The NBA draft lottery threw a number of NBA teams and agents for a loop. As we noted Tuesday, some teams will have awkward fits if they draft the best player available on the board. Look for lots of trade talk and positioning during the next few weeks. Here's a look at some of what I heard from NBA teams and agents Wednesday … • Clippers general manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy was pretty clear that the Clippers will take Blake Griffin with the No. 1 pick. "Clearly, we're taking Blake Griffin," Dunleavy told the Los Angeles Times in a telephone interview from Barcelona, Spain. "This guy is the No. 1 pick. We're extremely excited. He's the guy." So what about all those rumblings that Dunleavy has a crush on Ricky Rubio? I think he still does. Although I have no doubt the Clippers will take Griffin at No. 1 if they keep the pick, a number of NBA GMs said they believe the Clippers will be open to offers for the No. 1 pick -- especially if they can secure the services of Rubio in the process. A number of GMs continue to insist that the Clippers want to move Baron Davis and might be open to moving the pick to Memphis or Oklahoma City if either is willing to take on Davis' contract as part of the deal. Both teams will have the cap room this summer to make it happen. However, Clippers president Andy Roeser told me at the draft lottery that the rumors about moving Davis are bogus. I guess we'll see in the coming months. • As I first reported Tuesday night, the Grizzlies are strongly leaning toward selecting Hasheem Thabeet at No. 2. The reason? Several sources told me that owner Michael Heisley loves Thabeet. He wants the team to be tougher defensively and thinks Thabeet would give it the shot-blocking and size it desperately needs. I'm told that the rest of the Grizzlies' front office is partial to Rubio, but as we've seen the past few years, Heisley runs the show in Memphis. • Look for the Thunder to be pretty active in trade discussions with the No. 3 pick. They like Rubio, but if they draft him, they'll have to move Russell Westbrook to the 2-guard position. I talked to Thunder head coach Scott Brooks on Tuesday, and he said that although he believes that Westbrook can play the 2, Westbrook wants to be a 1. I think the challenge is that Westbrook is most effective when he has the ball in his hands and struggles more when forced to play off the ball. With Rubio and Kevin Durant likely to have the ball a lot in that offense, Westbrook would have to make an adjustment. When you factor in that neither Rubio nor Westbrook is an accomplished shooter yet, there is an issue. That's why a couple of teams think the Thunder might be willing to trade down in the draft. Two league sources said the Wizards and Thunder already had discussions about a swap of the No. 3 pick for the No. 5 pick and the Wizards' 2008 first-rounder, JaVale McGee. The Wizards want Rubio but would settle for Thabeet if he's the one who falls. The Thunder would get a long, lanky shot-blocker in McGee and then could get another guy they like, Arizona State's James Harden, at No. 5. • The Kings hope for a miracle, but they shouldn't count on it. If Rubio were to slip to them, they would do backflips, but it really seems unlikely. That puts the Kings in a tough position. I had them taking Jordan Hill in my first mock draft because Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson could use more help up front, but that probably won't happen. However, the point guard need is so glaring that I think the Kings may have to reach. I think the three guys to watch are Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings and Jonny Flynn, in that order. Holiday flew into Sacramento on Wednesday and works out with the Kings on Thursday. If the Kings like him, they should take him. He'll be an elite defender and could be a very good offensive player. • I had the Wizards taking Harden in the mock. Hill is another possibility. But from what I can gather, there's also a really good chance that Washington will trade this pick if it can't move up to No. 2 or No. 3 to get Ricky Rubio. The Wizards will aim for a splash in the playoffs next season, and if they could package the pick and get a veteran who could help them make a run, I think they would go for it. • Rumors persist that the Knicks have promised to take Stephen Curry with the No. 8 pick. I saw Knicks president Donnie Walsh at the draft lottery, and he was pretty adamant that they didn't mean to make a promise to Curry. When Curry was going through the process of deciding whether to declare for the draft, the Knicks relayed that they liked Curry and would consider him at the No. 8 pick. But it wasn't a guarantee. There are too many scenarios in this draft -- one of which was that back then, the Knicks didn't even know where they would be drafting. However, I don't think there's any dispute that they are big Curry fans, and if the draft goes according to form, he's the likely pick for the Knicks. • The Pistons also might end up trading their first-round pick. They need a forward or center, and at No. 15, there aren't many great options on the table. At that point in the draft, point guards are the strength. But there's another reason the Pistons could end up moving their pick. The team is trying to get around $25 million under the cap. Right now it is about $19 million under. Trading the pick would put it $20.6 million under. If Detroit can find a team interested in Amir Johnson, it would be closer to $24 million under. That would give the Pistons enough cash to pursue two top-tier free agents -- most likely a big, such as Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap, and another guard or forward, such as Ben Gordon or Trevor Ariza. • Georgetown's DaJuan Summers has garnered some terrific buzz of late. He's been working out in L.A., and a number of NBA scouts have gotten word back that he's been excellent in workouts alongside Wake Forest's James Johnson. Summers was ranked in the midteens on our Big Board earlier in the season, but he struggled terribly in the second half of the season. However, scouts say Summers is bigger, more athletic and more capable of playing the 4 than they saw in Georgetown's system. His current range looks to be No. 15 to No. 25. • While I was in New York, I traveled east to Long Island to watch UConn's A.J. Price work out. Some terrible traffic in the area meant I got to see only around 30 minutes of the workout, but Price looks to be in great shape. He won't be a great workout player. He's a point guard who's at his best when he's playing in a real game. But he showed off a nice midrange jump shot and a terrific stutter-step off the dribble. His NBA 3-pointer was inconsistent, but that has been the case with every prospect I've seen on the workout tour. • Finally, I saw Arizona's Chase Budinger at the Attack Athletics gym Wednesday, along with teammate Jordan Hill. Budinger looks as though he's added some muscle to his frame and looks terrific in drills. He has a pretty jump shot and is an explosive athlete. He also looked pretty good in his lane-agility drills. He's coming off his best season in college, and if he continues to get stronger, teams will feel more comfortable playing him at the 3. Budinger already has had a workout in Detroit and will be in Indiana on Thursday for another. There's no question that Budinger has lottery talent. Two years ago, we had him ranked in our top 10. However, teams still worry a bit about his toughness. He'll have to get physical in workouts and prove that he's willing to do the dirty work. If he does that, he'll have a good shot of going in the middle of the first round. If he doesn't, someone will take him in the 20s.
