Whose the starting SG? I can't remember right now, but I would say that Holiday fell into a good situation?

Who's left? Mills , ummm Jeff Adrien maybe? who else might make it if they get picked?

Tyrese Rice might have a shot.

no tyrese rice yet

Very happy that the Hornets traded for Marcus Thornton. He will score some points in the league, will be great to see him do it home in Louisiana. If he picks up the game well enough, wouldn't be surprised to see him take Peja's place sooner rather than later. Peja is well on his way out.

I agree, I think hes a nice sleeper that could do quite well given a shot.

LeBron I'd love to see in New Jersey. But regardless, they'll never play in Brooklyn unless it's on a basketball court outdoors.

Andre Iguodala. Thaddeus Young is a good young wing player at SF. Of course, they have Elton Brand at either the 4 or 5 as well.

Mills to Portland, not bad.

Patty to Portland - not a bad fit. He'll get a chance at PT there.

I'm assuming that's Danny Green just because ESPN loves showing highlights of Danny green dancing...

prediction: Danny Green has a better NBA career than Wayne Ellington.

They're going to put the 6'0" guy at SG?

Good luck with that.

Lawlz

Suns just drafted a 6-9 Euro who can't shoot. What - there wasn't another crappy brother on the board?

wademoore or lordscarlet?

No Adrien or Rice, I'm sure they will be brought in and possibly sign FA deals, then off to the NBDL they go

also Dozier as the last pick. meh

Should work well with playing Jefferson at C too.



Motto for NBA basketball in Minnesota remains, "Well, at least we have Tubby." :shrug:

Oh, and sorry the Clippers still won't be seeing the Wolves pick for the next couple years either.

Happy to see Dante Cunningham get drafted. I doubt he'll do anything, but the way he improved over a two-year stretch was very impressive and he was a key cog to 'Nova's Final Four team.

I guess the story on Brandon Jennings is his agent was worried about him dropping real far and being "that guy" who ends up being the last one in attendance drafted. So they hid him till he was drafted.

so he's a primadonna or can't stand up to the pressure?

sounds like a solid pick

I have to say at this point I'm not a fan of either Jennings or Rubio.

If you're going to be at the draft then be at the draft. Sit in the green room and if you don't get called early then just take the "humiliation" of being a slightly less wealthy millionaire who's not even old enough to drink legally or sit with your family up in the crowd like the guys who know they're going to be a 2nd round pick and then come up on stage when you get picked. Showing up a few picks later just made him look like a total ass IMO. I predict that experiment fails miserably and Jennings drives Skiles out of his mind. The Bucks should have taken Jrue Holiday.

Rubio I'm just sick of. First he looks like he belongs on some kind of Disney Channel show - 2nd now his dad is saying he might just stay in Europe and his mom says Minnesota is too cold for her. Who do they think they are? Maybe if they wouldn't have started making demands about who he would play for then he wouldn't have fallen to 5th. I'm just this is more posturing by them to get him to New York via trade and it probably will work which makes it worse.

Seems like every international draft-eligible player was in the crowd.

All I am asking for is for you guys to stay bad for three more seasons, and then we get a lottery pick outta ya! ;)

After that, you can go be as good as you want.

well its the only time NBA fans will see most of them

BTW, as a Pistons fan - very dissapointed in the draft. For a while there I felt Joe D was one of the top execs in the league but he hasn't made a good move in forever. I think the draft was an absolute disaster. I'm sure a 6-11 sub 200 lb player who doesn't like contact is just the kind of guy who will flourish in the NBA. I don't have a problem with taking a SF if he's the best guy left but why not take the one who went next? I would much rather have taken James Johnson. In fact I would have much rather taken Jrue Holiday, moved Stuckey to the 2 and traded Rip.

Summers - not a bad pick - but I would have prefered Blair. Jerebko. Why? Why not Derrick Brown or even Jodie Meeks.

The team has three players - Stuckey, Rip and Prince (I really hope McDyess goes somewhere he can win) so lets see - we don't have a 4 or a 5 and our 1 is really more of a combo guard....I know, 3 small forwards! I'd like to think somehow Zeke snuck into the front office, tied Joe D up in a closet and made those picks but sadly I think Joe may have just gotten extremely lucky in his early dealings and has ever since been trying to duplicate those great moves and trying to look like a genius with every move leading to one bad move after the next.

I agree with both of these points.

Ricky Rubio = Eli Manning effect? -- Suck it up and play where you were drafted you primadonna, or else go back to Spain.

Simmons' draft diary:

Bill Simmons' 13th annual NBA Draft Diary - ESPN

Yeah, apparently Ricky Rubio is Spanish for Eli Manning which is bitch-ese for "shut up and go where you're drafted"

EDIT: dang, DT beat me to it

SI

Quality stuff again. When the man talks NBA, he's good. If only that were more than about 25% of the time because I could give a rat's ass what he thinks about the latest crappy tv show, his name dropping, and stupid pop culture digressions.

SI

In preparation for, and in advance of, his new book, he's been much more NBA-focused.

w00t..

might as well get a free trip to New York out of your agent if nothing else :) I know for a fact that a german player a couple years back had that written into his contract with his agency.

Rubio has been very up front about possibly staying in Europe. I wouldn´t go to just any company when i had to pay 2 years worth of salary either.
Plus that paper (Marca) citing his parents is notorious when it comes to making stuff up.

I think he's right in that he is a legit point, but my issue with him (and if I'm remembering correct wade, we agreed on this in the tourney thread) is that he can't shoot a lick outside of his pull up floater which I doubt will fly at the next level.

:D

And what would motivate you to make such a statement?

I'm afraid you are right. I don't know if the problems is Rubio or his parents and/or USA agent, but they all have done things really bad and that is why he ended #5 instead of in the top 3.

Rubio has done things bad from the beginning, talking about the teams he doesn't want to go etc. Now his dad is saying that he is going to stay in Spain for a year or two... and maybe then go to the NBA... maybe.

Hope this is not Fran Vazquez 2.0 but it starts to look so.

He should have learned from Gasol, that went to Memphis with his mouth closed, played there his contract and ended in LA with a ring in his hand. Look at his brother Marc following same steps.

Rubio might be an star in Spain, but he is just another guy in USA and he should be more humble and just the thankful to the team that drafted him, insted of bitching about the weather or going to a bad team. Of course if you want to be a top 3, you will end in a bad team, that is why they have those high picks, because they sucked past year.

Maybe he is following his agent advice trying to force a trade with those comments... but anyway his reputation is going to get really damaged after that and who knows if his NBA career can end before starting.

He's not alone in doing this though - you see US kids doing it too. I think it's just because these are 18-22 year old KIDS that are being put under a ton of pressure and being given the keys to more money than they've ever had. They've also been coddled for years, by coaches, by parents, by agents, by media, and hyped up into being "larger than life" in their little worlds. It's a lot to ask a kid's ego to hold that in check. Some can, but most cannot.


Assuming he can perform, I don't think you have to worry about that - whatever team he ends up with the fans will embrace him and be happy - much like Giants fans with Eli who were so happy because he forced his way there to play for them. Made them feel special and wanted as fans. You know it's also a forgiving culture in that respect - there may be a bit of bad press about it initially, and definately some who hold a grudge, but by and large the media will forget about it quickly.

On Rubio's defense, the only one i can think about, is that Min taking another PG in the following pick didn't show a lot of confidence on him or that they have plans for him to being the franchise PG with tons of playing time, that would be the only attractive thing for a top pick that is already the leader of his Euro team.

I understand that Minessota played conservative here, two PG's in case Rubio stays in Spain but... if you had doubts, do not draft him, or just sign and trade if you think it was an once in a lifetime chance.

Yeah its really too bad on Rubio because I like what everyone says his style of game is. I think teams could benefit from a pass-first point guard who can make others around him better and I'm all for international players making it in the league - it only expands the popularity of the game as I'm sure Gasol did for Spain and Yao has done in China. I just am very turned off by the entire show he, his family and his agent put on. If he wanted to stay in Spain that's fine but he's trying to hold not one but multiple teams hostage with that threat and it cost him. There's a pretty sizeable money difference from #2 to #5 - why not just shut up, get drafted #2 and play? If you don't like it then go to management and say you're not happy and ask them to trade you because you will be leaving at the end of your contract.

He might get his wish of playing for NY (which I would think if the Minnesota weather is a problem wouldn't the NY weather be too?) but at least he'll be getting #5 money instead of #2. I hope the kid succeeds but all he's done is put a bulls-eye on himself with all this nonsense.

I wouldn't want to pay $6m to join the Timberwolves either. How many years are left on the contract with his current club?

Seeing Fran Vazquez's name brings back bad memories as an Orlando fan. What a disaster.

Yup - I even said it somewhere earlier in this thread - the thing that could keep him from being successful in the NBA is certainly his shooting. He seems to have all of the other tools to be a successful PG, but even a "true PG" as it is trendy to call it these days has to be able to shoot.

This might support my theory about he getting upset mainly because the amount of Pg's drafted by Min and possible problems with playing time:

The 6ft-4in guard, who turned professional at age 14, said his priority was game-time rather than marketing ahead of joining the Timberwolves, whose home base lacks the profile of more cosmopolitan destinations.
"I'm thinking about to play minutes," Rubio said.
"That's my love. I want to play basketball, and if they give me minutes, I'm going to come."
BUY-OUT
Unlike other top picks, the teen's draft status has been complicated by a 4.75 million euro ($6.6 million) fee his Spanish club DKV Joventut has demanded for his release.
"Now I know where I'm going to go, so I have to talk with the team, what exactly they want about me, and if necessary, I'm going to pay the buy-out," he said. "We are closer to an agreement with the team, so we are going to see."
"That's a big surprise for me they took another point guard," Rubio said. "But we are going to see what they want."


Now this is a comment from a Min fan about the two PG draft picks, that i totally agree with:

"This will never ever work. A small PG that is supposed to play SG? Two real PG's on the court at the same time, both who need the ball in their hands? Who will get the outlet passes? Who will lead the team?
Rubio won't come over till Flynn gets traded. Taking Flynn was a slap in Rubio's face. Why pay 4 Mio on your own when the Wolves don't really trust your abilities?"

In the idiotic modern world of sports analysis where players get judged for team accomplishments, I don't at all blame a guy for not wanting to get drafted by certain teams.

When did Minnesota hire Billy Knight to run their draft? In Atlanta he tried to stockpile every small forward that was eligible, now it's point guards in Minnesota.

If you're going to allow people to dictate the teams they will play for though then you might as well do away with the draft altogether and just go back to a free-for-all.

I really think they never intended to play Rubio in the first place. Flynn is their guy and Rubio was the most valuable trade asset in the draft. Of course Kahn has to say they're not going to trade him and they will play both - he loses leverage if he says anything else. They know the Knicks want him badly - I think they can just sit on him until NY is willing to pay. Wilson Chandler would be a good target for the Wolves - Jordan Hill might be a decent guy too. I could see the Knicks doing those two for Rubio.

I don't think they would do that, unless they can pick up other assets for Robinson and Lee in sign-and-trades.

Lee they definitely should be able to get something via sign and trade - that might even be a possibility with Minnesota but the TWolves need a 2 or 3 before they need Lee. Chandler would be an ideal player for them. Robinson they might be able to get something as well.

Don't forget they still have Gallinari who is supposedly healthy and they just traded for Milicic who will give them some size at least. Lee and Robinson are almost givens to be out the door - I don't know if they can convince Minnesota to take one of them but if they can and could keep Chandler or Hill out of the deal that would be a win for NY.

I'd be perfectly happy with telling guys to shut up and go play wherever the hell they're drafted if there wasn't this big emphasis on judging individual players by team performances. But when their career is going to be examined by how well the teams they are on perform, in essence judging them for being drafted by a crappy team, then it only seems natural for players to want to choose where they go.

If I had to pay $4 million to come to the NBA, I'd probably be pretty picky about the team. The last thing you want to do is spend $4-5 million of yours (or your handler's) money only to play backup to another rookie for the first few seasons. Then, the media kills you for being a "bust" and you have a sabotaged career.

The Minnesota Rubio-Flynn picks smell funny and I wouldn't be in a hurry to join Minnesota either if I were Rubio. Let them sort this out and if it turns out they want to keep both Flynn and himself, why not play another year in Europe and save the buyout? If you have leverage, you are silly not to use it - especially in a situation that stinks like this Minnesota "we love you but we drafted two other PGs (Flynn, FL kid) we plan on keeping" crud. Could you imagine paying $4 million to come play for Minnesota - only to play 3rd string (or even go the D-League) because they are going with Flynn and another guy for this season?

There's no way I'd want to play for the Wolves either.