The legend of Anthony Randolph should be a key narrative over the next few years, mostly because of the hypermaniacal combination of skills and weaknesses. Marcus Thompson II of the San Jose Mercury News (via GSoM) offers another tale for the archives of Randolph lore.

During summer league, Warriors rookie forward Anthony Randolph was in a room full of NBA hopefuls listening to league representatives introduce them to their new careers. As an icebreaker, each player answered a question: what did they hope to achieve as a player? ...

Some longed to just make the roster. Randolph, his answer was unique and changed the tenor of the entire icebreaker. "I want to be one of the best to ever play the game," he said with the straightest face and the most matter-of-fact tone he could manage.

The beautiful thing about the art of basketball: Randolph could be scion or sideshow, and we won't know until he hits the court. His college data represents a jumble of contradictions (he can score but not shoot, rebound and block but not defend, drop a dime but not handle the ball). Who are we to laugh at steadfast self-confidence in the face of innumerable questions about his future?

Missing Monta Ellis is a drain on the interest in the Warriors for most folks. But if it means we get to peel Randolph back a bit, everything will be alright.

Chris Mullin is a rock. He is an island.

He is incredibly chill about losing his $66 million point-guard for 4 months.

As reported by the irreplaceable Tim Kawakami, Mullin told local reporters that though disheartened by the loss of Monta Ellis for the start of the season, he is not in panic mode. Kawakami reports that Mullin and Don Nelson are looking at their options, including inserting Marcus Williams as starter, or going to a bigger lineup with Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette. Mullin also said he will be going to a long-scheduled meeting in Chicago with former Clipper Shaun Livingston. Livingston, as you may know, kind of has his own injury issues to work out, but Mullin says he's not in any rush because he "has enough ball-handlers, even without Ellis."

While the Warriors are archetypically comprised of big men that can run and score, they still need a central point guard, and preferably one with speed, to execute Don Nelson's offense. The idea of a Stephen Jackson-Corey Maggette-Brandon Wright/Anthony Randolph-Al Harrington- Andris Biedrins lineup is fascinating, though. It would be like a fleet of giraffes. Not going to frighten you in any respect, but you will stop and watch it for a while, just because it's so bizarre. My first thought when I heard about the Ellis injury, other than "Fate is cruel" was "They should look at Livingston." Livingston had a ton of talent and potential before his knee exploded like the Fourth of July, and he's worth taking a look at.

Hey, at least you can see the worst case coming in that scenario.

No, silly Europeans, Andris Biedrins is for Nellie!

The Warriors shored up their remaining free agent quandary today, according to the infinitely reliable Marc Stein over at the WWL. Stein says the Dubs have given Biedrins a 6 year, $63 million contract, with a player option for the fifth year. Tim Kawakami respectfully disagrees with Stein's report on the amount, putting the number at $54 million. Six years, $54 million seems a little more reasonable for the top big man on a team that was, you know, kind of terrible at both defense and rebounding. Still, Don Nelson is big on Biedrins, and after Baron Davis absconded to LA, the Warriors needed to shore up their roster in-house.

It's unknown at this point what effect Biedrins' position on the NBA Overseas Defection Watch had on the urgency for the Warriors to get the deal done, if any, but anyway, go ahead and cross him off the list. And, barring injury or a team losing their mind in a trade (we're looking at you, Atlanta), this should pretty much lock up the Warriors roster next year, with both Anthony Randolph and Richard Hendrix signed. So for better or worse, it's Monta Ellis, Kelenna Azubuike, and Andris Biedrins resigned, Mickael Pietrus and Baron Davis gone with the wind, and Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf newly acquired. Your guess is as good as ours as far as next season goes.

Here's a look at the top ten players we saw at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

1. Jerryd Bayless: Who cares that him running point was like a Ben Stiller movie or that he managed so few assists his teammates almost decided to bring their own ball on the court to play catch? The kid was transcendent. Floaters, fadeaways, dunks, steals, you name it. If it's got flash, Bayless was unleashing it on someone this week.

2. Kevin Love: You know how some people's college game just doesn't transfer to the pro game? Yeah, Kevin Love won't be having that problem. Tough, resilient, with a range of moves and offensive versatility to go along with the sweetest, yes, outlet pass we've seen, Love was incredibly impressive.

3. Anthony Randolph: Youth and athleticism rules! The lanky Warrior started the week off with a bang and played solid throughout. His impressive handle really made him stand out, along with a tenacious effort on defense.

One of beautiful oddities of summer league is the lack of a cap on personal fouls. Games seem to be called slightly less stringently than normal NBA games (and infinitely less stringent than games involving Dwyane Wade). These games are meant for teaching and evaluation, so there's no reason to saddle a 19-year-old with foul trouble and mess everything up.

Sometimes, this results in awesome. Like today, in the Las Vegas opener between Philadelphia and Golden State, in which sophomore Sixer forward Jason Smith tallied up 11 fouls in 29 minutes of play. If I'm Maurice Cheeks, I'm not even mad. That's just impressive.

Smith, unfortunately, might not get headlines outside of the blogdome. Anthony Randolph, however, will. The fella tossed in 30 points in his professional (sorta) debut, with 8 rebounds and efficient shooting. Lest we get too excited, forget not the Marco Belinelli Experience last summer, especially the part where the Italian's performance in Vegas caused Don Nelson to publicly name Belinelli as the frontrunner to what would become Monta Ellis' starting job.

Thaddeus Young and Marreese Speights also played well for Philadelphia, and Golden State's Brandan Wright wasn't bad.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. The Association: Shameless, sure, but this Brook Lopez "wired" video might be the greatest highlight from Draft night.

2. Sporting News: A nice and tidy roundup of all the draft day dealings that went down.

3. NetsDaily: Detailing the youth movement (i.e., LeBron James preparations) in New Jersey.

4. Tom Sorensen, Charlotte Observer: Defending the Bobcats' D.J. Augustin Pick.

5. Tim Kawakami, Mercury News: And questioning the Warriors' Anthony Randolph selection.

6. NextRound.net: A must-see photo essay of David Stern's all-time awkward draft handshakes.

One of the best things about pre-draft media availability is you can get some one-on-one time with the rookie prospects. Yesterday I got a chance to sit down with wiry 6-10 LSU forward Anthony Randolph. Randolph talked about where he'd like to play as well as addressing issues that he's not intense enough by, well, getting a little intense. Well played, says I. Enjoy.

Kim: "I know this is a stock question, but do you have any preferences as to who drafts you?"

Randolph: "I have no preferences. I will play for any team, anywhere."

Kim: "OK, then what kind of system or style of play would you prefer?"

Randolph: "I love getting up and down and playing in the open floor, so I think New York would be a great fit with coach (Mike) D'Antoni here. Just based on how I play."

Kim: "Would you prefer to be in a situation where you'd have to step in and contribute right away? Or would you rather be brought along slowly?"

Randolph: "That's what I've been preparing for. Ever since I came out of school, I'm preparing to step into whatever role's asked of me. I'm preparing to be a role player if that's asked of me too."

Heading into Thursday's NBA Draft, one question that's on everyone's mind is who will be taken with the top pick, Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley? Should the Bulls, who draft at No. 1, pick a future star who can run their offense in Rose, or should they go after a forward who can dominate the glass and score from anywhere on the floor in Beasley?

Well, strong cases can be made for both players. And they have. From GM's to coaches to writers to bloggers to fans, everyone has weighed in on the decision.

Everyone, that is, except for the guys who are going to be in the green room with Beasley and Rose tomorrow night. So during Wednesday's media availability here in New York, I talked to the Class of '08 about who they'd draft with the first pick if they were the Bulls. Read on to see what Kevin Love, D.J. Augustin and others had to say about the Beasley vs. Rose debate.

Jeff Goodman posted the list of NBA Draft green room invitees today, and you best believe that there is gonna be some heartbreak going down on this list. After all, there are 16 players invited ... and only 14 lottery spots. Mu-ha-ha.

Actually, there's a decent chance that no one on this list will get Quinned (read: fall too far), mainly because NBA teams are much more likely to draft based on "best available" than positional need if someone starts to drop, but draft day can always be surprising. Anyway, here's the list of who will be hanging out back while the cameras catch every instance of shock, surprise and tearful regret.

With the NBA Draft coming up on Thursday night, FanHouse's Tom Ziller took a friend's advice and unilaterally decided what teams ought to do in the first round. Think of it as a shorter version of our ongoing Crystal Ballin' series.

1. Chicago -- Michael Beasley, Kansas State. Fan consensus would have the point guard from Memphis here, and it looks like John Paxson will swing that way, too. It looks like a whole lot of Chris Paul-induced "pure point" fervor to me. Beasley, though, is the rare unassailable post presence who also boasts great perimeter skills and extraordinary tenacity on the court. With a team so desperate for points on something other than jump shots, Beasley fits right in.

2. Miami -- Derrick Rose, Memphis. The Heat, on the other hand, has some firepower in the paint, between Dwyane Wade's irrepressible slashing and the alternating efforts of Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem. But Wade needs help running the show. Rose would provide the right engine to push Miami's offensive abilities while offering some backcourt defensive support.

3. Minnesota -- Brook Lopez, Stanford. Like any other basketball aesthete, I have cracked some Brook Lopez jokes. But behind the Cheetah Girls t-shirts, he's a good prospect. The biggest thing he can offer Minnesota in some interior anchorage on defense. Al Jefferson got abused routinely in the paint last season, with nary a partner to help stunt the opponent. Lopez immediately fortifies the effort, maybe not creating a good defense by himself, but at least helping out. Oh, and he can score too.

27 more picks of questionable logic after the jump.