Whatever, the organization that continually strives for mediocrity continues to fall woefully short. Which is why we've decided to distract ourselves from the putridity by creating a roster of non-football-playing professional athletes who would immediately make the Browns better. That's not hyperbole.
Home Delivery is your morning roundup of last night's action in the NBA from a fantasy perspective.
The biggest story to come out of the NBA last evening was without a doubt the news out of Sacramento, as we learned that Kevin Martin may miss the next six-to-eight weeks with a broken wrist. A tough break, considering that Martin was ranked third overall in standard, eight-category leagues.
There have been some reports that Martin might try and play through the injury, but we need to assess the situation in Sacramento from a fantasy perspective should the Kings be without Kevin Martin. You can disregard Desmond Mason now that he is longer a King, and with Andres Nocioni facing a possible suspension after being arrested for driving under the influence his role might redefined.
LAS VEGAS -- Expect the Utah Jazz to match the Portland Trail Blazers' offer sheet for forward Paul Millsap. The Blazers offered Millsap a front-loaded four-year deal at about $33 million. The Jazz badly want to retain Millsap and will match if it can find a taker for Carlos Boozer.
The NBA Draft started with a no-brainer -- Blake Griffin going No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, the fun happened, with Memphis taking Hasheem Thabeet and the Timberwolves' vexing decision to horde as many point guards as they could. A few other teams lucked out when players dropped down the board and into their laps. Check out the grades for the Western Conference after the jump.
DeJuan Blair was one of the toughest players in the NCAA this year. He broke all sort of unofficial rebounding marks, manhandled No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet in front of the entire NBA, and gave some of the best interviews you've ever seen. His wingspan measured well in Chicago, and he dropped a ton of weight between the end of Pitt's season and the combine. He's an absolute beast.
But a bad MRI has been going around, and Blair -- who was considered a potential lottery pick this morning -- fell all the way out of the first round. And he kept falling. Past Portland for a third time, past Washington, past Memphis, past Detroit ... all the way to the Spurs at No. 37. It's the vogue thing to say Blair will now proceed to destroy the NBA. But it's also the accurate thing to say. Blair will now proceed to destroy the NBA.
Let me never doubt Kevin Pritchard's slapping skills, but Portland really tossed a curve into their leapfrog gambit by selecting fairly underhyped Spanish forward Victor Claver with the No. 22 pick. Claver has made it clear he won't be in the NBA for at least one more year, perhaps two. And there had been talk his agent had been pushing to be made a second-round pick, where the rookie salary scale doesn't apply.
But the Blazers seem to know Western Europe pretty well, so I'll trust their judgment. Pitt stud DeJuan Blair and Israeli dynamo Omri Casspi were both there for the taking at with Portland's pick; Casspi went one pick later to Sacramento, who Portland leapfrogged a day earlier. Portland had given Dallas two second round picks to exchange the Blazers' No. 24 pick for the Mavericks' No. 22. Dallas ended up taking B.J. Mullens (another lottery projected player) with No. 24.
The day of reckoning has arrived for some 90 or so prospects hoping to be an NBA Draft pick. The day of reckoning has also arrived for some 9,000 mock drafters, who desperately try to get it right even though no one ever could on a consistent basis.
And, if I may, a word about the recent backlash against mock drafts from the key mock draft writers. The major draft experts from ESPN and DraftExpress told the New York Times last week that they hate mock drafts. But the mock draft is like their version of a test. It's too arbitrary, too black and white. It creates an impossible task. But thems the breaks when you're in a field in which performance matters. If Chad Ford didn't have to put out a mock, he could forever avoid criticism, basically. It's his job to analyze and predict the draft. How could we judge his efficacy without looking at his mock the morning after? It's like Amar'e Stoudemire telling everyone he hates to rebound. (Oh wait ...)
I love mock drafts! You'll find my final version after the jump.
As we roll on toward the 2009 NBA Draft, FanHouse's Matt Moore and Tom Ziller turn their attention toward the players who deserve the hype. Previous draft debates focused on Ricky Rubio and Hasheem Thabeet.
Ziller: At the end of our last debate, you asked who I thought deserved more hype. That is, of course, a tricky question, considering the entire draft is built on hype. In fact, the role of the media (professional, semi-pro and amateur) is often to debunk hype. As many have ruminated, it's highly unlikely the next Amar'e, Maravich, Wade and Dikembe are really in this draft.
Mock drafts are fun, but if you want the real inside scoop on who's expected to be a high draft pick, you need to see the list of the players the NBA has invited to the draft. Generally speaking, it's limited to players the league has been assured will go in the top half of the first round.
There are always exceptions, but ever since Rashard Lewis awkwardly hung around until the second round, the league has done a respectable job making sure no one gets too embarrassed. The league hasn't yet released an official list, but thanks to some sleuthing by DraftExpress, we know at least 16 players have been extended invitations, although only 13 have confirmed their attendance. Keep reading for the full list:
If FanHouse owned one of those jumbo countdown clocks, I would be parked in front of it for the next four days. The ecstacy! The anguish! NBA Draft Day is like Christmas and Dia de Los Muertos wrapped into one.
As the draft hits Thursday, everyone is warning not to believe everything you read this week. My advice is a bit different: don't believe anything you've read ever. Just follow your heart. Follow it ... after the jump, where we unleash our second-to-final mock draft of the season. (The last one will come Thursday morning.)
Gary Washburn empties his notebook from the 
The NBA Draft started with a no-brainer -- 
Let me never doubt 
The day of reckoning has arrived for some 90 or so prospects hoping to be an 
As we roll on toward the 2009 
If FanHouse owned one of those jumbo countdown clocks, I would be parked in front of it for the next four days. The ecstacy! The anguish! 
