In horrible news, Lamar Odom's 6½-month-old son Jayden died in his sleep on Wednesday night. Obviously, our hearts and best wishes go out to Lamar and his entire family during this terrible time.

—AK

But either way, Jordan Farmar is stoked out of his mind. And can you blame him? A Taft High kid who gets to go from UCLA to the Los Angeles Lakers. Don't get much better than that if you're a homebody, which Farmar seems to be. And the Lakers seem pretty tickled as well, having not expected the sophomore point guard to even be an option. The surprise was typical of a draft that was nothing short of turbulent. That he landed in their laps strikes the franchise as pretty good fortune. Throw in the fact that they turned the No. 51 pick into Maurice Evans, a guy they know can play in the league, and the Lakers are walking away from the proceedings feeling pretty good. And FYI, the drafting of Farmar doesn't automatically end the prospect of signing the much-blogged-about Marcus Banks.

Some of you have already pointed this out, but I wanted to wait to see it officially confirmed by more than one source. The Lakers have indeed traded the draft rights to the ultra-lanky Cheick Samb to the Pistons for SG Maurice Evans. While you may one day lament losing the best player to ever emerge from Senegal, for the time being, Evans ain't a bad pick up. Fairly athletic guy, solid defender, works hard. Frankly, I was surprised that Flip Saunders didn't give him more PT during the playoffs, especially given how slow Detroit looked against Miami. He doesn't automatically solve the Lakers' problems by any means, but I imagine he'll be a nice rotation guy.

We also traded a future second-round pick to the Mavs for some cat named Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock. Went to GW. Neither BK or I have heard of him. But he's apparently a 2-guard that Chad Ford didn't see making it in Dallas. Who knows how he'll fare with the Lakers?

As you were.

—AK

... which is actually the living room of my apartment. AK is on the way over, having finished his radio appearance. We've already seen a trade, Ric Bucher says it's the Italian guy at No. 1, and that Morrison is going to Portland. Why even bother with all this?

4:08: Question to Rachel Nicholls — "What did Michael Jordan learn from the Kwame Brown pick?"

I've been watching for about two minutes, and already they're making fun of Kwame. Tough crowd.

I can't believe all the time they're spending on who the number one pick will be. Aren't folks more interested in No. 26? Isn't the 26th pick the lynchpin of the whole operation?

4:11: Stephen A. Smith takes a shot at Kwame. Good lord, over five hours, K.B. could end up like a pin cushion. It's never a good thing when you become a human cautionary tale...

4:12: Dick Vitale mangles Nik Tskitishvili's name about seven times in a three minute segment. I might not have spelled it right, but I know I can pronounce it correctly. I just did. You'll just have to take my word on that. By the way, if it takes AK a few minutes to get here, it's because I sent him to the Sev-Lev to pick up some War Room Snacks. I freaked out when I heard the ESPN guys say they'd be on the air for the next five hours. The Lakers Blog War Room isn't stocked with those sorts of provisions.

Celtics pick up Sebastian Telfair for the No. 7 and a bunch of undetermined dudes, one of whom may be Dan Dickau. 

—BK

... he'll join the live blog. We'll be starting when the coverage starts, which unless I'm wrong is around 4:00 p.m.

—BK

...especially for a dude pimping himself. So help a brother out, por favor.

I'll be a guest today on "The Big Show with Mason and Ireland." Probably about seven or eight minutes worth of me babbling. We'll be discussing the NBA draft and who/what the Lakers need, want, might be selecting, etc. And if there's time left afterward for a long, complicated debate, whether or not they should lock up free agent Jim Jackson with a max deal.

3:40 p.m., KSPN-AM (710) on your radio dial. Then about 10 minutes later, you can turn on the actual draft and watch all my predictions end up completely wrong, similar to when I told Mike Bresnahan in October that Aaron McKie would end up a solid signing (although I did stress the disclaimer of "if he's healthy.")

Hope y'all can make it.

—AK

It's draft day. The day "wingspan" is thrown around like the entire world has morphed into keynote speakers at an Audubon Society convention. There's also makeup. Upside. Explosion. Draft analysts talk about "motor" like they're breaking down a Chevy, not a point guard. Am I missing any?   

Use them around the water cooler today, and you can sound like a basketball Mel Kiper Jr.

But until 4:30 p.m. rolls around, it's all conjecture. With that in mind, here are a whole slew of mock drafts to tide you over, with the Lakers' projected pick in ().

The new stuff is down at the bottom...

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak powwowed with the media this afternoon, and just to make sure the Times doesn't think we're stealing from them, AK and I decided to stop by. We'll have more up for you ASAP, but for the time being, here's a smattering of what he had to say. As you might guess, most of the questions centered around the draft. Go figure.

On moving up:
"I think everybody wants to move up. I've talked to every GM in the league, sometimes several times. Everybody wants to move up. There's a cost associated with moving up, whether it's a player or another pick. At the end of the day it doesn't happen very frequently." 

Is it something you'll try to pursue?
"Yeah, we'd like to move up. I think every time you're in the draft, if you're at 26, you wish you were at 25. If you're 25, you wish you were at 20. You always look and say, "Wow, I wish I had a little better pick than I actually have." Last year we were at 10, and I'd have felt more comfortable if we could have gotten to eight, although we got the player we wanted at 10. So that's just the way your mind works this time of year.  You never have a great level of comfort with who you're gonna get and who you like, because you don't know what the other GMs think. You don't know exactly who is going to fall to you when draft time rolls around."

That's what Lakers Blog ended up getting at last night's Southern California Journalism Awards. Your winner for Individual Weblog? The legal blog. But I think we handled the loss pretty well. BK responded by screaming an obscenity and flipping the table over, while I stormed the stage, ripped the award out of J.Craig Williams' hands, clocked him in the face and cried, "Blog the legal implications of that, bee-yotch!!!"

Or BK and I sat at our table and politely clapped, if you're into that whole "accurate depiction of the evening" thing.

However, there was a funny twist to the night and it's 100% true. In what I imagine will be hugely pleasing news for most of you, the award for "Sportswriter of the Year" went to T.J. Simers. And after each winner was announced, an audio clip of their work was played. So what did the L.A. Press Club choose for their Simers snippet? Part of the article he wrote at the beginning of the season mocking this very blog. I imagine this was pure coincidence, since the people picking the clips were probably the same people who nominated us in the first place. But we were totally cracking up.

Either way, it was nice to represent.

—AK

Literally.

In the first part of our interview with Lakers Assistant GM Ronnie Lester, we covered the "science" of drafting, what the Lakers planned to do with their picks, and the development of Andrew Bynum, among other topics. In the second installment, we talk a little more draft, some trade rumors, summer league, and whether or not there will be a spot available for me or AK. Not to give anything away...but there isn't.

—BK

Brian Kamenetzky: You talked about how scouting isn't an exact science.  Who is a guy that you thought would be great that didn't pan out, or a guy that you thought was underrated going into the draft that panned out?  Whether you drafted them or not?

Ronnie Lester: That's a tough question. You can go back. I can't name anybody off the top of my head, but if you go back and look at the drafts the last 12, 14 years, you can always find guys that went pretty high in the draft and didn't have really good NBA careers for whatever reasons. Injuries may have played a part. And you can find other guys that were second-round picks who have gone on to have great careers, and play a long time. Cedric Ceballos comes to mind as a second-round pick out of Fullerton back in I think the late '80s, maybe '90, who was a mid-second-round pick that went on to have a great career. Guys like that. But if you go back and look at the media guide, the draft book, you can find tons of instances, I think, of guys like that.

You guys have discussed the topic all season. With the season over and draft fever running wilder than Charlie Sheen at the Bunny Ranch, the talk's gotten even more fierce. And now Hoopsworld's Eric Pincus breaks down the question on every purple and gold brain. To adopt parlance common with the other K brothers blog...

Should the Lakers swing for the fences now or patiently hit doubles and triples while attempting to build a roster capable of potential grand slams down the road?

How's that for shameless cross promotion while simultaneously creating fodder for more enthusiastic debate? We're clever like that around here.

Let's hear some thoughts. Batter up! (OK, that one was actually kinda lame.)

—AK

...now it's Steve Kerr's turn.

—BK

From the moment the Lakers' season came to an end, Lakers Blog has been abuzz with folks debating which kid in an oversize, flashy, custom-tailored suit the team should draft on June 28. Aside from the fact that it's fun to debate the merits of Guillermo Diaz vs. Shannon Brown vs. Thabo Sefolosha (who has half of our readers convinced he's "the one," despite having never seen the cat play a minute's worth of ball), whoever the Lakers select two Wednesdays from now represents another brick in the wall of a house being rebuilt.

Thus, we thought it would be a good idea to talk on Monday with Ronnie Lester, assistant GM of the Los Angeles Lakers. Aside from being Mitch Kupchak's right hand man, Lester is the big Kahuna when it comes to Lakers scouting. If there's a young 'un worth checking out, better believe Lester or a member of his staff has checked him out. Like every team in the league, the Lakers aren't big on tipping their hat pre-draft, so there weren't any specific potential draftees confirmed or denied as possibilities. But we got a good idea about the ins and outs of the process, as well some insights about the upcoming free agency period, trade possibilities, what the team is looking for come summer-league time, and other items. Here's what he had to say.

Brian Kamenetzky: I think one of the things Laker fans may not know is what your specific job is, what areas you cover around the league.

Ronnie Lester: I do a little bit of a lot of things, to be honest with you. I originally worked for the Lakers as a scout from '87 to 2001 before I came here to be Mitch's assistant. And it was basically college scouting. (Now) I have an office job. I'm in the office everyday. Still scouting. I like to scout. I like to get out there and see the kids. I think that's one of the things I do best. Being in the office, I put the last four or five summer league teams together, the kids that play for us in our summer league program. Being in the office, you talk to a lot of agents. You develop a lot of relationships with agents. Scouting has changed so much now. When I started, it was basically watching college kids play and evaluating them. Mostly upperclassmen. Then the younger kids started coming out, the freshmen and sophomores. Then high school kids started coming out. Then we started going to Europe five or six years ago, with the European players coming over here. So scouting has changed so much since I started in the late '80s to where it is today.

After all, rumors fly around during the off-season like 747s leaving LAX. But it remains a rumor that makes sense and has been speculated upon from the moment the dude got sent back to Boston after GP threw a hissy. And his addition would certainly fill a need. The kid's offense needs some work, but he's quick and plays some good D. And if memory serves, perimeter D was something of an issue in Lakerland.

Scroll about halfway down and you'll see it.

—AK

Lakerville (as the kids like to call it) is being heavily discussed and dissected today on Hoopsworld.com. The post includes a potpourri of perspectives on what the team should do, shouldn't do, would do if they could, etc. Some ideas strike me as dead on the money. Some strike me as either unrealistic or just plain off. But either way, it's food for thought and y'all are always hungry when it comes to the Purple and Gold. So eat up and enjoy.

—AK

That's a good thing, because if you've been socking away all your extra quarters and nickels in an effort to spring for Lakers tix this fall, we have some bad news. You'll need to save a little more, or, if you prefer, take down an armored car making a delivery to the local B of A. On eight of nine season ticket packages, the Lakers have raised prices by 4 to 5%, likely in anticipation of Aaron McKie's return to form, or the maturation of Sasha Vujacic. 

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but since most people have to sell a kidney to go to a Laker game anyway, hopefully it won't throw a wrench in anyone's plans. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?

—BK

And hopefully, you'll be as well upon learning that Lakers Blog's been nominated for a Southern California Journalism Award. The Times threw our names into the ring and we ended up in the top three. BK and I had no idea the blog was even being considered, so the news was indeed a pleasant surprise. The nominees for "Individual Weblog" are:

• Lakers Blog

• Luke Y. Thompson, a film critic. I wasn't aware he had a blog, but I'm familiar with his reviews and he's a good writer.

• J. Craig Williams, who does a legal blog. Shockingly enough, I've never read it (nor I do I suspect I'm smart enough to understand more than 5% of the entries).

It's a shame the powers that be were afraid to create an "apples and oranges" comparison for the final decision.

No matter what happens, we're happy (although we'd sound like damn liars if we said actually winning wouldn't make us happier). And as BK and I have said many times, the blogging nation's role in this site's success can never be ignored. So once again, thanks for the energy, enthusiasm and loyalty. We really appreciate it.

—AK

...or he doesn't give a rat's ass what I think. Or his stock really climbed in Orlando. Or he's a dice roller by nature. But whatever the case, the kid appears to be in need of a flashy suit come late June.

The Lakers need PG help, both immediately and down the road. Assuming Farmar's around, does he play into your "armchair GM" war room strategies?  Would you snag him with the 26th pick? Or would you take an athletic 2/3 and go after a more experienced 1 via trade or free agency?  Then again, there's always the best of both worlds. You could draft Farmar and still bring in established point guard reinforcement. Nobody said that's against the rules.

Choices, choices, choices.

—AK

If I took the time to carefully reread every comment over the two weeks (and FYI, there's no way I'm killing 12 to 15 hours doing that), I'm guessing the consensus "we want this dude on the Lakers" draftee from this year's class would be Brandon Roy.

Well, it appears your taste runs current with most of the GMs in the league (including one Mitch Kupchak, according to the buzz). Thus, the chances of him falling to the 26th pick seems rather...remote. Hoopsworld.com broke down the Lakers' chances of trading up to spot where they could snag the University of Washington star (or a lotto pick in general), primarily by using Chris Mihm as bait. Can't say I'm surprised, but the odds seem rather slim for the most part unless they're willing to include Socks Bynum.

For those with an ESPN Insider account, here's some reporting from Chad Ford on day 1 and 2 from predraft camp in Orlando. Give it a week and all the opinions will have changed at least five times. That's what makes it so much fun.

—AK

Thought this might make some of y'all laugh as you prepare to halfheartedly watch Game 1 tonight.

—AK

...and sometimes it's still "no" when you do, but wouldn't this have been an intriguing result to the Shaq trade? Lord knows it would have made the Western Conference hella interesting.

—BK

As many a member of the blogging nation feared, a Diesel-fueled championship round has sparked some writers to revisit "Kobe vs. Shaq." In my opinion, Mark Heisler sums things up pretty well. Both could have simply said, "I absolutely can't stand him, but I'm currently on the fast track to Bling Country. Therefore, I'm going to swallow my pride, cooperate, take the high road whenever humanly possible and just win." Neither did that and we are where we are. It is what it is.

But times like these do make a Lakers fan wonder why the hell the two couldn't just shut the hell up and tolerate each other. I'm over the whole mess and y'all should be too. What's done is done and  things ain't all that bad in L.A. anyway. The Lakers certainly haven't taken a long time making themselves competitive again. Comparatively less enjoyable than winning titles as it may be, this "rebuilding" period is progressing along pretty quickly.

Don't believe me? Ask a Celtics fan. It's impossible to know when the next title's coming, but it certainly feels closer than at the end of the '05 season. Kobe and Shaq may both pick up more hardware when it's all said and done. And let's not hand Miami a title just quite yet. They still have to beat a Dallas team that many, including myself, have been guilty of underestimating this season.

But it doesn't make the opportunity at the Dynamic Duo's fingertips feel any less wasted, and that's still the case should Shaq get his fourth ring. If the Heat do come out on top, it's certainly a feather in Shaq's cap and you have to give him props (even if the majority of heavy postseason lifting's undoubtedly been done by Wade). A title's a title and you have to respect it. Period. But it's not the same thing as being a part of a dynasty. A period of time absolutely owned by one particular squad. A stranglehold on a league. There's something particularly badass about Shaq or Kobe being able to say, "The NBA from 2000 to 2010? The other 29 teams could more or less kiss it while we were around."

Such domination is a rarity in any sport. It's more than a little disheartening to see such rarities unnecessarily get pissed away. Unless the Heat can turn this particular roster into a back-to-back-to-back kinda thing (which I don't see happening, given Shaq's declining returns and the "30+" status every roster principal but Flash and Haslem will enter next season), Shaq's theoretical fourth championship could very well end up a solo shot. Again, you can't take that away from him. But you can't say it feels the same, either.

Like I said before, it is what it is.

—AK

I'll start by getting the answer to your natural first question right out of the way:

Yes, BK and I do receive checks from the L.A. Times, but we are complete outsiders when it comes to the daily inner workings of the paper itself and know absolutely nothing about this. I also don't  picture our opinion being asked.

Anyhoo...

According to Lakerstalk.net, the L.A. Times will be employing Kobe Bryant to do a biweekly advice column for the paper. Seriously, you read that right. Apparently, all questions are fair game (including personal and relationship-centric) and Kobe's prepared for whatever heat or negative feedback he'll take. He just wants the readership.

Let's throw out for second the fact that an advice column is completely beneath a guy of Kobe's stature, accomplishments and intelligence. I simply can't imagine that this is actually true because of how steadfastly Kobe has guarded his private life. I've also never heard of this website, so I have no idea how much credibility they have when reporting "anonymous sources" within The Times. Were this "Donnie Brasco," I wouldn't "vouch for them." I'll ask a few sources of my own when I get a chance, but like I said, I'm calling B.S.

So, should the four horsemen of the Apocalypse drop by and "Dear Mamba" actually turns out to be in the works, what, if anything, do you plan on asking the guy? Hoops advice? Marital questions? Whether a sport jacket and T-shirt is appropriate for a dressy dinner? Or will you simply block it out and refuse to acknowledge that Kobe's taking part in such nonsense (similar to how I treated Jerry Rice participating in "Dancing With the Stars," despite the fact that BK and I actually wrote an ESPN The Magazine article about it and accompanied him in rehearsal and onset)?

Again, very weird.

—AK

The Lakers have been out of the playoffs for a little while now, but that doesn't mean fans can't reminisce. The Lakers have a long, rich playoff history filled with classic moments that, at least according to the Sacramento Bee, dominate the history of postseason play. So before things get cranked up in this year's finals without your beloved purple and gold, take a trip down memory lane. It'll take the edge off.

—BK

When the trade deadline rolled around, there was plenty of banter flying about who the Lakers should go out and get. So we asked who they shouldn't. Well, it's free agency time now, and there's lots of talk about who the Lakers should go pick up. Should they move mountains and get Big Ben or KG? Aim lower for Chris Duhon? See if the midlevel will net Speedy Claxton? That's all well and good, but what about the other end of the spectrum? Which brings us to today's (slightly recycled but still fun) question:

Who would be the absolute worst player the Lakers could bring in this offseason? Now don't just think stats, think fit. Think attitude. Think contract. Think outside the box. 

The best part is this: Assuming the purple and gold don't end up with anyone on your list, anyone they do get will seem great by comparison. 

BK

Thought y'all might be interested in a couple articles discussing Jordan Farmar and Aaron Afflalo's prospects if they left UCLA early. Bill Plaschke thinks they should stay in school. I happen to agree. I'm not positive either guy is ready. But even if they actually were, that may be the least relevant factor in properly making this choice.

It's an odd world these days, where your stock often rises higher the less polished your game is. For example, there ain't much evidence Tyrus Thomas can do anything other than jump very high. He's considered a top five lock. Why? Two syllables. Up. Side. The sports equivalent of fool's gold.

The sad truth is that most kids are better off striking while the iron's hot than sticking around to improve or win a title. After all, the more a player actually bothers to develop his game, the more likely the "experts" are to decide that guy reached his "ceiling." Polished skills often go punished, especially when it comes to future earnings. And since the NBA is a business, I don't fault these dudes for taking a money-centric approach to their future. There's a pragmatic side of this decision that you can't, and shouldn't, discount.

The following press release just arrived in my e-mail. And in honor of the first Laker to ever get sent down the D-League (to my knowledge, at least), might I throw out this humble suggestion:

The Los Angeles Wafers, anyone?

—AK

Los Angeles Lakers Look to Fans to Help Name Their New NBA Development League Team (NBA D-League)
Lakers Become First Franchise in NBA History to Own Team in NBA D-League

May 31, 2006, El Segundo, CA — The Los Angeles Lakers have become the first NBA team in history to own their own NBA Development League team and are now looking to their devoted fans to help name the new team. Beginning Monday, June 5 fans can visit www.lakers.com to vote for their favorite team name among the quarter finalists.  Contenders include D-Dogs, D-Fenders, LA Next, LA Sensation, LA Buss and LA Evolution. Fans can not only win a signed Lakers team autographed basketball for participating, but one lucky fan will also win a trip to attend a Lakers preseason game in Las Vegas this October!

“We’re thrilled to be the first NBA franchise to own a team in the NBA’s Development League,” said Jeanie Buss, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers. “We are even more excited to launch this innovative online campaign to continue to engage our devoted fans and to enlist their input to carry on the Lakers’ legacy of excellence.”

The online voting for the final selection of names begins Monday, June 5. Over a three-day period fans can vote each day on their favorite names. Thursday, June 9 is D-DAY…the name with the most fan votes will help in determining the final choice for the Lakers’ D-League team.