling it to New York for $3 million.

The first round went as follows:

1. Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma
2. Memphis: Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut
3. Oklahoma City: James Harden, SG, Arizona State
4. Sacramento: Tyreke Evans, SG, Memphis
5. Minnesota (from Washington): Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain
6. Minnesota: Jonny Flynn, PG, Syracuse
7. Golden State: Stephen Curry, PG, Davidson
8. New York: Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona
9. Toronto: DeMar DeRozan, SG, USC
10. Milwaukee: Brandon Jennings, PG, Compton/Italy
11. New Jersey: Terrence Williams, SG, Louisville
12. Charlotte: Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke
13. Indiana: Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina
14. Phoenix: Earl Clark, SF, Louisville
15. Detroit: Austin Daye, SF, Gonzaga
16. Chicago: James Johnson, PF, Wake Forest
17. Philadelphia: Jrue Holiday, PG, UCLA
18. Minnesota (from Miami): Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina (traded to Denver for future first-round pick)
19. Atlanta: Jeff Teague, PG, Wake Forest
20. Utah: Eric Maynor, PG, VCU
21. New Orleans: Darren Collison, PG, UCLA
22. Portland (from Dallas): Victor Claver, PF, Spain
23. Sacramento (from Houston): Omri Casspi, SF, Israel
24. Dallas (from Portland): B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State (traded to OKC for Beaubois)
25. Oklahoma City (from San Antonio): Rodrigue Beaubois, PG, France (traded to Dallas for Mullens and future second-round pick)
26. Chicago (from Denver via OKC): Taj Gibson, PF, USC
27. Memphis (from Orlando): DeMarre Carroll, PF, Missouri
28. Minnesota (from Boston): Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina
29. Los Angeles Lakers: Toney Douglas, SG, Florida State (traded to New York for 2011 second-round pick and $3 million)
30. Cleveland: Christian Eyenga, SG, Congo

Despite trading the first-round pick, the Lakers had two second-round picks, one from a trade with Charlotte for Kareem Rush back in 2004. With the 42nd overall pick, the Purple and Gold selected Patrick Beverley, who played most recently in the Ukraine in addition to Arkansas. The Lakers then sold his contract to Miami for $1.5 million and a future second-round pick. With the 59th overall pick, the Lakers chose Chinemelu Elonu, a center of Texas A&M.

The main talk of the draft was who be chosen by Memphis at number two. Many believed it would be highly-touted Spanish guard Ricky Rubio, while others thought Hasheem Thabeet would be chosen. Not only was Thabeet the number-two pick, Rubio fell to #5. Minnesota had an astonishing four different picks in the draft, and what's even more shocking was that they used each one to draft a guard. Conventional wisdom says a trade is in the works...

Editor's Note: The Path to the Draft

With the 2009 NBA Draft set to go today, many questions remain for both the Lakers and the Clippers. Will the Clippers trade away their number-one pick due to a plethora of big-men? Do they instead try to find a suitor for Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph, or Marcus Camby? What do the Lakers do with their pick? Do they try to pursue a legitimate player who could have a shot at making the club? Do they pick a foreigner to keep salary-cap space clear? Or do they simply trade the pick like what GM Mitch Kupchak suggested? While there's no doubt Blake Griffin will go to the team with the first pick, the Clippers must decide if they want to be that team. And the Lakers must decide if they can handle three draft picks while still unsure what to do with Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. The path to the draft splits apart into different tangents, but ultimately one path will be chosen.

UPDATE: The Lakers sold their 29th overall pick to the New York Knicks for $3 million. The money is intended to help resign Odom and Ariza.

NBA Playoffs: Where Upsets Happen

As the Los Angeles Lakers waited for their playoff opener against Utah tomorrow, the NBA Playoffs started off with a bang. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics 105-103 in overtime, stunning the Kevin Garnett-less Irish. Derrick Rose of the Bulls tied the record for most points scored by a rookie in a playoff debut with 36 points. In Cleveland, the Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons, taking a 1-0 advantage in that series. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Spurs 105-97 in San Antonio. Houston defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 108-81 in a series that can have serious concequences for the Lakers.

Kobe & Shaq Reunion Dominates All-Star Game

For the NBA's annual All-Star Game in Phoenix, there was no one more excited than Laker fans. Kobe Bryant was named a starter, Phil Jackson was named head coach of the Western Conference, Pau Gasol was named a reserve, and former-Laker Shaquille O'Neal was named a reserve as well. The West defeated the East 146-119 in a purely offensive game, with both Kobe and Shaq being named Co-MVPs of the game. Kobe scored a game-high 27 points and had a game-high 4 steals. Shaq scored 17 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in less than 11 minutes. Gasol had 14 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. LeBron James of Cleveland led the East with 20 points, and Boston's Paul Pierce came off the bench to scored 18. Dwyane Wade of Miami scored 18 points as well, and Orlando's Dwight Howard had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix added 19 points to the West, and New Orleans's Chris Paul scored 14 points and added 14 assists.

Thornton, Gordon Enjoy All-Star Festivities

Despite the Clippers' poor record, the NBA has not forgotten about Eric Gordon and Al Thornton. Gordon, a rookie from Indiana, and Thornton, a second-year player, both traveled to Phoenix to take part in the NBA's annual Rookie-Sophomore Game. The Sophomores won 122-116, and Gordon finished with 19 points for the Rookies. Thornton scored 10 points for the Sophomores, and had help from last year's rookie-of-the-year Kevin Durant. Durant broke Amare Stoudemire's game-high 36 points from 2004, scoring a record 46 points.