In the midst of a week when Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson all past away. I’ve had to take a step back. Not to go into seclusion, but to just think about the important things and really appreciate life and what it brings. Ed was a pioneer and an American patriot. Farrah was an icon and battled through a terminal illness. Michael was and will always be the “King of Pop.” You can say what you want about the non-musical side of him, but you can’t diminish the impact on music and entertainment he had and always will have.

The NBA Draft usually has more trades happening and a better talent pool. This year was different and instead of the Draft being the headline, it was what happened before the Draft. Four trades happened that will change the balance of power and bring new contenders to the forefront.

The Spurs made the first move by getting Jefferson from Milwaukee for Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas and Bruce Bowen. Now Milwaukee will most likely not keep Thomas or Bowen and San Antonio will probably get them back. It’s a win-win for the Spurs which now are legitimately the second best team in the West. Yes, it’s early, but San Antonio needed to get a little younger and have someone else who can attack the basket other than Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili. This makes the Spurs a threat even when some thought this past season was their last shot to win again with this group.

Now Cleveland had to make a trade or sign a big man before next season, no, before the July 4th weekend. The rumor was that Shaq would be heading to C-town, but it was still in the beginning stages a few weeks ago. How time flies. Cleveland got the Diesel by giving Phoenix Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and a second round pick in this year’s draft. This looks awfully similar to the deal that would’ve brought Shaq back in February. Actually, it is the same deal. Why it didn’t happen then will be a mystery, but it will be interesting to see how this works. Cleveland better not think their done. They still need a scoring Power Forward to take pressure off of Shaq and LeBron. A good start, but not a championship move.

The Magic pulled off a trade that many didn’t see coming until Draft day. Orlando acquired Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from New Jersey while giving the Nets Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie. This sent signals all over the league that Hedo Turkoglu was not going to return to the Magic. Orlando will not be able to stay under a reasonable payroll level with Carter and resigning Turkoglu. Will this hurt or help Orlando going into next season? Won’t know until they make more moves if there are any left to make. Right now I would say this does help them, but Vince needs to shake the label of “it’s about me.” That’s just the impression a lot of people in the league have of him. This will definitely motivate him now that he is playing for a contender and this should help Dwight Howard knowing that there is somebody who can score 20+ points a game every game. The Magic are still the favorites, but Cleveland and Washington made moves before this one. Seems to be a reactionary move by Orlando.

My winners for the NBA Draft 2009 are San Antonio, Indiana, and the Clippers. The Spurs, not counting the Jefferson trade, got great value in the second round getting Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair. This guy was a potential lottery pick at the beginning of this and fell all the way to the 37th pick. The Spurs didn’t care at that point and gladly nabbed him. The Pacers some say reached getting Tyler Hansbrough at 13 overall. I on the other hand think that was a great pick. As was their second round pick of A.J. Price from UConn. Hansbrough brings that toughness executive Larry Bird and coach Jim O’Brien are looking for and Price brings scoring and energy off the bench. The Clippers really had no choice in taking Blake Griffin. He really is the only sure thing in this draft. They will probably find a way to screw this up, but in the meantime, Blake will be a great player in this league wherever he plays.

My losers on Draft day are Cleveland, Minnesota, and Sacramento. The Cavaliers passed on DeJuan Blair and took an unknown in Christian Eyenga from the Republic of Congo. No help right now and instead a player that will not be here for a year or two. Minnesota made great picks in Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington in the first round. Ricky Rubio on the other hand was not a great pick. Memphis, Oklahoma and Sacramento passed on him because of his unwillingness to play in a small market. That didn’t stop the Wolves who took him and Flynn back to back with the thinking of playing them together. Not a wise move in my book. Two point guards who can’t hit a shot from the outside doesn’t equal championship. The Kings passed on a point guard that they sorely needed and took a shooting guard who played the point in college. Tyreke Evans is a great player and will become a great player in the NBA. It just doesn’t fit the need for the Kings. They already have Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia as their shooting guards. Evans is not a shooter, but can get to the basket. The problem is size. Too small to be the small forward and not quick enough to play the point. Questionable picks for these three.

Way back before the NBA playoffs started I did mention on the “Talkin’ Sports” show on KLBC with my co-host JR, that Orlando could potentially make a run at the Eastern Conference title. That was of course before the injury to their All Star point guard Jameer Nelson. I then retracted and gave them no chance at the East title. Now that they did win and nearly swept the favorite Cavaliers, they can be considered in some circles a tough matchup for the Lakers. The Lakers finally decided to play to their capabilities and beat Denver in their own house to await the Magic in LA. I’m sure no one had Orlando in this spot, but everyone had the Lakers in theres.

Now without going into a prediction of the Finals, we all know where I stand. I believe the Lakers will win, but they will not win in no less than six games. The Lakers match up well with Orlando better than Cleveland did. I want to go back and more or less react to the NBA MVP LeBron James. He is a great player. Possibly top three if not one of the top five players in the NBA today. Perhaps he is the face of the NBA as well and has all the fame and fortune to last a lifetime. Basic sportsmanship should be a must when your at that kind of level. I know he’s not the first and won’t be the last person to leave the court early after losing a series in the postseason. Come on LeBron. Shake hands with Orlando, answer a couple questions with the media and go home. Don’t email your Olympic teammate afterwards. Don’t rationalize your decision today with, “It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” he said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.” If I’m not mistaken, you are the team leader. The reason why Cleveland got to where they are in the playoffs. Of course your being a poor sport. Some would say a cry baby (see above). Learn from this mistake because you haven’t made any up until this point in your career LeBron.

My favorite story is that Lamar Odom is on a sugar rush. Literally eating tons of Snickers, Gummi Life Savers, Three Muskeeters and not to mention Cookies before games. Is that the reason why he doesn’t seem to be there for some of these games? I don’t know. Frankly this shouldn’t be a big deal, but when a doctor does research and theorizes about how this could affect him, then I really don’t care. I can’t get enough of the sweet stuff, but I do know when to put it down (right as I put down my Reese’s). Lamar will, according to him, wake up in the middle of the night grab his Mrs. Fields and go right back to sleep. I am in no means wanting the Lakers to go cold turkey with Odom’s stash. The Lakers are in the Finals, everyone who has eaten sugary things understands the obsession and to quote a Beatles song, “Let It Be.” Let him have his Twix and Skittles before the game. M&M’s during a timeout. Twinkies and Rolos at halftime. And after the game wash it all down with some Pixi Stix. A recipe for success.

While the losers, sorry, non playoff participants of the NBA gather for the NBA Draft Lottery tonight. Four teams are now left to fight for the championship. The Nuggets beat the Mavs on and off the court. Cleveland has not lost a game yet after beating Atlanta. The Magic outlasted the Celtics in seven games in what was the best series of the semifinals. And Los Angeles had to beat the Rockets in seven. All the excitement is now geared towards finding out if the NBA gets its dream matchup of Laker vs. Cavs or the latter Nuggets vs. Magic.

Eastern Conference Finals

1 Cleveland vs. 3 Orlando

MVP LeBron James is very close now to getting that chance again at a championship. I didn’t think it would be this quick that he would be back here. We all knew the supporting cast needed tweaking and boy has it worked. Mo Williams and Delonte West are great additions and LeBron has been playing great basketball at both ends. I have never seen a player more motivated and physically dominant in the NBA. The Magic have another start in Dwight Howard who poses a matchup nightmare for Cleveland. Howard’s supporting cast of Turkoglu, Lewis and Lee have to be making their shots. Orlando’s coach Van Gundy has to keep his cool as well. Major cred goes to him after beating Boston in the last two games to win that series. The key player in this series is no one. It’s all of them on both teams. Everyone has to do their job in order to get to the Finals. Cavaliers in six.

Western Conference Finals

1 LA Lakers vs. 2 Denver

The Lakers got through a scary wake up call against the Rockets. Denver got through a near brawl with the Mavericks. Kobe and Pau have to become the dynamic duo that was realized when Pau came to LA. The Lakers can’t fall asleep at any point in this series because the Nuggets will exploit that. Chauncey Billups will be ready to rip the Lakers defense up just like in the 04 Finals. Carmelo Anthony is as good if not better now than in any other time in his career. The Nuggets bench of Smith, Anderson and Kleiza are performing at a high level and will be difficult to contain. This series will show the Lakers true colors. Will they play like a team that wants to win it all or just treat it like another day at the arena. Once again there is no key player because at this point you must show up or go home. Lakers in six.

The first round gave us some of the most exciting and lopsided basketball in recent memory. The Cavs easily got past Detroit. The Hawks had to beat Miami in seven. Orlando sent Philadelphia home without Dwight Howard in six games. Boston and Chicago had one of the most exciting opening round series in a long time. The Lakers got past Utah in five even though they blew a couple big leads. The Rockets finally got out of the first round beating Portland. Dallas beat a what seemed to be old, tired and beat up Spurs team. The Nuggets blew the lid of New Orleans including a 48 point beat down in Game 4. The second round looks to be more competitive.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

1 Cleveland vs. 4 Atlanta

LeBron and crew have had plenty of rest and studying of their next opponent. Lets be honest though. The Cavaliers were gonna win this round. Mo Williams and Delonte West are playing great basketball on both ends. The bench for Cleveland has been better than expected. Atlanta should’ve had their series wrapped up sooner against Miami. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Mike Bibby will probably steal a game, no more than two. Key player is Anderson Varejao. He needs to be up to form on defense to stop the Hawks from scoring in the paint. The Cavs win this in five.

2 Boston vs. 3 Orlando

The Celtics have been through a grueling series agianst Chicago. Ray Allen has been spectacular while Boston’s bench needs to get in gear for the semifinals. Eddie House and Stephon Marbury for one, need to be more aggressive. The Magic can’t afford to have Dwight Howard elbowing anyone. Paul Pierce will be his usual self, but can Ray Allen continue his success from the quarterfinals? The key player is Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic need more from him now that rookie Courtney Lee is going to miss most if not all of this series. If Hedo is still cold, the Magic have no shot. Boston in seven.

Western Conference Semifinals

1 LA Lakers vs. 4 Houston

The Lakers got their dream matchup. They did not want to play Portland. No way. The Rockets are playing great defense and score when they need to. Ron Artest and Yao Ming were nearly unstoppable against Portland. Shane Battier made big shot after big shot. Houston’s bench was more than adequate. The Lakers will need more from their bench and specifically Andrew Bynum. He needs to play sound basketball with Yao Ming. Kobe, Pau and Lamar will need to be great in what is expected to be a low scoring series. Key player is Luis Scola for Houston. Scola was quiet for the most part against Portland. The Rockets will need more from their power forward to win. Lakers in six.

2 Denver vs. 6 Dallas

The Nuggets were soaring higher than the Rocky Mountains in the quarters against New Orleans. That should’ve been a sweep. Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups are going to get their 20 plus points in every game, but the Denver bench will need to play smart ball. No stupid fouls and they must play sound defense against a deeper Dallas team. Kenyon Martin and Nene need to be more involved. The Mavericks surprised a lot of experts with their series win in five games against San Antonio. Dirk Nowitzki was great, but it was all Josh Howard for the Mavs. Dallas showed that they will not go down that easily in what is probably their last run at a title with this group. The key player is Jason Kidd. He got a lot of help against the Spurs backcourt and will need it again with Billups. He needs to be the field general on offense, but must be great on the other side. Dallas in six.