Here's one man's running diary of the 2010 NBA draft, where cash consideration happens …

7:30 p.m. (EST): I was terrified ESPN wouldn't kick off the coverage with a music video/montage. Nice to have the fears allayed with the sounds of Michael Buble. 

7:33: And we have the first girlfriend with a tattoo on her chest. Just like the future Mrs. Bob Pettit at the 1954 draft.

7:36: We have Stuart Scott, Jeff Van Gundy, Jay Bilas and Jon Barry tonight. Could be worse, and I mean that. I'm actually at the point where I'm almost indifferent when Stuart is on the screen. ESPN has beat the hate out of me. 

7:38: Over/under on career All-Stars for John Wall? I'll go with 3.5 and take the under. 

7:43: Why should we like Evan Turner, Jay Bilas? "Because he's a basketball player." Uh-oh. Only four hours to go. Need more Van Gundy, stat.

7:45: Finally figured out who Evan Turner looks like. Orlando Jones. You don't care, but it's been in my head for months. 

7:46: If the most important element of coaching was coming across well in an interview, Doug Collins would have 15 rings.

7:49: Derrick Favors goes to the Nets. Bilas doesn't like his ability to shoot or play in the post, but digs the wingspan. That's all you want with the third pick in the draft. And Favors over Cousins will turn out to be a killer. No guts from Rod Thorn.

7:53: Wesley Johnson breaking out the Carlton outfit. I was half-expecting the dance as he made his way to David Stern.

7:56: Remember that time Mark Jones asked that tough question? Me neither. He's a poor man's Kevin Frazier. 

7:58: No way the Kings screw up a gift like Cousins at No. 5, right? This is stealing. 

8:02: Why is Heather Cox so underrated? Isn't she at least 85 percent of Erin Andrews?

8:04: Cousins looked like he wanted to murder Jones during his interview. I'm pretty sure Jones had pepper spray in his right hand. I like Cousins even more now.

8:06: Ekpe Udoh to the Warriors at No. 6. Highest a Baylor player has ever been drafted. Goes with the hug on David Stern, which would absolutely be my move as well. Well, either the hug or the eye rake into the leg sweep into the figure four. 

8:08: Is there a pill I can take that will knock me out until the ESPY's? Best night of the year, with the possible exception of the WNBA All-Star Game.

8:10: Pistons take Greg Monroe at No. 7. Nothing close to a surprise yet. And I think Monroe could be a 12-8 guy in a couple of years. Solid pick. 

8:14: No one has thanked God yet. He seems to be at every sporting event, can't imagine He would skip this show.

8:15: Stuart Scott's first question to Flip Saunders: "At what point in you all selection process did you decide on John Wall?" That's not a misprint. The Ghost of Tom Mees is weeping.

8:18: Al-Farouq Aminu is wearing Christopher Reeve's glasses from "Superman II." Somewhere Margot Kidder is turned on and Terrence Stamp is pissed off.

8:22: ESPN graphic: Clippers with two winning seasons in last 31 years. The other team in town has as many titles in the last three seasons.

8:24: Utah takes Gordon Hayward. And "Gordon Hayward girlfriend" has just been Googled 500,000 times in the last 30 seconds.

8:26: You know the hell Jackie Robinson went through his first year in Brooklyn? Hayward will go through the exact opposite in Utah.

8:31: First at least quasi-surprise as Indiana takes Paul George with the 10th pick. Who made that pick? Whoever it is should be fired (and stashed away in Boston just in case Doc does leave the bench).

8:35: "Executive Decision" on AMC. Good commercial option. 

8:36: Cole Aldrich goes 11th. Not sure which is the bigger lock -- that he'll be 300 pounds in 2016 or if he'll be on his fifth team by then. Great pick if you want 5.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and the best shortcuts to Pizza Hut.

8:40: Looking at Van Gundy led me to Vincent Schiavelli's IMDB page. Why was I not told he died five years ago? There should be some newsletter that e-mails us when the B and C-listers exit the stage. That would save me at least 10 minutes a day, as I always start off the morning with a Bernie Kopell and Dick Van Patten update.

8:50: Big "USA, USA" chant breaks out at Madison Square Garden. Wasn't sure why until I saw that Nikolai Volkoff was announcing the 13th pick in place of Stern.

8:52: First God callout! An NBA draft going 82 minutes without one is at least as shocking as a 138-game fifth set at Wimbledon.

8:54: Steven Seagal just died on AMC. You think Van Damme could die on screen like that? Of course not. I never bought into that rivalry as a close one, in reality Seagal was always Russell to JCVD's Wilt.

9:00: Larry Sanders at No. 15. First player not at the draft. Any chance he's somewhere with David Duchovny? 

9:04: Nothing more than a hunch, but I bet the guy Danny Ainge was looking at moving up to grab was Luke Babbitt. Just looks the part (and I'm not talking about the obvious). Of course, the T-Wolves trade Babbitt (and Ryan Gomes) to the Trail Blazers for Martell Webster five seconds after I write that. So if Danny had wanted him it sure sounds like he could have had him. 

9:08: If the Bulls go with Gloria James at No. 17 we know something is up. 

9:10: Stern with a "Listen to this" before giving it his best shot with "Kevin Seraphin." One of those guys from Europe (the continent, not the band) that averaged 3.0 points in a pro league and will stay overseas for a decade or so.

9:14: Heather Cox asking Kevin Durant about General Petraeus taking over for McChrystal was a bit of a surprise. I thought his response was measured and politically savvy.

9:16: Eric Bledsoe goes 18th to Oklahoma City, Celtics now on the clock. No clue which way they go here. I'll go with Jordan Crawford. 

9:22: And … Avery Bradley. Classic "best guy available," unless there is a trade cooking. Is this end of the Tony Allen era? The pluses: Can play both guard positions (and don't be fooled by Rondo — the Celtics need a backup point guard) and is Day 1 ready as a defender. The minuses: Not Day 1 ready as a shooter, just 55 percent from the free throw line last year. I'm lukewarm on this one, but I can't put up a big fight if only because there wasn't another player on the board that I think is even close to a can't-miss.

9:27: I was convinced that Sheed was blowing off steam and would be back next year. Strange and anti-climatic ending to the Wallace era. Can a player score over 15,000 points, grab nearly 7,500 rebounds, win a title and still have a slightly disappointing career?  

9:30: Twitter has taken all the fun out of the draft. You know each pick before Stern announces, and the trades are an hour old before ESPN even discusses it. Another thing Twitter has taken away: not knowing what Joe Haggerty has for lunch every day.

9:32: This is the problem with the 2010 draft. Craig Brackins just went to the Hornets at No. 21. There is NO WAY that you can tell me that Greg Monroe (14 picks earlier) has any more than a coin flip chance of being the better player. After the top five it is all guesswork.

9:34: Kirk Minihane calls "Knight and Day" "a desperate attempt by Tom Cruise to cling to any shred of youth." 

9:36: In fairness, though, Tom needed a role like this to move to an Operating Thetan Level III of Scientology. 

9:37: Jeff Van Gundy: "The Oden pick has not worked yet, but that's not to say it won't work out." Uh, it's not going to work out. 

9:44: Wow, the Hawks have stopped at nothing in an attempt to keep Joe Johnson. First hiring Larry Drew as the head coach and now picking Damion James (massive underachiever and attitude problem at Texas) at No. 24. What's next in the courting process? A seven-year, $100 million deal for Jermiane O'Neal?  A TBS pilot with Jackée as his co-star?

9:46: Maybe I'm having picture-in-picture issues, but Daisuke Matsuzaka just walked Andy Katz on four pitches.

9:50: The Thunder are up at No. 26. I swear they have made nine picks already. Also I'm pretty sure Eric Bledsoe has been traded six times, and three of the deals included Trevor Booker. 

9:54: There are those who use a fork to eat pizza and those who do not. Jay Bilas is firmly in the former category.

9:57: Hey, another Durant interview! He'll only be around for another 15 years and win 10 scoring titles. I would still trade the chance to have Durant for the 2008 title, but that stance is going to be tested when things get ugly. And that day looks to be getting closer.

10:02: Memphis with the 28th pick, part of the Pau Gasol trade. To recap, the Lakers have made three straight NBA finals appearances (and won two titles) and Gasol has been All-NBA and should have won finals MVP this year. The Grizzlies got Kwame Brown (now with the Pistons), Javaris Crittenton (now with the Wizards), Aaron McKie (now an assistant coach with the 76ers) and Marc Gasol (not bad -- 14-9 with Memphis last year). There might be five more lopsided NBA trades in the last 25 years, but there aren't 10.

10:04: Andy Katz just reported that Chris Wallace was outraged when he learned that the Lakers players only voted him half a playoff share.

10:10: Time to give ESPN a little rub -- nice work with no Dick Vitale on the broadcast. Is this step one in the slow process of moving out the guys that we liked in 1988?

10:16: Every time the words "cash considerations" are uttered, John Calipari looks at the floor with a staggering amount of concentration.

10:20: I entered tonight squarely in the "indifferent" camp when it came to Seth Meyers. Any guess as to which way his stock has gone after seven airings of that ESPY promo?

10:22: And the first round is done, as the Timberwolves take Lazar Hayward at No. 30. Time for Adam Silver to take over the duties for Stern. I'm not going to suggest that he can't hold Russ Granik's jock, but let's just say he has some big shoes to fill. No one did the "That's right, I'm the fu----g deputy commissioner" walk to the podium like Granik. 

10:26: Stan and Jeff Van Gundy ripping each other. I still hold out hope that Stan gets gassed in Orlando after the 2010-11 season and Mark Jackson gets a head-coaching job. A booth with Mike Breen and the Van Gundy boys would be a must-watch.

10:29: Second round starts. Say it with me: "No Jon Scheyer, no Jon Scheyer." Don't do it to us, Danny.

10:31: And the second round begins with the Nets picking Tibor Pleiss, then trading him to the Hawks. The Hawks then move him to Oklahoma City. I'm not sure anyone other than Wall and Turner is still with the team that drafted them. Crazy night.

10:35: Dexter Pittman goes to the Heat at No. 32. The good news? He's lost 100 pounds since high school. The bad news? He weighed 400 pounds in high school.

10:38: I'm almost certain that Avery Johnson is reading from a teleprompter during his interview with Stuart Scott. And it just broke.

10:40: The Kings get Hassan Whiteside -- who could have gone in the top 15, easy -- with the 33rd pick. When the report cards are out tomorrow the Kings will be at the top of most lists. Cousins and Whiteside is as good as you can do in this draft.

10:44: Hey, did a whole bunch of your friends manage to keep their massive love of soccer a secret for the last, say, four years? Who knew? 

10:45: In the spirit of this draft, Stern just traded Adam Silver for a future deputy commish and cash.

10:50: Did you know: Jay Bilas is a practicing attorney. No one uses the "wingspan" and "fluidity" defenses as well as Jay. I know at least three clients that beat the rap on the "upside" defense alone.

10:55: I don't know how it's going to work, but something has to be done to correct the NBA draft. Right now there is more value in the 36th pick than the 26th pick. OK, Kirk Hinrich isn't Bob Cousy, but he's plenty serviceable. The Bulls traded Hinrich and the 17th pick to the Wizards for the 35th pick. All about cap space. Is that what the draft has become? Doesn't that have to change? We just watched teams pay for the right not to have to make a first-round pick. Takes a lot of juice out of what was once one of the two or three best sports nights of the year.

10:59: Watching the "Predators" trailer on ESPN right now. Instead of saying a draft pick might have trouble keeping weight off, Bilas should just say that he could "go down the Fishburne path." 

11:02: Bilas on Lance Stephenson (pick No. 40): "He just needs to learn how to play basketball." Great break for Stephenson, as he was drafted by the Pacers, who just became the first team to hire a "how to play basketball" coach.

11:10: The ESPN guys talking free agency now. The consensus: If a team can get Dwyane Wade or LeBron James and pair him with two other top free agents, it will be a title contender. Thanks. Might be time to put Van Gundy and Barry in the limo and let them go home. They both look like they are at about 150 pitches.

11:14: Fran Fraschilla on Paulao Prestes (pick No. 45): "Think of him as a young Marc Gasol." Gasol is 25 years old. 

11:18: Mike D'Antoni is sporting the "I can't believe after all this crap we are going to wind up with Amar'e Stoudemire and Matt Barnes" fake smile as he sleepwalks through an interview with Rachel Nichols.

11:23: I'm a little disappointed-- I thought Tiny Gallon would be bigger. I was misunderstood, which, Stuart just informed me, is the one-word tattoo on Gallon's arm. In other news, I think I'm jumping to team NBA TV for the 2011 draft.

11:34: The Celtics take Luke Harangody with the 52nd pick. If you like big-game players he might not exactly be your man -- he shot 2-for-9 in a first-round loss to Old Dominion in the NCAAs. And he's a member of the Mark Macon/Pervis Ellison school of "Guys that got worse as their college career went on." But Danny has a good eye for second-rounders and it wouldn't surprise me if Harangody finds a spot on the roster in 2010-11. 

So that ends the night for the Celtics, and now a potential game-changing offseason begins. It's not impossible that everyone but Rasheed returns for the 2010-11 season. It's also not impossible that the Celtics lose Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen and Tony Allen over the summer. One more run or the start of rebuilding? It will be fascinating to see which way it goes.