Clippers Win The Lottery! Draft Order Determined, First Impressions

Randy LutzMay 19, 2009

As picks 14 through 7 were announced, things seemed to be going uneventfully.

The projected draft order according to last year’s record were awarded as they were supposed to be, with things unfolding as follows:

Phoenix at 14

TOP NEWS

Golden State at 7

This is the portion of the lottery where things began to get interesting however, and some teams began to see their hopes of drafting one of the top players available dwindle.

The sixth spot was then awarded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the fifth spot in the draft to the Wizards, the team who had the second most chance of landing the top pick.

This, of course left me wondering exactly how the remaining four picks might unfold, and then the real bomb landed when the Kings were awarded the fourth pick, putting the two teams with the most chance of landing the first pick outside the top three.

This of course left many in LA, Memphis, and Oklahoma City thrilled, as it would seem hard to miss with the top three players projected in the draft (Spanish guard Ricky Rubio, former UConn center Hasheem Thabeet, and former Oklahoma standout Blake Griffin).

With Spanish players having made a recent move in the NBA (Pau Gasol, Sergio Rodriguez, and Rudy Fernandez to name three big names) Ricky Rubio appears slated to follow suit.

With the lottery finally over, the next question becomes who goes first? It seems the foregone conclusion that Blake Griffin will be selected with the No. 1 overall pick, but who knows if that’s the case?

Hasheem Thabeet lining up alongside Chris Kaman would be interesting to watch and let’s face it, Baron Davis didn’t quite work out like the Clippers planned (of course no one seems to work out like the Clippers plan).

However, that being said, I can’t see them not taking Blake Griffin, lining him up at the 3 spot with Davis running the point and Camby and Kaman below seems like it would be a winning combination.

After Griffin comes off the board With Memphis drafting next, and some depth at point guard on the Grizzlies, I wonder if they might not entertain the notion of Thabeet pairing up alongside Marc Gasol in the paint, and a future front court of the 7’2” Haddadi with Thabeet making for a modern day version of the Twin Towers.

That would leave Rubio for the Thunder if they were interested; however, after the development of Westbrook this past season you have to wonder if they might not think about taking a player like Curry who, despite a lack of true NBA 2-guard size is a well-known scorer and might be able to line up alongside the lightning-quick Westbrook, creating a very small and fast backcourt.

Outside of the top three picks it seems to me that if Rubio falls to the Kings they’d happily take him and pair him with Kevin Martin, who has come along nicely.

Beyond that the only thought that really jumps out at me right off the bat is the possibility of the Suns taking Ty Lawson if he’s still around when their turn comes. It even strikes me they might try to trade up a bit (but not a lot) to get him.

Perhaps a team like Charlotte, who could use some veteran leadership, or Minnesota who could use the point guard help to help along the continued development of forward Al Jefferson would be interesting in a deal involving Steve Nash and the Suns 14th overall pick for theirs.

If so, the Suns could land a playmaker that could grow with Amare, and step into the starting lineup right away.

I’ve heard they were looking to possibly trade Nash, and are also reportedly looking to unload Shaquille O’Neal and his monster contract, and with teams looking to gear up for the summer of 2010 there just may be some suitors.

I’ll take a more in-depth look at the NBA draft in the coming days and weeks, these are just first impressions as I watched the lottery unfold.