Memphis Grizllies Get the #2 Pick in the NBA Draft

[EKBATAN]

if they pick thabeet, does that mean its over for haddadi? if they pick him that means they have no faith in hamed....no team has 3 centers

[Türküm]

if they pick thabeet, does that mean its over for haddadi? if they pick him that means they have no faith in hamed....no team has 3 centers

there are plenty of teams with 3 centers bro...some even with 4 players capable of playing center

[Demis-11]

i think theres too much hype surrounding Rubio not to take him 2nd overall, even though Memphis would have to pay Joventut for his release, ive seen Rubio plenty of times and I can say this about him:

Highs: Incredible B-Ball IQ for his age, great vision, excellent passer, very lean, very versitile, pretty darn good defender..always tries to be a pest for those with the ball

Lows: Not the greatest shooter, has a good first step but not too fast (this can be worked on since hes so young), could use some muscle

either way it makes sense for Rubio to be drafted..I mean..even if Memphis didnt want him they can trade him away, Thabeet is a big question mark and it will be interesting to see how he turns out, but after Conley Memphis have who? Jaric? they need a PG, im sure they'll give Haddadi more time this year and Gasol seems like he will mature quickly

Rubio for #2

as for Clippers, yea there front court is gonna be good, but keep in mind

a) zach randolph...enough said..can they trade him? (mission impossible)
b) kaman and camby are far from being injury prone

maybe clippers will break out of their little horrible, humiliating shell theyve made for themselves all these years...but the rest of their team is garbage, sure thorton and gordon are good, but who is their backup in these spots...ricky davis??...and Le'Baron might be on his way out..i still cant see Clippers being competitive

for a lackluster draft, this is gonna be interesting

[EKBATAN]

there are plenty of teams with 3 centers bro...some even with 4 players capable of playing center

capable yea but not actual centers...look at all these playoff teams, only team with real centers is lakers

just in general, there arent many centers in nba anymore....btw, i think gasol should play power forward

[Behzad12]

for some reason i dont see the clippers drafting griffen unless a trade happens as well.
they have camby, kaman and zach randolph up front and they are all proven players in the league. why add griffen? only thing that makes sense if a trade happens as well.

also rumors are floating that the grizz are a big fan of thabeet.

[KasraKhan]

for some reason i dont see the clippers drafting griffen unless a trade happens as well.
they have camby, kaman and zach randolph up front and they are all proven players in the league. why add griffen? only thing that makes sense if a trade happens as well..

As of now, the Clipps are taking him:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,5679790.story

Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy says they will choose Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, the consensus No. 1 player available.
By Lisa Dillman
May 20, 2009
Danny Manning, Michael Olowokandi . . . and now Blake Griffin.

The Clippers have twice had the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, and will get it again for a third time, having won the league's draft lottery Tuesday night at Secaucus, N.J.


"Clearly, we're taking Blake Griffin," Clippers General Manager and Coach Mike Dunleavy said in a telephone interview from Barcelona, Spain.

"This guy is the No. 1 pick. We're extremely excited. He's the guy."

There wasn't much of a question the Clippers would do anything other than take the dynamic, explosive forward from Oklahoma. Dunleavy, though, wasn't about to be coy in the wee morning hours in Spain and erased any shred of doubt about the team's intention in the draft June 25 in New York.


They moved up from third to first -- armed with a 17.7% chance of winning -- and their upward progression had international reverberations for a beleaguered, hard-luck franchise.

Memphis will pick second, moving up from sixth, followed by Oklahoma City and Sacramento, which had the league's worst record. The Kings, represented by Chris Webber, had a 25% chance of winning. Washington dropped from second to fifth, and Minnesota and Golden State will pick sixth and seventh, respectively.

At the NBA Entertainment Studio, the league and ESPN put on quite a production, which had the look of a sports event morphed with a quiz show.

Webber joked the Kings' owners, the Maloofs, wouldn't let him come back to Sacramento if he didn't get the top pick. And Mr. October, baseball legend Reggie Jackson, tried to become Mr. May, joining the Knicks' effort as a guest on a late whim, more or less.

Clippers team representative, President Andy Roeser, looked jubilant on the ESPN broadcast, having gutted it out through a long commercial break before the drama of the final three. He doesn't consider himself to be superstitious, but his wife had a Clippers No. 1 sewn into his jacket.

"We had a tough season. There's no hiding from it. Not only did we have a tough season, we didn't perform well on top of it. We needed some good news and this is a great day for us," Roeser said later on a conference call.

Said Griffin, in an ESPN interview: "I was obviously excited. . . . Just to play in the NBA has been a dream for so long. It's a great feeling I'm going to try to make the best out of whatever situation I'm put in. Hopefully I can make a big impact. I'm going to try to come in and learn as much as I can on the fly, and hopefully help the team out in any way I can."

Dunleavy, who was in Spain to scout guard Ricky Rubio, got a flood of e-mails and congratulatory text messages, starting with his sons. Rubio, in fact, had gotten injured 12 minutes into the first game Dunleavy watched. He did come back with a strong performance in the second game of the Spanish playoffs, scoring 16 points.

Now it appears Rubio will land in Memphis. Griffin, who led the nation in double-doubles last season, could have had an up-close-and-personal look at the Clippers in April. On the same night he received the Wooden Award in Los Angeles as the college basketball player of the year, the Clippers were playing Sacramento a few miles away, fighting for better lottery odds.

The Kings lost that night. But it hardly mattered, as it turned out.

"It's very positive for us because most people feel the draft is not a good draft," Dunleavy said. "There's a big difference between us going No. 1 and being No. 6. That's clearly a big positive. Last year, we knew we'd get a good player at six or seven."

Still, the Clippers are not through with decisions. Griffin's addition will raise questions about what to do with the big men currently on the roster: Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman.

Dunleavy spoke about Griffin as a major asset.

Said Roeser: "It's not a good problem. It's a great problem."

Words not often heard by Clippers fans before Tuesday night.

[Türküm]

it could be a smokescreen!

Oklahoma City REALLY wants this kid and Silver is well aware

[Babak]

The Clippers will draft Griffin 100% with the first pick, and then ship out Zach Randolph, maybe even Marcus Camby.

Rubio will be the #2 pick, but there is no guarantee that he will be playing for Memphis. The Grizz are too high on Conley now, and it would make more sense for them to trade the #2 pick for a big time package. Don't be surprised to see a team desperate for a PG like the Warriors trade the #7 pick and some other young players to move up and take Rubio at #2.

Thabeet is almost a lock at #3 to OKC. Mixed in with Westbrook, Jeff Green, and Durant is the perfect scenario for both him and the team.

[Behzad12]

As of now, the Clipps are taking him:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,5679790.story

yeah i read that just minutes ago lol.

i dont get it though
i dont think anyone wants to take on zach randolph or cambys fat contracts. there pretty much impossible to move. there are rumors that kaman will go to the bulls though.

time will tell what ends up happening

[EKBATAN]

grizzlies fans dont like thabeet...check out their forum

[KasraKhan]

Latest:

Rubio said he doesnt want to play for either Memphis or OKC. He says he will not show up to camp if he is drafted by either team. Same thing as Yi Jianlian a few years ago, and not coincendentally, they have the same agent.

So either Memphis/OKC will have enough guts and try to call this guys bluff, or they trade down and avoid the controversy.

[Türküm]

Latest:
Rubio said he doesnt want to play for either Memphis or OKC. He says he will not show up to camp if he is drafted by either team. Same thing as Yi Jianlian a few years ago, and not coincendentally, they have the same agent.
So either Memphis/OKC will have enough guts and try to call this guys bluff, or they trade down and avoid the controversy.

there has already been a statement made which was pretty much 'F U FEGAN'

[Demis-11]

rubio is a little punk if he doesnt wanna go to either of these teams!, for crying out loud your 18yrs old and these teams have enough trust in your potential to take you 2nd or 3rd overall (even though the draft is weak) you play to win, who cares about the city your gonna visit every city out there anyways! plus your buddy Marc doesnt seem to care playing in Memphis

sooo

#2 pick, gay, mayo for bosh and kapono lol

[persian boy]

not a great start to his soon to be NBA career. he is already showing that he has some arrogance in him.
IMO the guy is overrated. Jennings is way better

[Darvish11]

^^^yea ppl are forgetting about jennings, that guys a baller