With Ricky Rubio in, NBA Draft Is Point-Guard Heavy
Before a few weeks ago, the draft status of Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio, was unknown.
As soon as he announced that he will indeed enter his name into the draft, the 2009 draft class went from decent to good.
Rubioโs entrance into the draft forces everyoneโs potential draft position down by one spot, with the exception of Blake Griffin.
The greater population of North America was first introduced to Rubio during the 2008 Summer Olympics, when he manned the point guard position for the international powerhouse Spain.
At 17, Rubio, wowed audiences with his hustle and creativity with the ball. He is the type of player that can take over a game with his intensity and scoring ability.
With Rubio in the draft, it also makes this class unbelievably loaded with point guards. According to NBAdraft.net, nine of the first twenty-one picks are expected to be point guards.
This includes American high-school standout Brandon Jennings, who chose to play internationally rather than in the NCAA. Also in the point guard mix are Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry, Eric Maynor, Ty Lawson, Tyreke Evans, Jeff Teague, and St Maryโs little man, Patty Mills.
Thatโs just the first round.
There are also some gems to be found in the second round. Leading scorer in the ACC Toney Douglas, UCLA floor general Darren Collison, UCONN clutch performer AJ Price, and Boston Collegeโs version of Nate Robinson, Tyrese Rice.
This draft is perfect for a team like the Washington Wizards, who are in need of a good point guard. They still have Gilbert Arenas, but he is more suited for the shooting guard position because he has a shoot-first mentality.
Other teams that might be looking forward to snatching a point guard at the draft could possibly be Houston, Minnesota, Memphis, Milwaukee and Sacramento.
Fifty Mission Cap will release its first-annual NBA mock draft as soon as the draft order is determined on May 19. The NBA has recently released the odds for each team to win the lottery:
- Sacramento Kings (17-65) - 25.0 percent
- Washington Wizards (19-63) - 17.8 percent
- Los Angeles Clippers (19-63) - 17.7 percent
- Oklahoma City Thunder (23-59) - 11.9 percent
- Minnesota Timberwolves (24-58) - 7.6 percent
- Memphis Grizzlies (24-58) - 7.5 percent
- Golden State Warriors (29-53) - 4.3 percent
- New York Knicks (32-50) - 2.8 percent
- Toronto Raptors (33-49) - 1.7 percent
- Milwaukee Bucks (34-48) - 1.0 percent
- New Jersey Nets (34-38) - 0.9 percent
- Charlotte Bobcats (35-47) - 0.7 percent
- Indiana Pacers (36-46) - 0.6 percent
- Phoenix Suns (46-36)- 0.5 percent
