The NBA draft. Winners and losers

Actually, team-wise, it's kind of tough to find a winner in the draft. That's because the current crop of eligible college hoopsters they'll be picking from doesn't really offer any can't-miss prospects. It seems every one of them that shows potential could just as easily turn out to be a bust as well. In other words, it's not exactly a bumper crop. But ya never know. There might be a diamond in the rough here or there. As they say -- Ya pays yer millions and ya takes yer chances.

Losers? Well, let me put it this way. I remember Urkel and Barney Fife. And the Revenge of the Nerds movie was yuk-worthy. They all had something in common. But what I saw at the NBA draft took that to, excuse the tired cliche, a whole new level. While many of the other 13 draft eligible teams sent presidents or CEOs and the like to represent them, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert put his son on stage, while proud papa watched from a front row seat.

Now Dan Gilbert is one thing. You don't become a billionaire and owner of an NBA team if you're a dummy. True, there are those that think Gilbert is somewhat delusional. How else to explain him continuing to predict his Cavs will be NBA champs every year? If I could send a message to Mr. Gilbert, it would be this -- Hey Dan, this isn't working out. There's a reason your team is in the lottery every year. They ain't no good, and ain't GONNA be any good any year soon. You might want to give it a rest before you lose what little credibility you have left.

But that boy of his had yours truly gaping in awe. I'm sure he's a very nice young man, and probably smart as a whip. But is THAT what the next generation of NBA owners is coming to? To me, he made Barney Fife look like Rambo. Urkel got upgraded to Terminator status. This is not a good thing -- in my opinion.

And wouldn't you know it? The Cavaliers wound up with the #1 draft pick. As the Gilberts were jetting away on their Lear of Gulfstream or whatever, they sent out a tweet predicting yet another Cleveland Cavalier NBA championship. They're up above the clouds again, in more ways than one. Sigh.

By the luck of the draw, the Orlando Magic wound up with the #2 pick.

And that's where we can separate a winner from a loser. No, Orlando's not going to win anything anytime soon either. I'm talking about the first two players that get drafted. Sure, in most years, a player would like nothing better than to be the overall #1 pick. It guarantees more money.

But in this case -- ask yourself one question -- if you were one of those players -- would you rather spend the next 3-4 years in dreary Cleveland next to Lake Erie, or in sunny Orlando next to Disneyworld?

All things considered, sometimes being #1 can make you a loser.

In my opinion, #2 looks pretty good right about now.