Blake Griffin NBA bound

[Andrew]

Source

Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin will give up his final two years of eligibility and head to the NBA after a sophomore season that ended with him being recognized as college basketball's top player. Griffin announced his decision Tuesday at a campus news conference alongside coach Jeff Capel, saying it was time to take his game to the next level.

A collective sigh of relief and high-fives amongst the executives on teams that are lottery bound, no doubt.

[Modifly]

After reading this I had to google him up and see his stats. Those are impressive numbers and he sounds promising. Let's see how he does in the NBA.

[benji]

With Ty Lawson out of the draft, I don't think there's anyone who's a challenge to him for number one pick.

He's not Duncan level, but this is looking like 1997 draftwise. An obvious number one, and a few later stars (Billups, McGrady) who will go lower to players who look better now. (DeJuan Blair!)

[Lamrock]

On the off chance that he would declare, I bet Ricky Rubio could challenge for the #1 pick if a PG impaired team or Toronto wins the lottery.

[benji]

But that would just encourage some people.

[JaoSming]

Yay the Kings, will, still, suck...

[diddy]

he is great power forward, he is #1 pick 100%, and any team that takes him will benefit: Kings, Wizz, NYK, Clips or, may be Toronto would swap seeds with NYK before playoffs, so they'd have a shot too! anyway if it gonna be Kniks or Clips they would have to trade some big man, but this changes is needed!

[benji]

If the Kings got him, that'd be a team to watch. Thompson, Hawes and Griffin is an awesome frontline to start rebuilding with, one of the best young ones in the league along with Minnesota and Golden State. And Kevin Martin, a unique star, makes it even easier.

Memphis would be another nice fit slotting him alongside Gasol and Gay.

Clips or Minnesota would probably be the worst options.

[diddy]

yeah, about worst options - it's 100% true, and i'd love to see him in Kings, but if he will be taken with grizz - omg, they would be very dangerous next season, and, who knows, may be even playoff caliber with Mayo's and Gasol's improvement, Gay and conley...

[Modifly]

Who knows what team will win the lottery pick. Last year the Bulls had very little chance yet managed to pull out the number one pick instead of the Heat. We might be surprised again with the team that won the lottery.

I'd love to see how Ricky Rubio play in the NBA if he gets drafted, he was such a badass in the olympic.

[Fresh8]

I'm not sure if teams would pick Rubio due to how much it would take to bring him over to America. I've read that he might skip this upcoming draft but I think chances are that he will enter it and eventually step foot into the league. Correct me if I'm wrong about Rubio and his contract, I think I will have a look at that later when I have some more time.

Back on topic, I think Griffin is going number 1.

[Martti.]

It's pretty sure, who wins the lottery, gets Griffin. Although Sacramento for example has a young promising front-court in Hawes and Thompson.

I'm not that keen on Ricky Rubio, having watched some Euroleague games, he's averaging only 2.4 points in 5 games. I know he has been injured, but still.

I'm more confident in Brandon Jennings, also ballin' in the Euroleague.

[NovU]

Are both Griffin brothers going to be in lottery? They both seemed to be NBa quality.

As for Rubio, he's overrated of attention he's getting.

[Fresh8]

Well, what you get with Rubio is an outstanding ballhandler/passer who doesn't give up on defence. His atacking is limited and all the hype is about his ability to get the rock to his team mates. He can score but he's not what I would call an outstanding attacking player; he needs to work on his jumpshot. But you can see how good he is if he is getting so much attention for his ability to handle the basketball and play defence. Whether he would be able to last an NBA season with the kind of tenacity he has shown on defence, I don't know... but I don't think he's overrated.

[The X]

given the lack of strength of the draft, I think I might not bother taking a day off work & drinking this year

either way, Blake Griffin definitely goes number 1....can't see anybody better than Rubio at number 2....then after that, it all comes down to positional needs or if a team really likes a specific player....I think Jordan Hill is overrated & think he'll be a Lorenzen Wright/Samaki Walker/Melvin Ely type lottery pick....not sold on Thabeet either, but worth a gamble in lottery for team needing a big man who can block shots....

haven't seen enough of James Harden, but think he might not go as high as he probably should....if he drops out of top 5 in this weak draft, then it will be disappointing for him....for some reason I can see him dropping to the 6-10 range....

I think in this draft you're going to do alright if you want a young PG whose got some potential, as there are a few of those....apart from that, Griffin is the prize....

[jonthefon]

I'd be freaked if OKC landed Griffin. Holy shit: Westbrook, Durant, Green, Griffin, Collison. Those are four very good young players. They'll probably end up with an Earl Clark, which isn't a bad consolation.

This draft isn't very strong at the top, but there's plenty of good guys to pick up in the middle of the first. I'll be intrigued by that.

[Purple&Gold]

On the off chance that he would declare, I bet Ricky Rubio could challenge for the #1 pick if a PG impaired team or Toronto wins the lottery.

Is Ricky Rubio going to be in the draft? According to Spanish teammates Marc & Pau Gasol, they believe he's going to stay in Spain one more year due to contractual obligations. I've seen videos of him though, but I don't think he'd go number 1. I think Griffin is the hands down #1 for this year. Also, don't forget about Brandon Jennings (last year's high schooler that opted to play in Europe rather than college in the states), but it looks like his stock lowered according to draftexpress.com ..


BTW: I hope Griffin doesn't end up with the Clippers and end up another wasted talent. It seems that everyone drafted by the Clips is bound to have a doomed career and not live up to their full potential.