BRANDAN WRIGHT one of the fastest rising stars in the basketball scene.
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Kawakami: Hey, Bud, got an extra bed?
Short-attention-span reading and writing, and bonus cut-and-pasting from my Talking Points blog . . . Barry Bonds' two-homer performance in Chicago on Thursday didn't win the game for the Giants, but it won me a quick surprise trip to Milwaukee and the Giants' three-game series starting today. Bud Selig, if I have trouble finding a hotel, can I crash at your place for a few nights? Wait, before I commit: You've got air conditioning, correct? Yes, Bud, I know: I'll get my own ride since we're probably not carpooling to Miller Park for the games. The Big Left Fielder still has it. Just takes him three days of rest to find it. Already, Al Davis is wondering if I can scout the Milwaukee environs to make sure it's OK for Bucks recalcitrant draft pick Yi Jianlian. That's an inside joke for those of you who read my blog - Al recently quizzed me about Deng Xiaoping and my knowledge of my "own culture." Oops. That's all right. If there are any good Chinese restaurants in Milwaukee, I'm the one to find them, whether that's part of my Japanese- American birthright or not. On Yi: About those rumors that the Warriors might offer Brandan Wright to Milwaukee if the Bucks give up on Yi? I keep asking the Warriors and they keep saying no way. Chris Mullin likes Brandan Wright better than Yi. In fact, I'm told that Mullin had Wright ranked fourth on his draft board - behind only Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Al Horford.
Yi was probably ranked eighth or ninth on Mullin's board. Circle this date, marvel at the site: Kevin Garnett is expected to be a featured guest Monday at Mike Bibby's Fantasy Camp in Rocklin. (Rocklin? Whose fantasy is that? Keith Fahnhorst's?) Also listed as probable participants: Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Matt Barnes, Amare Stoudemire and Richard Jefferson. That's a fascinating cast, if they all show up. That's a good cast if just Davis and KG show up, actually. Back to Al Davis . . . We'll get a huge clue about JaMarcus Russell's immediate impact, and Al's desire to see him start Week 1, if Davis moves heaven and large portions of his bank account to get Russell into camp swiftly. Everybody knows the number it's going to take - close to $30 million guaranteed, which is a huge number. And everybody knows that if Russell doesn't come in by Aug. 1 at the latest (players report to Napa on Thursday), his chances of starting in Week 1 decrease immensely. These are the coincidences I always enjoy: Russell's lead agent, Eric Metz, got his start in the business working for former Raiders executive Bruce Allen, back in Allen's agent days. Metz needs to make a splash with Russell, so he won't be looking for anything except a historic deal. Count on that one. If Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin feels secure, he should insist that Davis let the assistant coaches talk to the media this season. That's something Art Shell couldn't bring himself to allow last season, to his own discredit. Shell had a terrible offensive staff. Shell wanted to hide the terribleness from the public. That's bad karma all the way around. For no obvious reason, I've decided that 49ers first-round pick Joe Staley is the left tackle of the future (though he's competing with Kwame Harris at right tackle for now). And I've also decided that the LT future might arrive by Week 3 or 4, depending on Jonas Jennings' health. Staley looked extremely agile and long when I saw him work this spring. Plus, I keep hearing that the Baltimore Ravens were ready to draft the Central Michigan product at No. 29 and plug him in as Jonathan Ogden's left-tackle protege. Problem for the Ravens: The 49ers traded their 2008 No. 1 pick to New England to jump ahead of Baltimore, move into the 28th spot and grab Staley. I think 49ers personnel man Scot McCloughan knows his stuff. And when he and Baltimore's Ozzie Newsome race each other to draft Staley, I expect big things out of the guy. My bookend 49ers tackles would be Staley on the left side, Adam Snyder on the right. Somehow I think that's the way it'll be by midseason, then will continue that way for about eight more years. OK, I've got to fly. Milwaukee, here I come: Which means Bonds could take the next three games off, I'm quite sure. It would be karma.
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