(Ed. note: Awesome story from long-time DBBer Joel ... -- Matt)

The headline of this post is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, my brother and I were at the Bulls/Bucks game last night at the United Center because he got free tix through one of the Luvabulls. We were coming back from taking a smoke break outside during halftime and as we were making our way through the 100 (lower) level, I saw a guy walking around aimlessly in a nice suit with a lanyard around his neck that had the Bucks' logo on it. Then in a moment of clarity, my mind peered through the Cuervo that was clouding it and I realized it was John Hammond.

So we introduced ourselves and chatted for a little bit. I asked why he was walking around the lower level of the stadium aimlessly-- "I dunno, I get pretty nervous." Asked him about Bogut's injury: "Yeah that was bad. It's really bad." About Salmons: "We got really lucky with John. That's a guy we'd been looking at all year." About Delfino: "I'd always liked Delfino."

And then I broke out what I'm sure most people here are/were wondering: "So me and my brother have this theory-- as soon as you left the Pistons, the Bucks have gotten much better and more financially responsible while the Pistons gotten so much worse and are in terrible shape money-wise-- was it you making all the moves and Joe D taking credit for it?" He was VERY quick to shoot that down: "No, no, no, Joe made the moves and I just stood by his side. I'd be very confident that he's going to turn that thing around."

So there you have it? Not sure if I believe him-- I'm sure he's not going to tell two random guys who he doesn't know that he was actually the mastermind behind the Good Years. Still, super friendly guy, very humble, was actually interested in where we were from and what we were doing living in Chicago, why we were at the game ("We root for whoever the Bulls are playing"-- that got a laugh), etc. I told him that the Bucks were down 6 when we went out to smoke and then they were up 12 when we got back-- "Maybe you guys should go chainsmoke and it will be a blowout!" Cool guy. Wish he was still with the good guys.

So I'm watching the Kentucky-Miss. St. game right now since it should be a good look at some players that the Pistons' brass should obviously be paying attention to-- Jarvis Varnado and DeMarcus Cousins. Now we've discussed both these guys ad nauseum on the board here, but since I'm watching the game as I write this, I'll tell you what I see:

Cousins-- the biggest guy on the floor (but not by as much as you'd think), incredible footwork on offense, ELITE offensive rebounder-- they just said his O-reb rate is somewhere around 24%. 24%. Ludicrous. He reminds me of a young Tim Duncan offensively, a young Dwight defensively (clearly able, but slightly retard), except crossed with an angry and darkly-unpredictable version of Shaq's personality, like Shaq Fu without a noble cause. Or multidimensionaltravel. He's just clearly the best, most offensively polished big-man I think that's been in the draft in a long time. Timmy D/Shaq type shit. He is only 19. We must have him.

Vernado-- much bigger than I expected. If Cousins is listed at 6'11" (and he does look it), then Vernado's an easy 6'10". Surprisingly built-- large upper body, absolute guns, etc. But the thing that impresses is his leaping ability. Absolutely reminds me of current Dwight-- huge guy with Nate Robinson-like vertical. Coupled with his ridiculous wingspan and huge arms, it makes sense that he's leading the SEC in rebounds (over cousins). He hasn't blocked a ton of shots this game but he's been banging admirably with Cousins down low. Ew. I'd say easily that he's the best defensive player in all of college basketball-- I'm pretty sure he could be doing well in the NBA literally right now. The blocks aren't a fluke. The rebounding isn't either. And he's surprisingly big. If, after the tournament and workouts are done, Varnado doesn't end up in the mid-to-late first round, I'd be extremely surprised. He literally IS the next Ben Wallace. We must also have him.

That's all. I don't really have a direction for this. Slightly drunk.