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Blake Griffin is a Slam-dunk at First... move along now folks... move along...
 The NBA draft is around the corner and mock drafts are abound all over the web, speculating with eager anticipation about which team will pick which player. The number one pick is an absolute no-brainer, a "no questions asked" kind of pick. Undeniably, Blake Griffin should be picked at this spot. No other player in the draft has a close enough expected immediate impact. He may not be a plug-in superstar, but he is the best put together package of size, athleticism, talent and future potential. All of these factors make picking Blake first in the first round of the draft idiot proof. Thankfully for the L.A. Clippers and sadly(?) for Griffin, they landed the first pick in the lottery and therefore cannot botch this draft up. Even if the team has a traffic jam of big men on its roster that need their playing time to be effective (Kaman, Camby, Randolph), Griffin still merits their pick. Randolph and Camby's contracts are close to expiring and Griffin represents a youthful and a hopefully less injury prone front court force for the future. Blake's immediate fantasy impact is all predicated on how soon the Clippers will move its frail giants. If the regular season begins and they aren't shipped, then Blake should be expected to be eased into the rotation slowly. I wouldn't be surprised if either Randolph or Camby leaves the franchise before the trade deadline this year. I will actually be even less surprised if any of the three above mentioned big men play more than 77 games this season. So Blake will get his moments to strut his stuff, there are also those garbage time slots he will fill when the Clips are being blown out. Those moments won't be there too often for this youngster though, because aside from competing with the "Injury 3," he also has to jostle for minutes against "work in progress," Al Thornton. So inspite of Griffin being the most coveted rookie in this season's litter, I am not too excited about putting heavy fantasy hopes on his shoulders for the fantasy version of the draft this November.
How the Grizzlies make use of their options will dictate the rest of the draft.
 Now that we're past the foregone conclusion zone, we find the Grizzlies to be in a position of moderate power in the upcoming draft. Whether you feel that Ricky Rubio is overhyped or not, the bottomline is that this 18-year old playmaker is coveted by more than just a team or two in the NBA (Can anyone say Sacramento Kings?). Now the Grizzlies have some options open to them. Do they trade away their 2nd pick rights for a more immediate, team changing veteran or they play it straight up and pick up a player to fill in their immediate needs? They will really have to clarify the direction they want to go as a franchise. They have talented youngsters in Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, but they will want to concretise a vision on who to build their franchise around in the future. Getting Rubio will have him competing for playing time with recently improved, Mike Conley jr. Getting Rubio can possibly stunt Conley's fantasy basketball development. How much do the Grizzlies trust Mike to improve into the quality point guard they desperately need him to grow into anytime soon? Memphis is expected by other pundits on the web to go for Hasheem Thabeet. He will be a more immediate fantasy splasher if he does indeed land with them. Let's face it, Marc Gasol needs some front court back-up and assistance. Thabeet's defensive capabilities will be felt almost immediately both by the franchise and by his fantasy drafters. If Thabeet lands in Oklahoma's lap, his impact will be less wave-making as he will likely have to wait around a bit to develop as he will be sitting behind Nenad Krstic and Nick Collison in the rotation.
Back to Rubio. Draft day will be about his inherent value and his perceived future potential both if he is in your franchise or as trade bait. Putting his alleged hype into perspective, we should understand that the demand being generated by this rookie-to-be is about the need/want of several franchises for a future (or immediate) quality playmaking, "true" point guard. Scouting reports have him poised to be an excellent passer and play orchestrator who still has some room to grow into something "great." So Memphis' decision on what to do in their position will have a definite trickle effect on the rest of the draft, because whether or not a franchise wants to plug in Rubio or not, he has sparked enough interest that his value may be bloated beyond what it may actually be. If Rubio does fall below 2nd I wouldn't be too surprised if the Thunder took a crack at him. Both Mock Drafts I've linked to, have him falling all the way down to the 4th spot and being nabbed by the Sacramento Kings, the franchise that seems to be the one that has expressed the deepest interest in acquiring him and is at the closest position to actually do it. I'm sure the Memphis Grizzlies understand the unique position that they have found themselves in and are engaged in feeler talks with other teams with regards to Rubio. What they do with their 2nd pick will definitely make a splash and a ripple on the several succeeding picks.
For now, all of this is speculation talk. We will see soon enough what moves are made this draft day. I foresee things to bubble up even more this July when free-agency hits the fan and we witness how 2010 actually will be beginning this 2009!
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