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REPORTING FROM ...
THE NBA PRE-DRAFT CAMP

Elena Bergeron fills us in on what you can learn at the Orlando Pre-Draft camp.

by Elena Bergeron

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"I can assure you, Joey Dorsey does not own a garbage-powered DeLorean capable of traversing the space-time continuum."

It was tough to hear the other potential lottery picks over the raucous din at Mike Beasley's table at pre-draft media day. The speculative top pick in next month's draft, Beasley treated the media session like a preview of his SNL-hosting future. Aside from dropping a Back to the Future reference to dispel Joey Dorsey's prognosticating that Derrick Rose will take the No. 1 spot (''Oh yeah, Joey's got this car that takes him to the future sometimes. He must've just got back") it was kinda sad to see gray-haired reporters yukking everytime 19 year-old Beasley referred to himself in the third person ("I want to be like Mike Beasley and Mike Beasley only.") For the reporters that pried themselves away from Beasley's knee, there were comic tidbits to be had at the other set-ups that dotted the Orlando Hyatt Regency's conference room. Annotated comedy, at that!

  • "The Isle Of Pride": What O.J. Mayo calls the NBA, which he says he focused on instead of allegations that he took cash from a runner at USC. As in, "I'm preparing for the isle of pride, the NBA, something I've worked for since I was a little kid.

  • "Optimus Prime": Kevin Love's alter-ego now that he's dropped 15 lb. in preparation for the draft (he's down to 252 now). As in, "I feel like a transformer, like Optimus Prime or something now. I'm a new man."

  • 5: Times Kevin Love mentioned he's dropped 15 lb. in preparation for the draft. Other personas he's created for his slimmed-down self include "Mr. Fit", "Arnold Schwarzenegger" and "Big Sexy".

  • Chocolate Milk: Favorite food Kevin Love had to give up to drop 15 lb. in preparation for the draft. Did we mention he's been working out?

  • Gummy bears and Sour Patch Kids: the diet that made Derrick Rose too sick to address pre-game media before the National Championship game against Kansas. Rose has NOT lost 15 lb. in preparation for the draft.

  • Twins!: Derrick Rose and Marcus Jordan (MJ's son) are dating a Chicago-area set of twins, a fact which may or may not mean Rose wants to be a Bull.

  • "I'm not Robin": Brook Lopez's response when a reporter called him by his brother's name in three straight questions.


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