The NBA draft is on. Check back here throughout the day for updated commentary as the picks roll on in.

4:37: No surprise here as Chicago takes Derrick Rose to kick off the draft and my running diary. Welcome all. Rose was dominant towards the end of the NCAA season, and combines the size and athleticism rarely seen in a point guard. Don’t worry about a backcourt glut for the Bulls; Rose is way more talented than anybody on the roster.

4:43: Miami follows form and takes MichaelBeasley, which is a wise choice. Beasley was one of the most productive, efficient players in recent college basketball history. I guess this means they didn’t find a suitable trade partner to drop a few spots, and the Mayo-Bayless speculation was just that, speculation. The Heat would have been insane to pass on the high-scoring forward. They should be right back in the playoffs with full-seasons from D-Wade, Shawn Marion, and now Beasley.

4:48: Minnesota takes O.J. Mayo. He says he’s a point guard, and I believe him. Mayo didn’t get to show what he could do at USC because of roster issues forcing him into the role of primary scorer. He’s a very good defender, and should work off Al Jefferson very well.

4:51: Mayo’s three piece suit doesn’t seem to fit him very well, and this is the first time I’ve seen him in glasses. Odd since I’m sure it was custom tailored. Every answer out of his mouth seems very rehearsed as well. Show some personality! Unless he really just doesn’t have one.

4:54: What a leap for this kid. Russell Westbrook is selected fourth by the Supersonics. Three years ago, he was debating going to Creighton or San Diego. Fast-forward to today and he’s been to two Final Fours with UCLA and is already a superstar defender. He’ll have to work hard on his ball-handling skills, but I think he eventually can play point guard.

4:57: Westbrook can’t wipe the smile off his face. He looks very comfortable on camera in his oddly short interview, and it’s a long way from where he was as a freshman. I had the chance to be the first to interview him when he got on campus at UCLA, and he didn’t really know how to deal with the media, and the attention. He had (and has) a great attitude and demeanor, but he only gave short one-word answers. Amazing that he is where he is today.

4:59: Pineapple Express looks hilarious. Seth Rogen, Lumbergh from Office Space, Daryl from The Office, plus Spiderman’s best friend? I’m in.

5:02: That’s back-to-back Bruins off the board, and that has to make Ben Howland (who’s in attendance) very happy. Kevin Love to Memphis. Don’t worry about his size ( I believe he is 6’9’’ watching him play all year). He can play. Love is already one of the most polished, skilled big men in all of basketball. His body has improved tremendously since the end of the year, and there is still more room for improvement. Good pick.

5:04: Kevin’s tie nicely matches the baby blue of his new team. Some serendipity there.

5:06: Knicks on the clock. The MSG reaction should be good.

5:07: Half cheers and boos for Italian Danilo Gallinari. I’d bet all the boos belong to Knicks fans, and cheers are from everybody else. Very odd handshake by the draftee (was that a bird-call?). I’ve never seen this guy play, but they say he can really score. He looks pretty talented. Gallinari probably doesn’t want to end up with Tiki Barber’s popularity in New York as Fran Fraschilla just made that comparison.

5:08: Guess the bird-call thing relates to his nickname: Big Rooster. Probably wants to find a new nickname.

5:10: Rough response from the crowd as the fans are really booing Gallinari during his interview. His grasp of English is pretty good though.

5:12: Clippers go with Indiana guard Eric Gordon. Memo to Eric: put those lapels away. Wow. Don’t know about the white-and-black ensemble either. Leader in the clubhouse for worst draft suit. As a player, I don’t like this pick all that much. He’s a pure scorer, but that’s about it. At 6-foot-3, he can’t play point guard and isn’t a very good defender. If you wanted somebody like that, why not go with Jerryd Bayless? He’s got more point guard skills, and is much better attacking the basket. Mark Jackson is very mistaken thinking he can play the one. Put him there and watch the turnovers skyrocket.

Commissioner David Stern congratulates Eric Gordon on making it to prom.

5:18:  Bucks take Joe Alexander.  They just trade for Richard Jefferson (for Yi Jianlian) so I guess they don’t plan on keeping R.J. very long.  Alexander isn’t ready to play just yet so he can play behind Jefferson for at least a year. 

5:19:  The draft is moving along very quickly.  Much better with the five-minute limit unlike the NFL draft which just drags on and on and on.  Too bad Yi already got traded since Alexander speaks Mandarin.

5:25:  First real surprise as the Bobcats pass on Brook Lopez and take D.J. Augustin.  You can see the emotion on Lopez’s face.  Augustin is a great floor-leader, and is a very good shooter.  Jeff Van Gundy thinks he’s a back-up, but he wasn’t picked this high to sit.  I don’t think Raymond Felton is very good because he’s just such a horrid shooter.  Augustin is his replacement.  I would think another move is coming.  Lopez won’t have a far fall as I would bet he goes to New Jersey with the next pick. 

5:30:  And there goes Lopez.  Great scenario for the Nets to get the top center in this draft instead of having to pick among the many other project bigs.  The one thing this guy can do for sure is score on the interior, which is almost a lost art in basketball today.  His athleticism has been questioned, but he is plenty good enough.  During the Pac-10 tournament, I was front row when he made a double-pump lay-up to avoid the defense.  Lopez is for real.  I also don’t recall a draftee wearing a sweater with his suit.

5:33:  Lopez sounds like a goon, but he’s obviously very smart having gone to Stanford.  Strange dichotomy. 

5:36:  Indiana also benefits from a player falling a bit as they get Bayless.  With the T.J. Ford trade the Pacers now have an all new backcourt that is on the small side, but is super quick and talented.  I like the moves Larry Bird has been making.  Ford, Bayless, Mike Dunleavy, and Danny Granger make up a nice young core.

5:41:  Ok, now THAT is a shocker.  Jason Thompson goes to Sacramento at 12, and is the first senior taken.  I like Thompson who was very productive from Rider, but in the lottery?  I guess those rumors of him rising were true.  He’ll be a rotation player in the league, but definitely doesn’t have the upside you look for this early.  I thought if the Kings were going to go big they’d go with Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert. 

5:47:  Blazers take Brandon Rush with the second to last lottery pick.  Portland has to be disappointed it couldn’t move up holding four of the top 36 picks.  I agree with Jay Bilas that Darrell Arthur would have been the Kansas player I would have picked.

5:51:  Yet another project big man for the Warriors.  Anthony Randolph is talented but weighs less than 200 pounds.  He is definitely a good fit for the run ‘n’ gun Golden State system however Brandon Wright couldn’t crack the rotation last season.  Why would Randolph be any different? 

5:53:  Seven freshmen were taken in the lottery.  Eight is the record for freshmen drafted period.  Speaks to the talent of the high school class of 2007.

5:55:  Great xenophobic rant by Dick Vitale against international players. 

5:57:  The Suns get their energy big man a year too late.  Robin Lopez goes 15^th to Phoenix, and he should contribute right away defensively.  Luckily he won’t be counted on to score at all in the desert.  He brings something the Suns don’t have so I like this pick here.  Robin needs to get a bigger hat.  He looks absolutely ridiculous with that lid sitting on his head and his hair sticking out the sides.

6:03:  Talented big man Marreese Speights is the pick for Philly.  He’s got great skills, but questionable heart.  He gives the Sixers an interior scoring presence they didn’t have last season.  Now they need to find a shooter. 

6:08:  Raptors are picking for Indiana, and they take Roy Hibbert.  Pacers get the skilled big man to replace Jermaine O’Neal.  Hibbert is going to be solid, and there should be less concern about him flaming out of the league like there would be with the other big men prospects left on the board.  Not a home run pick, but a solid one which makes this a good choice at 17.

6:10:  ESPN is advertising Rick Reilly on TV now?  They must be dying to get a return on their ridiculous multi-million dollar investment. 

6:14:  JaVale McGee, an Andray Blatche clone, is picked by the Wizards.  He won’t be ready for at least three years, and probably not until he’s signing his second NBA contract.  If he makes it, I say it won’t be with the Wizards.  He’s the first son of a WNBA player to make the league.

6:15:  Portland trades Brandon Rush and Jarret Jack for Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu.  Immediate reaction is that I like the trade a bit more for Portland since it allows them to keep Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster who were both duplicated by Rush.  Indiana gets a back-up point guard in Jack and another perimeter player in Rush who now will duplicate Mike Dunleavy instead. 

6:21:  J.J. Hickson is the eighth frosh to go in the top 19.  If the Cavs wanted a scoring power forward, why not take Darrell Arthur who is the last guy left in the Green Room?

6:26:  Bobcats went small at number nine so they need to go big here at 20.  Alexis Ajinca come on down!  Out from the crowd comes the center from France.  He looks exactly like Brandon Wright facially and is even longer than Wright.  Wow.  This guy definitely needs to mature physically and work on his skill level, but you can’t teach a 7-foot-8 wingspan. 

6:28:  Fran Fraschilla just referenced the exchange rate from Euros to dollars as being a factor here.  The slumping economy affects everything!

6:29:  Bayless looks shell-shocked after hearing about the trade for some reason.  He’ll be happier once he realizes just how talented that Portland team is now.  I’m jumping on the Blazer bandwagon right now.  Somebody get me a Brandon Roy jersey! 

6:33:  Pac-10 leading scorer Ryan Anderson goes to the Nets.  Even more Pac-10 love in the draft (already 7 players so far).  He’s a tall forward that can just shoot the lights out much like the recently acquired Yi Jianlian.  The Nets now have two soft big men that can’t play defense (Yi, Anderson), two big tough big men who can’t play offense (Sean Williams, Josh Boone), and one that can do both (Brook Lopez).

6:38:  Courtney Lee forces Arthur to continue his wait at MSG.  Lee is very unknown, but he should immediately become the starting two-guard in Orlando.  He can shoot and defend, and is ready to play after dominating the Sun Belt conference for four years. 

6:43:  Kosta Koufos goes to Utah to back-up Mehmet Okur.  Seems like no coincidence that he plays just like his new teammate.  He’s big, but doesn’t bang down low and likes to shoot from the outside.  Another boom or bust pick.

6:48:  Seattle picks for the second time at 24.  Serge Ibaka goes to the Sonics, the youngest player in the draft.  He won’t be coming over for at least three or four years as he will be playing in Spain for the foreseeable future.  He is one of 18 kids in his family. 

6:51:  Darrell Arthur looks understandably exasperated while being interviewed on TV.

6:57:  Houston steals away Nicolas Batum who was strongly rumored to be going with the next pick to the Spurs.  Batum is a super-athletic swingman who will take some time to develop being just 19 years old.

6:59:  Ric Bucher reports Darrell Arthur is falling because of an undisclosed kidney ailment.  If he was sitting on this information all this time, where was the scoop?  Wouldn’t it be important to report any of this earlier if they knew Arthur was going to drop like this? 

7:01:  Score one for IUPUI.  George Hill goes to the Spurs.  He’s an experienced point guard that should be the replacement for Damon Stoudamire and Jacque Vaughn.  Interesting point about Hill is that he ran the triangle in college.  Too bad the Lakers didn’t have a late first rounder.

7:05:  Kansas says Arthur’s kidney is fine.  Apparently the NBA disagrees.  Portland takes their second of five picks next. 

7:08:  Arthur’s excruciating wait finally ends.  Portland just got another super-talented player, and their roster now looks completely loaded.  As a player, I love Arthur.  He can run the floor, shoot out to 18 feet, rebound, defend, and score inside.  In short, he can do it all.  The only question about Arthur (besides this mysterious kidney issue) was his motor.  Maybe him dropping this far lights a fire under him and propels him to star status.

7:14:  Donte Greene, once rumored to be a lottery pick, falls all the way to Memphis at 28.  Imagine a Mike Miller type shooter in Hakim Warrick’s body.  This kid is a pure gunner, and either needs to expand his game or improve his shooting to become a productive player. 

7:22:  Detroit follows through on a long-rumored promise and takes Indiana’s D.J. White.  A decent pick for the Pistons as he is probably ready to help soon, but how many minutes is he going to get in a very crowded frontcourt?

7:23:  Stuart Scott once again shows why he holds so little credibility because he flaunts his friendships with athletes.  He famously believes fans should not be allowed to boo athletes, and just told the MSG fans not to boo Isaiah Thomas.  If there is anybody MSG fans should be booing it should be Isaiah Thomas.  Ok, probably James Dolan should be first on that list for hiring Thomas. 

7:25:  Celtics get the final pick of the first round after winning the NBA championship.  There are some nice players still left on the board including Mario Chalmers, Bill Walker, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and DeAndre Jordan.  Several teams in the second round are going to be getting some very good players for cheap.

7:30:  Rumored trade is that Nicolas Batum is going to Portland for Darrell Arthur and a second rounder. 

7:31:  Boston takes super-athletic J.R. Giddens.  Don’t think he’ll play all that much next season.  Area for improvement: professionalism???  What does that even mean ESPN?

7:32:  Roberts, Walker, Chalmers, and Jordan all might be regretting their decisions to leave early after not going in the first round.  They will benefit however if they can play well as they will get to free agency two years faster being drafted in the second.  That wraps up the first round.  Thanks for reading.