11:15 a.m.

• So Cena’s Writer came up with an interesting idea in the sports folder – an NBA all-time draft. For as much as I wanted to take part in the festivities, I declined. Why? Because I’m not on nearly as much online as I used to be and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with sending in picks on time. Also, I don’t know much about the NBA outside of the early to mid-1990s. However, now that the draft came and went, I’ll see what would have happened had I been given a spot.

Please note that even though I looked through this thread a time or two during the draft process, I have no idea who went where. I’ll go through the thread and make my picks in turn. I may not get through this in one sitting, so if you are going to comment please don’t give any spoilers.

Order.

I’ll pretend Gert T never existed and take his 10 spot. Wherever he was selecting in this draft, that’s where I will be. It's a nice, middle-of-the-road place to be. And I won't be selecting M.J., Magic or Larry.

Strategy.

As I said before, most of my time following the NBA was in the 1990s. This means my immediate knowledge of who to take will be VERY limited. Because of this, I will be using some Web site to help me. I have a sketchy plan of who I want to select, but outside of a few things, I’ll be gunning for value. This means I’ll be hankering on that “All NBA roster” that was created a few years back, along with a basketball reference site or two. Whatever. I’m sure I’m not the only one employing this strategy.

Style.

Even though I will be going for talent, I’ll try to build a team that reflects my personality and preferences. And yes, there will be blacks on this team. Hey, someone has to fetch the Gatorade.

Rules.

Cena laid some groundwork at what to look for when making your picks, such as to factor in team chemistry, etc. I will do so as well. Even though I’m one who believes 99 percent of players from 50 years ago wouldn’t be competitive with the players of today, I will consider older players in the spirit of this friendly competition. However, I will probably not take many current players because there’s no way to determine how great they truly are or truly could be. There will be exceptions to this. For example, Shaquille O'Neal has had a long and distinguished career. There would be nothing wrong with taking him or Steve Nash, who has played more than 10 seasons. However, I consider someone like Chris Paul WAY too young to be involved with something like this. If you take him, good for you. Hell, I may even take a n00b or two in the later rounds. Who knows -- that's what makes drafts fun.

Posting.

I’m going to start this off by telling what my original list of players will be before actually starting any selections. In-between my picks, I’m going to offer some kkk-ommentary about other picks. And I’ll try to keep the “GRAAAAAAAAAH, I was going to pick him!” remarks to a minimum.

Roster Strategy

OK, so here is how I’m going to work this. I have a list of players that I am going to gun for in the early rounds. I also have some players that I think could slip in later rounds. I’m probably going to concentrate on my Starting Five, a few reserves that I think would be in demand, a coach and finally a few reserves that I like. Oh, and even if he’s available in the last round, Scottie Pippen will NOT be on my team.

With that said, here we go.

1 p.m.

• As I said before, there are a list of names I have that I hope will be around when I make my picks. They include Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bob Cousey, Pete Maravich and Jerry West. Do I expect to get all of these players? Hell no. Do I expect to get one, maybe two? Yes. Ideally, I’d like to get a big man first, followed by a point guard. I’m not quite sure where I will go from there. As I said before, I’ll be gunning for value, so the 50 all-time roster will be helping me out in the first few rounds. After that I’ll probably look for scoring out of my starters with defensive-minded players on the bench.

Here is a list of players I hope to take in the later rounds:

Center: I’m hoping Moses Malone is around in rounds 3-5. Brad Daugherty might be a good reserve. And then there’s my favorite player of all time Bill Laimbeer.

Forwards: These positions, especially Small Forward, will be determined by who’s available when. Robert Horry, Buck Williams, Dennis Rodman, A.C. Green, Bernard King, Kevin McHale and Michael Finley. Am I comparing Finley to McHale? No. But these are just some names I’ve jotted down.

Guards: Mark Price is nice, but I’ll be dookie without Mookie (Blayock). Yeah, that was bad. Jeff Hornacek and Sidney Moncrief are some other names twirling around in my head. I’m sure Michael Cooper and Allen Iverson will be taken before I can get them in the rounds I’m hoping they will be available.

Coach: I’m not really stressing this position yet. I’m going to see who I have before looking for someone that might be a good fit for my starters.

Here we go at the start of Round 1:

Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kareem. Big shocks there. Can you blame anyone for NOT taking any of them? Lebron James is a bit of a surprise going in the Top 8, but at least now he’ll be on a team with a supporting cast. Wow, Tim Duncan was taken a 9 and Shaq is still available? Shit. I had Olajuwon as my back-up big man if Duncan was taken. However, I didn’t count on O’Neal being available at 10. Goddamn, and I like both of them…

Round 1: Shaquille O’Neal

I wanted a big man, and I got one. A big man who raps and can’t make free throws.

LOL – Gert chose Hakeem with his first-round pick. I guess I’ll eliminate his picks from consideration, too. Wow, Jorge picked Shaq at number 11. MOSES went at 12?! Wow, I thought he would be a steal in a later round. Cousy and Maravich are out. So someone should always pick first in each round? Cena’s order is perfectly fine. Shoot, Jerry West is gone. Maybe I should have went with a guard in the first round rather than a big man. OK, I want a point guard, but who?

Round 2: Clyde Frazier

There were a few other names I was considering, but I really wanted a point guard. This is a case when I wasn’t considering him until I looked at the 50-greatest roster and saw his name, which reminded me of him.

John Havlicek was another name I was strongly considering for Round 2, but I was hell-bent on getting a point guard. There goes McHale. There goes Rodman. Now I’m just gunning for value on the Top 50 list.

Round 3: Nate Thurmond

After reading up on him, I figure he could take the Power Forward spot.

I had thoughts about Adrian Dantley and Bernard King, but I wasn’t sure where they would fall. I considered Steve Nash, but I didn’t want to just pick players from recent times. Sidney Moncrief … wow, I must have pulled another Moses with this one. Bye, Buck. Horry’s now gone -- Was I undervaluing these people? I thought they would be available in later rounds.

Round 4: David Bing

I might as well stock up on as many 50-all-time-greats as I can. Seems like a nice guy, too.

Joe Dumars was running through my head about where he would land during Round 2. I really liked Kevin Johnson during the 1990, especially when he would sign autographs after asking kids to solve math problems. After reading his bio I knew Bill Cunningham wouldn’t get to me.

Round 5: Alex English

I saw that Paul Arizin was still on the Top 50 list, but I wanted scoring at the Small Forward position, which is why I went with Alex English. I also see that Gert T picked the same person as I did in the same round! We had Hakeem in the first round (although I went with someone I didn’t figure would be available) and now English in the fifth. That’s funny. The reason I went with English here is because I went onto Basketball-Reference.com and noted his spot on the all-time points-per-game list. Also I read on Wiki that he was awarded J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1988. Another sweetie.

Christ, I didn’t realize how long this would take. I’m gong to stop here. This is my starting five: Shaquille O’Neal, Clyde Frazier, Nate Thurmond, David Bing, Alex English.

I’ll do some more some other time.