NEW YORK -- Some observations from a first round that had few big trades and one player on site who kept waiting and waiting and waiting: ‧ Geoff Petrie is smarter than all of us. He has to be. Why else would the Kings' president select a player with the 12th overall pick (Rider power forward Jason Thompson) who was rated in most mock drafts in the mid-20s? A quick glance at Thompson's collegiate career is telling. He averaged 20.4 points and 12.4 rebounds, but was never really dominant against the weaker MAAC competition. This was the biggest surprise of the first round. ‧ Did Michael Jordan get it wrong again? OK, I like the Bobcats' selection of point guard D.J. Augustine with the ninth pick. He's a little on the small side (6-1, 170) but outside of Derrick Rose, he is the best pure point guard in the draft. With a little seasoning and some patience from Larry Brown, Augustine could start in two years. The Bobcats will have to shop 24-year-old incumbent Raymond Felton, who is far too young to be a placeholder for Augustine. Felton is an up-and-coming point guard in his own right and has strong market value. But Alexis Ajinca at No. 20? To me, Ajinca has Frederic Weis written all over him. At 7-1, Ajinca has the height to play the center position, but he lacks the bulk (he's listed at 225 pounds) and the physical nature to compete on a nightly basis. His enormous wingspan makes him a legit shot-blocking threat, but I wonder if he won't get bullied underneath by NBA big men. With memories of Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison still fresh in people's minds, Jordan should have found a way to trade up to get Georgetown center Roy Hibbert, who went three picks ahead of Ajinca. Jordan needed to get this draft right. ‧ Split decision for the Nets. The Richard Jefferson deal didn't make sense. Yes, the Nets no longer are committed to paying Jefferson $15 million in 2010-11, which gives them more flexibility to pursue LeBron James as a free agent in 2010. But short of Jay-Z's adopting LeBron James, I cannot envision LeBron's signing with the Nets. On the other hand, the decision to draft Lopez was smart. Lopez is a legit 7-footer whose presence will allow Nenad Krstic to slide to the power forward position. Lopez is also a fairly polished offensive player, so he should be able to contribute to a big-man rotation that, outside of Krstic, is devoid of other scorers. ‧ The Warriors got the steal of the draft. OK, so Anthony Randolph might make Manute Bol look like Hulk Hogan, but the spindly power forward has Chris Bosh-like skills. Bring in John "Hot Plate" Williams as Randolph's eating coach. Who knows how long Don Nelson will stay in the Bay Area, but Randolph would appear to be the perfect fit for his free-flowing system. ‧ I feel for Darrell Arthur. After feeling the highs of winning a national championship at Kansas, Arthur felt the lows of being the last guy in the NBA's green room, the result of concerns about a potential kidney issue. Arthur went to Portland at No. 27. ‧ Anyone want a pick? The Spurs, who made it known that they wanted nothing to do with their first-round pick before the draft, selected IUPUI guard George Hill at No. 26. I'm surprised they didn't take a chance on Arthur, who has the potential to play both forward positions. -- A-Rod D.Jeter J.Posada R.Clemen R.Cano M.Cairo H.Matsui M.Cabrer B.Abreu NY ˍ NY ˍ NY ˍ NY ˍ NY ˍ NY ˍ NY ˍ NY　 ˍ NY ˙ ˙ ● ● ● ●○⊙ ⊙ ˙ ˙○． ．○ ⊙ ⊙ω＞ ＜ ⊙ ⊙ ▇︹▇↖ ε ▇﹏▇ \ ︵ ◥ ⊙ ︵ ∵ ▽ ∵\ □ 皿 /██\ \\██ /■■■-◎/██ /██\ /██\ <██y /██ ↖/██> The| \ New＜＜ York◢▼◣ Ya||nkees / ╰↘ ││ｍψwillmango \ \, Ptt| ╰ --

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