1. The Blazers made a mistake. Greg Oden reminds me of Ralph Sampson but with Ben Wallace’s rebounding and defensive prowess. He’ll be good but not great. On the other hand, Kevin Durant will be a big star someday and make Portland remember 1984 (when they picked Sam Bowie at no.2 instead of this guy named Michael Jordan, who went to Chicago at No. 3). Kevin Durant is a cross between KG and Kobe. Durant should’ve been the #1 pick.

2. Yi JianLian going to Milwaukee at No. 6? The Chinese population is near non-existent in Milwaukee. Not sure how he’s going to survive there. From what I’ve seen on YouTube, the dude can ball though! I would’ve liked to see him go to Golden State in a trade. That would’ve been perfect.

3. Ray Allen going to the Celtics will help the Celtics win more games next year, but there’s no shot of them winning a championship anytime soon. Hence, a losing proposition.

4. The Knicks did very well in this draft as they got Zach Randolph. As long as Isiah can tame him, they’ll do fine. Not sure why everyone’s wondering whether Randolph can coexist with Curry. Randolph can play the 4 while Curry can play center (his natural position).

5. The Hawks are a complete mess. For like the fourth year in a row, they selected a forward. They would’ve been better off putting ‘Nique back in a Hawks uni! They need to trade Josh Childress and maybe Josh Smith for a decent center or point guard.

6. Joakim Noah is a ‘tweener and doesn’t seem like an NBA player. At best, he will be a decent defensive player and maybe give you 8-10 points a night. I can’t see him scoring against the likes of Tim Duncan, KG, Amare, etc.

7. Corey Brewer will be a pretty good player. I like his overall game. Pretty versatile.

8. Al Horford shouldn’t have gone that high at Number 3. I just don’t see what these pundits see in him. He’s good, but not exceptional at anything or that athletic. I don’t think he can be ever be as good as Elton Brand, who has a similar game.

9. Trading for Jason Richardson for Brandon Wright was a good move on the Bobcats’ part. It would’ve taken at least 2-3 years to develop Wright. The Bobcats were in desperate need of veteran leadership. He and Okafor would make a good tandem.

10. Mike Conley Jr should’ve gone #6-10 instead of at #4. He’s quick, but can’t shoot the ball to save his life. But he can work on that.

Michelle Wie has gotta be the most overrated athlete in the history of sports. Yes, more than the Boz, Darko, Sam Bowie, and Shawn Bradley. I’ve never seen anyone so hyped up even before winning anything (she hasn’t won an event). She’s supposedly too good to play on the LPGA that she has to tee it up with guys. It’s been over 2 years and still nothing. Simply put, Michelle Wie is not a winner. I’m glad she’s at Stanford now (don’t ask me how she got in) and can find her true calling–maybe in sports medicine or marketing?

It’s taken me awhile to realize this, but as with most people, I can be more positive in my thinking. Thinking negative about things just isn’t practical and is plain unhealthy for you. I guess my mind is so used to trying to ’see through things’ and wanting to comprehend where and why injustices happen…that I sometimes find myself dwelling on things that is completely useless and irrelevant or things that are out of my control.

I think it’ll take a lot of training and practice but I know if I work hard enough on it, I’ll get there (how’s that for positive thinking!). We can’t change a lot of things about ourselves like our IQ, looks, etc, but we have some control over our attitudes.

I’m currently learning the lyrics to this song–我怀念的 (translation: “I fondly remember/miss”)–right now (a fun way to expand my Chinese vocabulary) by 孫燕姿 (Sun Yanzi). I really like her music (and the fact that she plays the piano well) and am convinced that she’s the most talented Chinese singer-musician today (sorry, Jacky). I’ve been listening to her new album, 逆光 (Against the Light), on my commute to work since April and it never gets old. Highly recommended.

At work, I mostly listen to Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words (Daniel Barenboim, pianist) I & II, and some Smooth Jazz. Makes for good study/background music.

My prediction was wrong. L. James wasn’t aggressive enough to make it a series. I would’ve given the MVP to Robert Horry since if it weren’t for him, the Suns would be the champs.

Cavs in seven.