Actually, just a draft lottery generator gizmo. I had thought this would go down through the rest of the 1st round. Sorry about that. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/lottery2009/mockdraft
Mainly cause his contract oversees and bringing him to the States, both these things will make him fall out of the top five. Also, I don't think most teams consider the European pros to be as good and collegiate athletes. Not a knock on talent on the guy, I have seen plenty of impressive YouTube videos of his play, but that type of game doesn't translate to the NBA immediately, if ever.
The talent is there....I haven't seen anything that wouldn't put Rubio a #2 other than his contract issues...but the teams that will be up there for the top couple spots will have money to burn and Rubio's upside is too much to ignore...any team that passes on Rubio after Griffin....especially in this draft...will be kicking themselves later. During the medal games against the "Redeem Team" Rubio got nothing but praise from the likes of Kobe and Chris Paul...saying that Rubio is a special talent right now, at 18!!! If evaluation from those guys who had hands-on opporunity to check his abilities doesn't count...I don't know what would. Not to mention his charisma an his ability to put butts in the seats. I'd take Rubio #2, with a quickness and not look back. In an interview with Rubio: "...Here are some things NBA-USABasketball players told me about you during the past Olympics in Beijing. Jason Kidd: "The sky is the limit for him"; Carmelo Anthony: "Ricky is the most fascinating story of the Olympics"; Kobe Bryant: "He's played awesome, he single hand changed the course of some games" or Chris Paul: "Ricky is unbelievable". Not to mention what your partners in the Spanish national team and NBA players like Gasol, Calderón, Rudy Fernández, Marc Gasol or former like Navarro, Garbajosa and Raúl López told me. How does it feel?...." link: http://www.nbadraft.net/rubiointerview.htm
I'm glad we don't have the lotto to look forward to. This draft, outside Rubio and Griffin, is very 'meh.' I'd like Thabeet......as a backup.
Blake is so explosive, it's crazy. Granted, he's not tall, but he reminds me of LBJ in that respect. You see how fast he'll spin and dunk the ball. It's crazy. He was smart to wait another year. Rubio will be good. He's got great height and plays in a good league and national team. Don't know if he declares this year though.
If Rubio enters this draft and falls out of the top five due to contract concerns, Portland should absolutely investigate buying/trading into his rights. I think he's going to be a very good point guard, and this would be a great chance to add an impact player at the one potential weak spot on the team.
I read somewhere that if Rubio doesn't go in the top three, his contract won't cover his buyout, and the team that drafts him is only allowed to contribute $500,000 I believe, so he might pull out if he doesn't think he will go in the top three. My dream is to root for the Clippers to be the worst team in the league, then we get the first pick in the second round. Then we hope teams that really don't need a PG win the second and third picks in the lottery, but he stays in anyway, and hope he let's teams know that he won't be able to afford a buyout later in the first round, so he falls to the second round. It happened in 2003 when Maciej Lampe was expected to be a top five pick, but fell to the Knicks at the top of the second round due to buyout issues. He turned out to not have top five talent, or much at all for that matter, but I still love the idea of having the first pick of the second round available to use in that way. I doubt it happens with Rubio, but that's the only slim chance I see of us getting him.
I would love Rubio, but thats pretty unlikely. IDK if there is really anyone i'd want in the draft, maybe Blair. (that is realistic, that is) Edit - I forgot Jennings. I would love Jennings.
