Empty the Bench

- The Sports Agent Blog is hosting the 45th Carnival of the NBA, where you can take an around-the-court glimpse at some fantastic NBA writers and websites. ETB is happy (and grateful) to be a part of it.

- Speaking of the Sports Agent Blog, they make sure everyone understands that Peter Vescey is still a very uncredible source and that Rashard Lewis will become a free agent on July 1.

- Despite his confession that he felt he was nothing more than the “darkhorse” candidate for the job, Reggie Theus was named the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings. Solid hire, but will the Kings improve much on their 33-49 record of last season regardless of who’s behind the bench?

- Complete Sports does a bang-up job of looking at some of the top prospects in next week’s NBA draft and comparing them to guys already established in the league.

- The most hyped Chinese import since chop suey, Yi Jianlian, is a surefire lottery pick. We’ve heard Boston and Minnesota as possible landing spots, but how about Philadelphia? With three first-round picks and a high second-rounder, they certainly have the ammunition to trade up and grab him.

- For the record, we’re big fans of blockbuster trades, especially in the NBA. I know, who isn’t. We were downright giddy when ETB fave Iverson was moved to Denver (not so giddy that it was to Denver, however), and now, with all these Kobe/KG/Rashard/etc rumors gaining more and more steam, we’re sincerely hoping that at least one of them actually happens. Big-name player movement is good for the league, and some headline-grabbing trades just might make up for that “2007 NBA Finals.”

- The Ghosts of Wayne Fontes are fed up with all these silly, pointless mock drafts. So, naturally, here’s the Ghosts of Wayne Fontes mock draft through #15.

- If you’re in the Toronto area next week, Ryan McNeill (Hoops Addict), Franchise (RaptorsHQ.com), and Chris Clarke (End of the Bench) invite you to join them for a little NBA Draft Party at the Harbour Sports Pub on June 28.

- Kobe Bryant is doing everything possible to force a trade. One thing that might help the cause is agreeing to a pay cut, because that mammoth contract makes it difficult.

- More on Yi Jianlian because outside of paid NBA writers and the ever-expanding blogging community, a lot of casual basketball followers still don’t know what all the fuss is about and why he’s going to be a top-10 pick.

- The hopes and dreams of NBA fans the world over were dashed when Manuchar Markoshvili, Artem Zabelin, and Rafael Hettsheimeier were among those to withdraw their person from consideration in the 2007 NBA draft.