NEW YORK — When David Stern went to the podium to announce the Memphis Grizzlies’ 28th pick, John Calipari sat in the green room clinching his left fist and yelled out, “C’mon Memphis!”

It was not hard to figure out what Calipari was rooting for. Clearly, the Tigers’ coach was hoping the Grizzlies would take Chris Douglas-Roberts, who worked out with them yesterday and would have clearly been the best PR pick available. When he declared after the Tigers’ season ended, CDR was projected to be anywhere from 10-25 and suddenly here he was in the Grizzlies’ lap if they wanted him.

Even after the Grizzlies passed on him, however, Calipari felt that he might go to Boston at No. 30. After they picked J.R. Giddens, it was not a lot of fun watching Calipari mill around for the next several minutes, typing furiously on his Blackberry while Leon Rose, CDR’s agent, was working the phones and likewise looking a bit nervous. After CDR finally got taken by the Nets at 40, Calipari and Rose left Madison Square Garden pretty quickly, obviously disappointed at how the night unfolded.

The question that will now be asked for a long time to come is whether Douglas-Roberts made a mistake by leaving Memphis a year early. I find it hard to second-guess him, since every single person in the basketball business felt his stock was at its peak coming off a season in which he was a first-team All American and led the Tigers to the NCAA title game. The only reason to stay is that next year’s draft would have been weaker, but there didn’t seem to be much risk that he would slip out of the first round. It seemed like a safe move.

The reality is, Chris just didn’t perform well in workouts, and obviously teams put a lot of stock into those workouts. I find it remarkable that a player like J.R. Giddens, with a spotty personal history and only one effective season at the college level, would be selected ahead of CDR. I find it even more remarkable that Walter Sharpe, a complete head case who washed out of Mississippi State and UAB, would go ahead of CDR and Joey Dorsey. CDR won’t get the guaranteed money, but he’ll have a chance to make a team. Time will tell whether the NBA executives who passed on him were right or wrong.

The Grizzlies continued to work feverishly this afternoon on numerous trade proposals that would have them move throughout the NBA draft, which is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

At least five possible trades had fallen through but a team insider was confident another deal could be consummated if the opposing team met the Grizzlies’ requirements.

Barring a last-minute development on that front, the Grizzlies are set to keep their first-round picks at No. 5 and 28 with the decision having been made that they will select Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook or Danilo Gallinari.

For now, though, Miami, New Jersey and Charlotte are not potential trade partners.
Miami informed Memphis that it intends to keep the No. 2 pick, decreasing any chance that the Griz will move up and take Michael Beasley. Charlotte has relentlessly tried acquiring Memphis’ fifth pick. But the Griz rebuffed those offers because they don’t covet anyone on the Bobcats’ roster.

Rumors that the Griz and Nets have talked about a deal that would send the No. 5 pick to New Jersey for the No. 10 and a future first are false. The Griz and Nets had not engaged in trade discussions as of two hours before the draft.

…with the proceedings set to begin in a matter of mere hours. The Grizzlies have been sifting through several trade proposals so here’s an attempt to separate fact from fiction.

$ The Grizzlies have been in constant communication with the Miami Heat about the possibility of moving up to No. 2 for the chance to draft Michael Beasley. In Memphis’ view, Miami is asking for too much.
Miami asked for Mike Miller, Kyle Lowry or Mike Conley and the No. 5 pick in a package that would also include the Memphis taking a bad contract or two (i.e. Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, etc.). The Grizzlies preference was to send Miller, Lowry and the No. 28 pick. The No. 5 pick and Conley are sticking points with Conley serving as an absolute deal-breaker. With both teams being motivated, stay tuned to a variation of those discussions should a trade happen.

$ Before trading for the 20th pick, the Charlotte Bobcats asked Memphis to take anyone on their roster for the No. 5 pick. It’s something that hasn’t been completely ruled out. Now that Charlotte owns the ninth and 20th picks, don’t be shocked if the Griz agreed to take players plus the ninth and 20th picks for the fifth and 28th selections.

$ The Griz front office seemed divided on the proposed New York deal: Memphis sending Brian Cardinal and No. 5 for David Lee and Malik Rose. It’s a terrible deal, and it’s also telling that the transaction wasn’t presented to owner Michael Heisley, who said emphatically that unloading Cardinal’s contract wasn’t a priority.

$ The Grizzlies are NOT trading the rights to Marc Gasol.

$ Memphis has checked with Dallas about acquiring Josh Howard.