Thursday, June 25, 2009

In the house at NBA draft

I'm sitting in the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, and already have decided there's one weird thing about the NBA draft.

The whole thing is a TV show. Sitting in here two hours before the draft is to start, it's all about sound checks and microphones and wires and bright lights. NBA Commissioner David Stern -- wearing a purple tie (as is Stephen Curry) -- has already come out and done a bit of his pre-draft spiel for practice.

I've gone to a few TV show tapings before, and that's just what this feels like.

The players -- the stars of this show -- arrived about 6 p.m. and did a photo shoot on-stage that must have lasted 15 minutes. They looked bored by the end. Curry and Duke's Gerald Henderson, standing next to each other, smiled their way through most of it.

I'm seated about a three-pointer away from where Stern will make the announcement of each first-round pick.

Latest rumor: Davidson's Curry may go at No.4 to the Sacramento Kings rather than 5 or 6 (both held by Minnesota Timberwolves). But a lot can still happen between now and then.

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