2009 NBA Draft Rumors and Notes

Posted by Phil Partington Jun 9, 2009

Blake Griffin is still the consensus number one pick. He's a legitimate 6-10, and is strong as an ox. What's more, he's a fantastic ball handler for someone his height, despite playing primarly under the basket. He also plays above the rim and has tremendous work ethic. Despite the Clippers being loaded with bigs, Griffin should have no trouble getting minutes and could be a star right away.

Ricky Rubio is still fighting his Spanish team about reducing the buyout amount for his contract. Rumor has it that he's leery of playing in Memphis, where two other Spanish players have had bad experiences (Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro). That being said, the Grizzlies might be in favor of moving the pick or selecting Hasheem Thabeet to give them an athletic shot-blocker.

The OKC Thunder are a big question mark on this draft board. GM Sam Presti comes from the Spurs' organization, and they were known for being hush-hush about everything, then surprising fans. He surprised folks a bit last year by taking Russell Westbrook with the fourth overall pick, though that's panned out so far. Rubio, Thabeet, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and a couple others are on OKC's radar.

Here is a scenario that might play out.

1. Clippers take Blake Griffin
2. Grizzlies take Hasheem Thabeet
3. Thunder take Ricky Rubio
4. Sacramento take Tyreke Evans
5. Wizards trade this pick to the Knicks, Bobcats or Trail Blazers. That team takes Stephen Curry.