#2
The Grizzlies had the second best outcome on Tuesday night when they received the #2 pick and the Clippers received #1.
If anyone is dumb enough to pass up on Blake Griffin or trade him, it's the Clippers, who have a history of making bad moves and are loaded at the 4 and 5 spots.
The Grizzlies have flexibility that puts them in a position to take on salary for the sake of improving the team.
One outcome I'd like to see is trading for the Griffin while taking on one of the Clippers big contracts.
For example, according to RealGM's trade checker, the Grizzlies could take on Zach Randolph's contract without giving up any players and swap picks. According the ESPN's trade checker, the Grizzlies would have to send players back, but both teams have enough assets to make something like that work.
RealGM also pointed to a Bay Area article that suggests that the Clippers are more interested in Rubio than Griffin.
If the Clippers aren't willing to part with Griffin, the Grizzlies are still in a good position with Rubio available at #2, and can package Conley with other players to get a forward.
6 comments:
Does this look like a team who is thinking of drafting Rubio?
http://www.nba.com/clippers/tickets/draftpack0910.html
Better start looking at trades for conley.
I say take Thabeet to complete the three headed monster of pau gasol, jr., donnie darko, and thabeet.
John, never underestimate what the Clippers will do.
Trinh, never underestimate what the Grizzlies will do.
According to Vernon yesterday, the Clippers season ticket office only got 9 phone calls Tuesday night.
Also, I made lots of enemies at the party Tuesday because I mentioned that I would be excited to trade Conley. People here are awesome.
Ugh. This is from ESPN.com:
The Grizzlies have the second pick but are said to prefer Thabeet to the player most teams have rated second, Rubio. That leaves room for them to trade down with Oklahoma City at No. 3, presuming the Thunder would rather have Rubio … but only if the Griz are really good at bluffing that they'll take Rubio otherwise. So far, not so good.
If Thabeet is the pick, then it raises the question of what they would do with Gasol. Gasol ranked second among rookies in Value Added -- ahead of more heralded teammate O.J. Mayo -- and had the best PER on the team (16.74), so this doesn't appear to be a position in dire need of an upgrade. They can't play side-by-side either. You really want Gasol chasing Dirk or Chris Bosh around the perimeter?
However, the Griz are in a similar quandary if they choose Rubio. The Spanish sensation would be replacing young Mike Conley, who just survived a three-way competition with Kyle Lowry and Javaris Crittenton.
The trade market for both players would be active, so it's not a question of if they could get something back. The dilemma is that they'd be trading one of their best young players either way, an odd turn of events considering the stated goal is to build the team by developing young players.
Maybe this will lift your spirits: http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/#NBA-Draft-Roundup-May-20-3224
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