The NBA Draft is tomorrow night, an annual occasion that signifies the death of my tracking of approximately 60 careers.
For most of you, this is the end of our relationship. For a few select others, I'll see you again in three or four years when you make a brief cameo in a SportsCenter highlight clip. And when next we meet, you can rest assured that our conversation will begin and end with, "I had no idea he played for the Bobcats."
There are three former Cardinals eligible for selection Thursday evening, but the chances of them hearing their respective names called are outside, more outsider and most outsidest.
David Padgett and Juan Palacios (Mr. Outside and Mr. More Outsider) have spent the weeks leading up to tomorrow working out for various teams with the hope of making a solid enough impression to be taken late in the second round. The following are videos taken after Padgett's workout with Portland, and Palacios's with Utah.
Tell me you at least wore the goggles during the workout, Juan. How badly do you want this, really?
Despite Andrew Weber's assertion that JDP is NBA-ready strictly because of his lack of respect for the game of basketball's rules against traveling, Padgett is likely the only one of the two who stands any shot of hearing his name called late tomorrow night. Regardless, both figure to make a solid chunk of change playing a game, and that warrants envy and probably a couple of other deadly sins.
And for those of you who just made a lust joke in your head...it wasn't funny, and everyone you know would have respected you a little bit less had you said it out loud.