NBA Draft Capsules: Clippers take Griffin with No. 1 pick in NBA draft

NEW YORK- Blake Griffin was the consensus No. 1 pick. Shaq to the Cavs was the consensus blockbuster.
On a day of head-turning trades around the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers started Thursday night's draft with the obvious choice: Griffin, the only player considered a sure thing in a class full of question marks.

Griffin was the consensus college player of the year after leading the nation with 14.4 rebounds per game while averaging 22.7 points last season for Oklahoma. The Clippers said they would take the forward with the top pick just hours after they won the draft lottery last month, and never considered changing their minds.

"The fact is we're getting an incredible player, incredible person, an impeccable work ethic and a guy that we plan on having in L.A. for many years to come," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He's going to be a great, excit-ing fit for our ballclub."

The draft followed a day of big trades in the NBA.

The deal that sent Shaquille O'Neal to play alongside LeBron James in Cleveland was completed earlier Thursday, and Eastern Conference champion Orlando acquired Vince Carter from the Nets in a swap completed shortly be-fore the first pick was made.

San Antonio landed Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee on Tuesday, and more big names could be available this summer as teams are forced to slash payroll. The best way to improve quickly this year was through trades, be-cause the draft was considered weaker than in recent years.

It lacked the star power of 2007, when Greg Oden and Kevin Durant battled it out for top pick honors, or when Derrick Rose beat out Michael Beasley last year.

There was no debate this time. Dunleavy announced the Clippers' intentions shortly after his team's surprising lottery win, and they began a marketing campaign featuring the forward the next day.

The Clippers are hoping Griffin turns out better than their last No. 1 overall pick. They opened the 1998 draft by taking center Michael Olowokandi, a bust who is out of the league.

"Hopefully I can bring something they don't have," Griffin said. "I know they have a lot of great players but at the same time I'm excited about the opportunity and hopefully I can bring something to the table that they don't have or maybe they need."

The Memphis Grizzlies then grabbed Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet, a dominant rebounder and shot blocker who doesn't have strong offensive skills.

After the two big men, the rest of the first round was dominated by guards, with at least 10 players selected who could play the point. Seven guards went in the first 10 selections.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took two of them with the fifth and sixth picks. They snapped up Spanish teenager Ricky Rubio at No. 5, a pick they acquired from Washington earlier this week, before going for Syracuse's Jonny Flynn with the next pick.

It was thought Rubio might go as high as No. 2, but that never worked out for Memphis. Instead the Grizzlies went with Thabeet, the 7-foot-3 native of Tanzania who switched from soccer to basketball just a few years ago. He has rapidly developed his defensive skills, but still has work to go on the other end.

"The whole season I spent working on my offense and working with so many different people, and to me this is a great opportunity to come out here and go play," Thabeet said.

Rubio has to pay a multimillion dollar buyout to his Spanish club team to get out of his contract, and he said Wednesday his mother doesn't like cold weather. So he sounded lukewarm about heading to Minneapolis.

"I have to think about that, because I'm just three minutes from a Timberwolves player," he said. "So I'm going to talk with my agent about that and we are going to see."

Oklahoma City took high-scoring Arizona State guard James Harden with the No. 3 pick and Sacramento followed by drafting Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans - who like Griffin was wearing a purple tie. So was Stephen Curry, the NCAA scoring leader from Davidson who went at No. 7 to Golden State.

Jordan Hill (New York), Demar DeRozan (Toronto) and Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee) rounded out the top 10, but Jennings didn't come out to don his Bucks hat and shake hands with commissioner David Stern. His agent, Bill Duffy, released a statement earlier Thursday saying he had advised Jennings and his family not to attend the draft and wait in the green room because he was unsure of his client's draft position.

However, Jennings - the point guard who skipped college to spend a year playing in Europe - came out from behind the stage, wearing the Milwaukee cap, to greet Stern and wave to the fans after the 14th pick was announced.

A run of forwards followed before Philadelphia grabbed another point guard, UCLA's Jrue Holiday, who was con-sidered a top 10 pick but tumbled to No. 17. Minnesota followed with its third point guard of the draft, Ty Lawson of national champion North Carolina - though he was shipped to the Denver Nuggets in yet another deal. Atlanta grabbed still another playmaker, Wake Forest's Jeff Teague, at No. 19. Utah kept up the run by selecting Eric Maynor from Virginia Commonwealth.

The Knicks made a pair of trades, acquiring the No. 29 pick, guard Toney Douglas, from the Los Angeles Lakers for a future second-round pick and cash. New York also acquired former No. 2 overall pick Darko Milicic from Memphis for Quentin Richardson and cash.

Like fathers, like sons in NBA draft

NEW YORK - There must be something about basketball bloodlines.

Three players whose fathers played in the NBA were chosen in the top 15 picks of the draft Thursday night.

Stephen Curry, whose father Dell played in the league for 16 seasons, was taken with the seventh pick by Golden State. The nation's leading scorer last season as a junior at Davidson with a 28.6 average, Curry led the Wildcats within a game of the Final Four as a sophomore.

Gerald Henderson, whose father with the same name played for 13 years in the NBA and was on three champion-ship teams with Boston and one with Detroit, was selected 12th by Charlotte. Henderson was a third-team All-America at Duke last season as a junior, averaging 16.5 points.

Austin Daye, who left Gonzaga after his sophomore season, was taken 15th by Detroit. His father Darren played five seasons in the NBA. Daye averaged 12.7 points and shot 43 percent from 3-point range for the Zags last season.

At least one son of a former NBA player has been taken in the last seven drafts.

The run started in 2002 with Mike Dunleavy and continued with Luke Walton (2003), Jackson Vroman (2004), Sean May (2005), Ronnie Brewer (2006), Al Horford (2007) and Kevin Love and Patrick Ewing Jr. (2008).

CONFERENCE LOTTERY: Even though it was the NBA's night, there was still plenty of college rivalry on dis-play at the draft.

Through the lottery picks, the first 14, the Big East led with four players chosen: Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams and Earl Clark. The Pac-10 had three taken in the top 14: James Harden, Jordan Hill and Demar DeRozan. The Atlantic Coast Conference had two, while the Big 12, Conference USA and Southern Conference had one each.

BOW TIE: It was easy to pick out James Harden when the future NBA players were having a group picture taken about a half hour before the draft. Harden was the only one with a bow tie.

After being taken with the third pick by Oklahoma City, the Arizona State guard was asked about his neck wear and if he tied it himself.

"No," he admitted quickly. "I tried it so many times, it wasn't working, so I had my stylist come up to me to give me a session to help me do it."

Harden, a native of Los Angeles, was taken by Oklahoma City, while Blake Griffin, a native of Oklahoma City, was taken No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Harden had an idea for Griffin.

"I told him we should switch, he should go to Oklahoma and I should go to LA, and everything would be great," Harden said. "Obviously it doesn't work that way."

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: Ricky Rubio, the 18-year-old guard from Spain, became the fifth-highest interna-tional player ever taken when Minnesota selected him with the No. 5 pick.

Two international players - Yao Ming of China in 2002 by Houston and Andrea Bargnani of Italy in 2006 by To-ronto - were taken No. 1 overall. Darko Milicic of what was then Serbia-Montenegro, was chosen second overall by Detroit in 2003. Pau Gasol of Spain was taken No. 3 by Memphis in 2001.

Danilo Gallinari of Italy was taken sixth by New York last year.
Rubio played on Spain's team that won the silver medal behind the United States in Beijing.

"I realized in the Olympic Games that I'm feeling good in the game, so that moment, I realize that I can play here, and that helps me a lot," Rubio said.

BIG 12: Blake Griffin became the first player from the Big 12 taken with the overall No. 1 pick. The conference expanded from the Big 8 in 1996, and the Big 12 did have an impressive streak broken when Griffin was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers.

A Big 12 player was taken second overall the last three years: LaMarcus Aldridge of Texas by Chicago in 2006; Kevin Durant of Texas by Seattle in 2007; and Michael Beasley of Kansas State by Miami last year.

The last Big 8 player taken No. 1 was also tabbed by the Clippers, Danny Manning of Kansas in 1988. The only other No. 1 pick owned by the Clippers was Michael Olowokandi of Pacific in 1998.

Griffin was the first Oklahoma player ever taken No. 1 overall. Wayman Tisdale, who died in May at age 44, was the second pick by Indiana in 1985.

TIGER TALES: It's been good to be a freshman point guard for the Memphis Tigers in the last two NBA drafts.

In 2008, Derrick Rose, who led Memphis to the national championship game as a freshman and the school's sec-ond-ever No. 1 ranking, was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Bulls.

This year, the Sacramento Kings made Tyreke Evans, who led the Tigers to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament and a No. 3 ranking in the final poll, the fourth pick.

Unlike Rose, who came into the program as a point guard, Evans moved to that position during the season.

"It was crazy. I was playing in the game against Syracuse, and the next day Coach told me I was the point guard. I didn't know what to do," he said. "... I got the ball and it just started from there in practice."

It was the first time Sacramento had a pick in the top five since 1991, when it selected Billy Owens of Syracuse at No. 3.

--Jim O'Donnel

Intrigue in NBA draft starts at No. 2 with Memphis

NEW YORK - Ricky Rubio never worked out for the Grizzlies. Hasheem Thabeet canceled his last workout for the beleaguered team.

Doesn't anybody want to play in Memphis?

"That's like my second home the city is a great place to play. I had a lot of fun down there," said guard Tyreke Evans, who played one season for the University of Memphis.

The intrigue in Thursday's draft begins with the Grizzlies, who own the No. 2 pick. The Los Angeles Clippers choose first and are all but certain to pick Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin, the college player of the year.

Thabeet, the defensive dynamo from Connecticut, and Rubio, the promising point guard from Spain, are probably the best of the rest in what's considered a weaker draft than in recent years. Both come with questions, and the Grizzlies aren't prepared to provide any answers yet.

"We don't have to take the test until Thursday evening," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said. "All the options are out there. Not just drafting, but moving back, trading for the right veteran. Everything is still on the table."

That's probably because two of the highest-rated players have shown signs they aren't interested in Memphis.

Thabeet met twice with the Grizzlies before calling off a scheduled workout Sunday, citing a shoulder injury. He said Wednesday he also had a visa issue that required him to be in New York.

Rubio refused to even perform for Memphis, saying Wednesday he wasn't sure he'd get minutes playing behind O.J. Mayo. However, perhaps he's also aware that countrymen Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro weren't always happy in the city.

If Memphis does decide to deal, Minnesota could be a willing partner. The Timberwolves have four picks in the first round, including the fifth and sixth selections - though they've said they won't swap Nos. 5 and 6 to move up.

Whoever makes the call at No. 2 likely chooses between Thabeet and Rubio.

The 7-foot-3 Thabeet was the co-Big East player of the year and was the league's top defensive player, but still struggles to consistently catch the ball and shoot it. He knows people criticize his offensive skills and has been working to improve them, but says none of the teams that he's talked to made them an issue.

"They say if we draft you, we want you to come over and just control the game," Thabeet said. "If you're going to be our guy, we want you to come over, even if you don't score, we want you to be able to control the game."

He did that just fine at Connecticut, averaging 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocked shots last season. Yet the native of Tanzania, who switched from soccer to basketball only seven years ago, is aware the NBA makes it tougher to protect the rim than the NCAA, because the defensive 3-second rule forces defenders to leave the paint if they aren't guarding someone.

Rubio faces similar doubts about his offensive skills because of an unreliable outside shot, but the questions about the 18-year-old Spaniard go beyond his play on the court.

Rubio has to pay a multimillion dollar buyout to his Spanish club, DKV Joventut Badalona, to get out of his contract. And while his lawyers are working on a deal with the team and he expects an amicable parting, he said there's a chance he would stay in Europe if he isn't drafted high enough to earn a salary that would cover a significant chunk of his debt.

And he hasn't persuaded teams to spend a high pick on him in recent weeks. He worked out only for Sacramento, which has the No. 4 selection, but didn't feel it properly showcased his skills because his strength is in the fullcourt game.

Yet Rubio, who played for the Spanish team that lost to the United States in last summer's Olympic gold-medal game, thinks he's still the best in a deep pool of point guards.

"I have the Olympic games experience," he said. "For me, the difference from the other point guards is that I play against the professional guys, not the young players."

Though he refused to work out for the Grizzlies and said his mother is worried about Minnesota taking him because she dislikes cold weather, Rubio insisted he hasn't ruled out playing for anyone.

"I want to play here, it's my dream," he said. "It's the NBA. For me all the teams are OK."

Griffin knows where he is going, with the Clippers making their intentions clear right after winning last month's draft lottery. Despite heading to a longtime loser, he said he won't pressure himself beyond putting up the double-doubles he made routine at Oklahoma.

"To be honest, I don't care about the history. I wasn't part of it," Griffin said. "I'm not going to have to go do anything I can't do."

Nor, Thabeet believes, will he. The No. 2 spot in the draft, where eventual rookie of the year Kevin Durant was taken just two years ago, seems too high for someone who admits it will be an adjustment to play against opponents who are so much more experienced.

But he improved every year in Storrs, going from 6.2 points per game as a freshman to 13.6 as a junior, and says he'll keep getting better as a pro.

"They know what kind of work ethic I have," Thabeet said. "All the teams I talked to, they don't question my offense at all."

--BRIAN MAHONEY

Rockets looking to make a draft deal

HOUSTON - Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey stepped away from reporters to answer a phone call on Wednesday afternoon. He returned a few minutes later with no big announcement to make.

One day before the NBA draft, the Rockets still had no picks in the first or second round.

Morey said he was listening to and considering all potential deals, including those involving injured All-Star Tracy McGrady.

"We do like some players high in the draft, where we would think about giving up some player assets," Morey said. "I wouldn't forecast that as very likely. Buying a pick looks like it's got a pretty decent chance, somewhere around 50-50, maybe a little less.

"We're just going to be opportunistic. That's how you have to be with the draft. It's difficult to do anything but that."

McGrady, the two-time scoring champion who has been largely a disappointment since he was traded from Orlando to the Rockets in June 2004, sat out the last two months of the season and the playoffs after risky microfracture surgery on his left knee.

The Rockets beat Portland in the first round, then pressed the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games without him. But Morey said he still believes the 30-year-old McGrady is a top-tier player who can carry the Rockets to a championship - if he stays healthy.

But McGrady has one year left on his contract that will pay him over $22 million next season, an attractive offer for a team looking to clear salary before next summer's free-agent bonanza.

Morey said teams have made "very aggressive" offers to acquire McGrady and Morey would not definitively say that the seven-time All-Star would be back in Houston in 2009-10.

"We're getting a lot of interest in Tracy, and I do have to listen," Morey said. "It's my job to make this team as ready to win the title as possible."

Morey added that a team would have to make a blockbuster offer for the Rockets to consider parting with McGrady, even though he could miss the first three months of next season to recover from his injury.

"I think the reason we are going to have a pretty high bar on moving him is cause he still provides exactly what Coach and I thought we were missing, which is a guy who can get a high-quality shot at the end of a game," Morey said. "That said, if we want to position ourselves for the playoffs, it looks like it's going to be hard for Tracy to be here for a good chunk of the year.

"So if we could get a talented player that helps us all season, I think we've got to look at it."

Doctors said McGrady would need 6-12 months to recover from the knee surgery, and Morey said he still doesn't have a more specific timetable.

Morey reiterated that the Rockets will not deal Yao Ming, no matter what a team might offer. A group of Chinese investors recently became minority owners of the Cleveland Cavaliers, fueling speculation that Yao might be headed there. But Morey said the Rockets will work to renew Yao's contract, which expires after next season.

Yao is back in Houston undergoing tests on his left foot, which he broke in Game 3 against the Lakers, about six weeks ago. Doctors set his recovery time at 8-12 weeks.

"We'll know when we get the results how things are progressing with his injury," Morey said.

Morey has fared well in his deals since becoming the Rockets GM in May 2007.

The Rockets drafted Aaron Brooks and traded for Carl Landry during the 2007 draft and both played key roles last season. Houston gave away its picks for this year's draft in separate deals that netted Ron Artest and Luis Scola.

Last year, the Rockets made a complicated draft-night deal that brought Joey Dorsey from Memphis and Donte Greene from Syracuse. Dorsey hardly played last season and Greene went to Sacramento in the trade that landed Artest.

Less than 36 hours before this year's draft, Morey didn't sense much momentum for a headline-grabbing trade by any teams.

"Right now, no one wants to move ahead of the draft," he said. "That's why I'm sitting here without any real answers of where we're at."

-- Chris Duncan

Yao's foot injury not healed

HOUSTON - Yao Ming's broken foot is not healed and the Houston Rockets say the All-Star center is out indefinitely.

Yao suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot in the Rockets' second-round playoff loss to the Lakers on May 8. The team initially said Yao would miss eight to 12 weeks, but team doctor Tom Clanton examined Yao's foot in Houston on Wednesday and said the injury has not responded to the treatment program.

A bone scan conducted Wednesday night revealed the fracture had not healed. The team now says no timeline is set for Yao's return to basketball activities, though Clanton said Yao is experiencing no pain in his foot.

The team said the original treatment plan called for Yao to cease all physical training and to use a walking boot to immobilize the foot and promote healing.

Team spokesman Nelson Luis said late Wednesday night that Yao and the Rockets will consult with doctors before proceeding with a new course of treatment.

Earlier Wednesday, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey called Yao the "cornerstone of the team" and said he had no intention of trading him, no matter what another team might offer. The Rockets have no picks in Thursday's NBA draft and Morey said he's trying to acquire one.

Yao's contract expires after next season, with a player option for the 2010-11 season.

He was the Rockets' leading scorer and rebounder in their first nine playoff games, but injuries have now cut short each of his last four seasons.

Yao missed 21 games in 2005-06 because of an infection in his left big toe, then broke a bone in his left foot in April. He broke his right leg in the 2006-07 season and sat out 32 games, then suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in 2007-08 and missed the playoffs.

He played in 77 games last season before injuring the same troublesome foot again in Game 3 against the Lakers. Two days later, Yao was surprisingly upbeat and seemed confident this injury was not serious.

"I think I've been in harder situations before, much harder than this one," he said. "I believe that I can get through this one, too."

Yao returned to China after the playoffs and has spent time participating in charity events. His offseason was also scheduled to include a basketball camp in Beijing from July 30-Aug. 2.

-- Chris Duncan

Cuban, Mavericks ready for anything on draft day

DALLAS - Mark Cuban is ready.

Ready to make some blockbuster trades on draft day.

Ready to take on some hefty contracts if it means adding a quality player - or two or three - to the Dallas Mavericks.

And, perhaps most of all, he's ready ... to do nothing more than take the best player available with the 22nd pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

"I'm just as curious as anyone else about what will happen," Cuban wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

Coming off their ninth straight season with 50 wins and a playoff berth, the Mavericks are still seeking the right mix of players around Dirk Nowitzki to win their first championship.

Their offseason needs start with re-signing point guard Jason Kidd or finding a replacement if they lose him, then finding a reliable shooting guard and a low-post scorer. They also could use "backup everything," according to team president Donnie Nelson.

If they stay at No. 22, the Mavericks are likely to only get one of those backups. Then again, the draft hasn't been much of a source during Cuban's tenure.

Dallas has made only three first-round picks in the nine drafts since Cuban bought the club. Among them was getting Josh Howard, a future All-Star, at No. 29; that's why Nelson is "hoping for another Josh Howard moment" in this year's draft.

The 22nd pick worked out well for Orlando last year. The Magic took Courtney Lee, and as a rookie he started for most of their playoff run, including the entire NBA finals.

"We think there's going to be a real good chance that a couple of the guys we're looking at are going to be there," Nelson said. "We don't know whether that's going to be in a 7-foot body or a 5-foot-10 body."

While the draft itself hasn't been a building block, draft day has been.

Nelson was part of the franchise-shifting trades for Nowitzki and Steve Nash in 1998. In 2004, Cuban and Nelson sent Antawn Jamison to Washington for the rights to Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner.

There's always the chance that it happens again Thursday.

"Because of economic stress, the belt-tightening that everyone is going through now, and just from fielding calls, there's a lot more activity than usual," Nelson said. "That usually translates into more deals being done. Now, all of a sudden, draft day may come and nothing might happen."

Or, as Cuban wrote in a Twitter posting Monday: "Could be a week of lots of talk, no action."

Cuban has been saying for months that the Mavericks will listen to any offers from teams looking to shed payroll. For those teams, it would seem logical to go ahead and do it already, so they can have a better idea of who to take in the draft and which free agents to target.

"But the reality is that people generally hold their cards right up until the draft," he said. "Then it's draft day and there's so much going on that some stuff gets done, some stuff doesn't. ... There are more deals that are walked away from than are consummated."

Stackhouse and Erick Dampier have the kinds of contracts that are good trading chips for Dallas. The Mavericks also might be willing to deal Howard. And, of course, there's always that No. 22 pick.

"We're not going to do something for a lateral move," Nelson said. "It's got to be a significant upgrade. All those scenarios are on the little greaseboard back there."

Some of the names most often linked to Dallas' spot in the draft include point guards like Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague and Darren Collison, or big men B.J. Mullens, James Johnson and Sam Young.

"Our strategy is to be knowledgeable about everything at all times," Nelson said. "We just want to be ready when and if we pull the trigger."

 -- Jaime Aron

Mavericks, Trail Blazers swap 1st-round picks

DALLAS - The Portland Trail Blazers dipped into their collection of picks in the NBA draft, acquiring No. 22 from the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday in exchange for No. 24 and two second-rounders.

The Trail Blazers still have the 33rd, 38th and 55 picks in Thursday's draft.

Dallas, which didn't have a second-rounder this year, got the fourth of Portland's four second-rounders - No. 56 overall, which is the fifth-to-last choice. The Mavericks also will get the worse of Portland's two second-rounders in 2010, its own or Chicago's.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban explained the move in a post to his Twitter feed: "You never know when 2nd rd picks can come in handy."

Dallas was willing to move down because it figures one of the players it is eyeing will still be available just two spots later.

"After 10 to 12, it's such an eye-of-the-beholder deal," team president Donnie Nelson said recently. "There are going to be guys that someone likes at 25 and someone else likes him at 13."