The Fig Cap: This is where amazing happens.

Tonight, the NBA holds its annual rite of passage for young men hoping to lace up their kicks and have the sole of their sneakers touch an NBA court. However, before doing that, the solid choices to go within the first 15 picks or so will need to sweat it out in their seats, wonder how they're going to give NBA commissioner David Stern a pound, and find out where they'll be living for the next three or four years.

Here at About.com, we did a series of mock drafts:

• About.com Contributors Mock Draft
• NBA Mock Draft 3.0
• NBA Mock Draft 2.0
• NBA Mock Draft 1.0

But then, naturally, on the eve of the NBA Draft, teams thought they would mess around with everyone that does mock drafts professionally, such as myself, and throw a curveball into the process by making several trades that potentially changes the draft board. Here are the trades that went down on the eve of the draft that actually still either await league approval or become finalized between the teams in question:

• New Orleans Hornets trade their 27th pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash. (Read More)
• Denver Nuggets trade their 20th pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for a future, protected first round pick. (Read More)
• The Indiana Pacers trade Jermaine O'Neal to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, the 17th overall pick, and a player to be named later. (Read More)

So, if those trades do go through, and the basketball gods know there are rumors of even more trades going down, what will the draft order be? Check out NBADraft.net for the updated order, as well as their own mock. We respect their work and figured we'd share.

If you want some background on tonight's roundball meat market, peep the following:

• How The NBA Draft Lottery Works
• 2008 NBA Draft Prospect Profiles

In any case, let's all remember kids, that anything can happen at the NBA Draft. Not only will players' fortunes change, but franchises as well. Ask the Boston Celtics who, amongst other things like send Al Jefferson to the Minnesota Timberwolves, traded their lottery pick in order to get Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, two huge difference makers in helping the Celtics go from having the second-worst record in the league one season to an NBA championship the next. So, you never know... you never know.

The 2008 NBA Draft goes down at Madison Square Garden's WAMU Theater at 7PM ET and can be watched on ESPN. Teams get five minutes to pick in the first round and only two minutes in the second round. So, check it out because the future is now!!!

Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

After only winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, how will USA Basketball respond? By sending these players to try to get back the gold and once again cement the United States' footing as a dominant force in internation men's basketball.

The addition of current NBA MVP, Kobe Bryant, made a difference during last year's FIBA America's qualifying tournament and he should do the same at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China... despite what Shaquille O'Neal raps about Kobe.

Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Okay, folks, we are thisclose to being done with this NBA mock draft amongst some of the contributors here at About.com. So, check out the UPDATE. Looking at other mock drafts, on a personal note, it was nice to see that my "stretch" for Russell Westbrook for my New York Knicks wasn't too much of one. Why do I say that? In NBADraft.net's latest mock, they also have Westbrook at six. Genius!

Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Fig Cap: Number 17 for the Celtics... the first for KG and the Truth.

It wasn't even close. After Kobe Bryant started on fire, but then crashed by missing seven straight shots, it seemed like it was over. Actually it was over, especially considering the Boston Celtics outscored the Los Angles Lakers, 34-15 during that period and never stopped going in the second half thanks to bench players such as Eddie House and James Posey who have made their impact known throughout the NBA Finals.

The NBA Finals clincher is especially sweet for the Celtics' Big Three - Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen - veterans who have exceled in the NBA, but always had a NBA title elude their hands. The 17th Boston Celtics' championship not only cements the Celtics' legend as one of the best teams in professional sports, but also does the same for Garnett's reputation as one of the greatest players in NBA history. After dominating the league in a singular sense, Garnett gets his ring, lifting the Celtics team back into the spotlight and silencing his critics at the same time.

There were high expectations after the Celtics traded for both Garnett and Allen, shunning any thoughts of building for the future, and indicating that they were going all in in trying to get a title. The gamble paid off.

Congratulations to the Boston Celtics, the 2008 NBA Champions.

Photo: Elsa/Getty Images