With the weeks of debate now over and 60 players achieving their goal of making it to the NBA, it’s now time to assess who won out on draft night at Madison Square Garden. From Joakim Noah’s hilarious bow tie (and fro) to Steven A. Smith’s duel with Dick Vitale, it was a fun night to be an NBA fan last night.

Winners
Portland Trail Blazers: Not only did they grab the best center prospect to come around in years, they continued to load up through the draft. Credit this franchise for completely rebuilding their franchise in just two years. The Zach Randolph trade may irk some, but the Blazers made up for it by selecting Josh McRoberts, Derrick Byars, Taurean Green, and Syracuse’s Demetris Nichols in the 2nd round. I don’t know how Steve Francis will be worked into this situation but Channing Frye will be a star. Hop on the bandwagon!

Atlanta Hawks: Throughout the draft process, the Hawks at #3 and #11 were a big question mark. Everyone simply assumed they’d screw up. But they didn’t go wrong in selecting Florida’s Al Horford and Texas A&M’s Acie Law IV. Both are ready to contribute immediately and are proven winners at the college level. Horford has plenty of All Star games in him, while Law is a big-game player and an automatic upgrade at point guard in Atlanta.

Chicago Bulls: Take a look at the Bulls roster and their strategy is simple. They grab NBA-ready guys who were studs in college. The selections of Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray, and JamesOn Curry all fit that mold. Noah won’t add much scoring inside for the Bulls (something I felt they needed). But his intensity and toughness will make him a crowd favorite in Chicago, even if the rest of the league grows tired of his act. Gray’s gumpy ass can bring some depth and size off the bench, while Curry can hit a couple three pointers and sling drugs to the rest of the league.

Losers
Boston Celtics: Danny Ainge has officially replaced Isiah Thomas as the worst general manager in the NBA. Coming off an awful year, sitting with the 5th pick in a loaded draft seemed like a way to rebuild. So much for that. Ainge shipped that pick off (along with two other nice contributers) for oft-injured Ray Allen. He’s a hell of a player but this pick appears like a desperate measure to appease star Paul Pierce. Allen will be 32 when the season tips off. I think I’d rather have Corey Brewer.

Los Angeles Lakers: In just a couple hours, Mitch Kupciak showed why he’s simply incompetent as general manager. The Lakers drafted point guard Javaris Crittenton out of Georgia Tech. Sure, he’s talented. But the Lakers drafted Jordan Farmar last year. The triangle offense doesn’t need a point guard and the Lakers have drafted them in consecutive years. They also ended up with Sun Yue and Marc Gasol, who should be ready to contribute by the time Kobe Bryant files for social security.

Sacramento Kings: The Kings had just one pick in the draft and I didn’t like it. They used the 10th selection on Spencer Hawes, a “one and done” out of Washington. Hawes is slated to follow in the footsteps of Vlade Divac and Brad Miller as gumpy white center in Sac-Town. Hawes was incredibly hyped coming into college but didn’t show much of a tough streak, something I’d like out of a franchise center. He’s seven feet and grabbed six rebounds a game? There’s some great big men in the Western Conference. Hawes can’t hang with any of them.