Bird on NBA Draft: 'Some strange things have happened'

It's already started. The trade calls ringing around the front offices, the free agent rumors lighting up Twitter, the deals working out before the league's biggest offseason primetime event.

The NBA Draft happens tonight at 7 p.m., but the fun has already kicked off.

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the first trade of the day between the Memphis Grizzlies and one of the busiest teams this offseason, the Charlotte Hornets. It certainly won't be the last trade of this chaotic Thursday.

Speaking from experience, Larry Bird, the Pacers' president of basketball operations, know they'll be plenty others.

Last week in an interview with The Star, Bird shared his experience on the peculiarity of draft day. Even once hearing from a fellow executive who just wanted to make a deal -- because, hey, why not?

"Everybody wants to be a part of the draft and if they're not in the draft, they want to get in the draft. Some strange things have happened, so you can't predict what's going to happen," Bird said last Thursday.

"I had a guy one time call me about five minutes to go in the draft, I was getting ready to pick my second-round pick and he goes: 'Let's just make a trade to make a trade,'" Bird recalled. "He said, 'Well, you haven't made one yet and I haven't made one, let's just make a trade.' It's just crazy. Everybody wants to be part of something, ya know."

Random trade requests aside, there will be real movement. And it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Pacers deal away their No. 11 pick in lottery -- "We're not afraid to trade the pick," general manager Kevin Pritchard said on Wednesday. "We've heard a lot about 11, there's interest in 11."

However, the Wild West, free-for-all will be more prevalent in the second round. The Pacers also possess the No. 43 pick.

"People try to buy it, people try to move out of theirs, people want to trade for futures, it's non-stop," Bird said last week. The Pacers did conduct a trade last year for their No. 57 pick. "That's why you have so many people on the phones."

And why Bird likes to be prepared for anything that may happen.

"I'm down there (in draft room) a lot but I'm also in my office a lot because it's easier to concentrate when I'm by myself," Bird said. "It's really interesting but there will be people trying to trade up to get our pick with 10 minutes on the clock. That's how it happens. They'll call and say, 'we'll give you so-and-so and our pick to move up to 11.' Everybody likes to wait till the last second. I like to get my work done early."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.