Links: Win Free Draft Hats!

by Lang Whitaker

First of all, I never thought I’d see the day something called “The Kobe Video” would be leaked on the internet and it would be only about basketball.

Now, here’s a few things I learned this morning about new Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus, thanks mostly to the official website of Reggie Theus:

• Reggie loves the outdoors. He enjoys golf, extreme hiking, backpacking, is a world-class archer, certified scuba diver and an “A” tennis player. A world-class archer! Like Gina Davis!

• He hosted “various talk shows” in Orlando, Atlanta and Sacramento.

• After averaging 23.8 ppg in the 1983-84 season, Bulls coach Kevin Loughery benched Theus for the first half of the 84-85 season.

• Theus was one of the original panelists on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.” Really, he paved the way for guys like John Salley and Rob Dibble.

• Reggie believes in using his celebrity status whenever possible to present positive messages and support good causes.

I wonder if the Kings hiring Theus has anything to do with the Kings possibly moving to Vegas down the road? If there’s one guy in the world with ties to the Kings and Vegas (Theus played at UNLV and his number is retired there), it’s Theus.

I also recall Reggie Theus spending one season on the Hawks and refusing to pass the ball to Dominique and Moses Malone. Which is why he only spent one season on the Hawks. He seemed like a nice guy, though.

Speaking of the Hawks, GM Billy Knight apparently doesn’t know who Britney Spears is. And you wonder why teams have trouble connecting to the younger players and the fans. I do wish BK would shave his head, though.

Anyway, on to the free stuff that I promised you kids yesterday…

Our friends at adidas sent me a box of the official NBA Draft hats that the players will wear on stage after they are picked. We’ve got the hats for every team except Toronto. (Because we hate Canada — kidding! Actually, they don’t have a pick this year).

So, actually we’ve got 29 hats, which are one size fits all. And you can win all of ’em.

Also, if you win and you look really old and you put on the Blazers hat, you might look like Greg Oden.

How do you win them? In the comments section below, just give me the name of the player you think will be the 30th pick in the Draft, the last guy taken in the first round, the final guy given a guaranteed contract. The Sixers currently own the pick. If more than one person gets the name right, I’ll draw a winning name out of one of the hats.

Also, if the Hawks draft Yi Jianlian, I’ll throw an extra Hawks hat — mine! — into the deal.

That’s it. Have at it…