[Izulde]

The draft lottery is the first big event of the offseason and we've got a 23.3% chance of landing the 1st pick, tops among all teams, which of course means we probably won't get it.

Picks 14-7 play out as expected, but then the spirit of Gabriel Arcadia must've interceded on behalf of the Timberwolves, because Minnesota doesn't show up at #6.

Things hold to form through pick #4, so we're guaranteed a top 3 selection. The T-Wolves come up at #3! Could that #1 pick be ours after all?

YES!! PORTLAND GETS THE #2 SELECTION!

KNICKS WIN!!! KNICKS WIN!!!!

NBA Draft Lottery Results
1. New York Knicks
2. Portland Trailblazers
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (+3)
4. New Orleans Hornets (-1)
5. Memphis Grizzlies (-1)
6. New Jersey Nets (-1)
7. Milwaukee Bucks
8. Golden State Warriors
9. Utah Jazz
10. Miami Heat
11. Los Angeles Lakers
12. Washington Wizards
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Los Angeles Clippers

Fresh off the celebration of winning the lottery, we head straight into the Awards. I'm hoping Ben Gordon will pick something up, as I'll need to state my case to our owner for me to stay on another year.

Major Awards
MVP
Yao Ming - Houston Rockets (27.6 ppg, 14.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.3 bpg, 0.9 spg)
Defensive Player of the Year
Andrei Kirilenko - Utah Jazz (12.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 4.0 bpg, 1.6 spg)
Rookie of the Year
Spencer Hawes - Boston Celtics (7.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 0.6 bpg, 0.9 spg)
6th Man of the Year
P.J. Brown - Philadelphia 76ers (9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.5 bpg, 0.8 spg)
Coach of the Year
Gregg Popovich - San Antonio Spurs (62-20)

Mike D'Antoni got ripped off, as did Sean May. They should've won Coach of the Year and 6th Man of the Year respectively. Hawes winning over Oden and Durant was a considerable surprise as well.

All-NBA 1st Team
PG Steve Nash - Phoenix Suns
SG Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
SF Paul Pierce - Boston Celtics
PF Elton Brand - Los Angeles Clippers
C Yao Ming - Houston Rockets

All-NBA 2nd Team
PG Mike Bibby - Sacramento Kings
SG Ray Allen - Seattle Supersonics
SF Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas Mavericks
PF Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs
C Chris Bosh - Toronto Raptors

All-NBA 3rd Team
PG Gilbert Arenas - Washington Wizards
SG Lebron James - Cleveland Cavaliers
SF Wally Szczerbiak - Boston Celtics
PF Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves
C Brad Miller - Sacramento Kings

Damn. Still, Ben had a lot of stiff competition at the SG spot and it's hard to argue with the three guys who were picked ahead of him. By the way, how weak is the C class in the NBA still when a guy like Brad Miller makes an All-NBA team?

All-Defense 1st Team
PG Jason Kidd - New Jersey Nets
SG Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
SF Andrei Kirilenko - Utah Jazz
PF Elton Brand - Los Angeles Clippers
C Ben Wallace - Chicago Bulls

All-Defense 2nd Team
PG Dwayne Wade - Miami Heat
SG Tracy McGrady - Houston Rockets
SF Gerald Wallace - Charlotte Bobcats
PF Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs
C Marcus Camby - Denver Nuggets

Nice to see the Bobcats' tough team D get recognition in Wallace.

All-Rookie 1st Team
PG Mike Conley - Orlando Magic
SG Nick Young - Los Angeles Clippers
SF Kevin Durant - Portland Trailblazers (14.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.5 bpg, 1.0 spg)
PF Brandan Wright - Houston Rockets
C Spencer Hawes - Boston Celtics

All-Rookie 2nd Team
PG Javaris Crittenton - Milwaukee Bucks
SG Rodney Stuckey - Charlotte Bobcats
SF Corey Brewer - Orlando Magic
PF Jason Smith - Washington Wizards
C Greg Oden - Toronto Raptors (12.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.7 bpg, 0.8 spg)

I don't get it. Oden averages 5 points a game and three times as many bpg more than Hawes, just a rebound and 0.3 apg less and he loses Rookie of the Year? Ridiculous!

Greg Oden should've won Rookie of the Year and been named to the 1st team, Hawes the 2nd team. I suspect Hawes won because the Celtics made it to the Conference finals, whereas the Raptors were knocked out by Boston in the first round.

Very disappointing that Noah didn't make the 2nd rookie team over Smith, though I can see why.

The day after the awards come out, my cell phone rings that special tone that sing-songs Owner.

Gulp.

Mr. Charles Rolen asks how I thought I did. I didn't do an excellent job, I know that. Acie Law looks like a busted pick and Joakim Noah was inconsistent. We also fell short of improving upon or even matching last year's 23 wins. On the other hand, I brought in a young franchise face and legitimate All-Star in Ben Gordon and stockpiled picks for the future. I also cleared up some of the cap nightmare.

All in all, not too bad, is the perfect description of how I'd assess my performance.

...Uh oh. Owner man says he doesn't agree. Says the team wasn't what I said it was and that I spent more money than we agreed on. ...Bastard. I -told- him it'd be a rebuilding year and that he wouldn't have to pay the luxury tax. But I guess he read the preseason hype that said we'd be a 5 seed in the playoffs and evidently he's counting the fat buyout cash we gave to Isiah against me.

In fact, he so disagrees with me, he says he's going to have to really think about whether to keep me on past this gimmick year.

I'm not going to beg, nor am I going to tell him to fuck off, much as I'd like to. No, I'll just ask him for a little more time. This isn't going to be a team that gets rebuilt overnight, after all.

"Sounds to me like you're trying to throw your own hand-picked coach under the bus. Montgomery's a respected NBA man."

....What?! That's not what I-

"You're fired. Clear out your desk by tomorrow morning 10 am sharp."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Now what do I do?