Is it possible for the Los Angeles Clippers to screw this up? Fortunately, the Clips were handed the opportunity to draft Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin when the ping pong balls happened to fall into place on May 18 during the NBA Draft Lottery.
I would need another set of hands to count the mistakes Los Angeles has made with their past lottery choices.
For laughing purposes only, I would like to name some of the organizations recent lottery picks: Michael Olowakandi (’98, No. 1 overall), Shaun Livingston (’04, No. 4), Darius Miles (’00, No. 3) and Lorenzen Wright (’97, No. 6).
Since the Clippers have a reputation for laziness when it comes to building a winner, it should be an easy decision to nab Griffin and stamp him as the franchise’s main man.
1. Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma
I’m pretty sure there is another team in Los Angeles. Somebody needs to lock general manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. in a room so he doesn’t fumble the No. 1 overall pick.
As the best player in the draft, Griffin is an obvious lock to lead the Clippers.
2. Memphis Grizzlies – Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut
The Grizzlies are similar to L.A. in that both have grown comfortable at continually picking in the lottery year-after-year. A young nucleus already resides in Memphis with Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and last year’s first-round pick O.J. Mayo.
Point guard Ricky Rubio is an option here, but I would go with Thabeet as the Grizz lack any sort of interior defense. Though Rubio would help speed up the pace, the addition of the 7-foot-3 UConn product could help Memphis transition into a tougher and better overall team.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder – Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain
The Thunder came so close to locking down the right to draft the local boy Griffin. Life goes on in OKC as the Thunder built a nice foundation in place with Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.
Though Westbrook is listed as the starting point, he’s better off the ball as a slash-to-the-basket type. The 6-foot-4 Rubio steps right into the starting role and provides the Thunder a kid (he’s 18 years old) who can get the ball in Durant’s hands at any time. Many believe Rubio has just as high of a ceiling as Griffin.
4. Sacramento Kings – Stephen Curry, PG, Davidson
It’s clear the Kings have no star power. A starting five consisting of Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia and Spencer Hawes isn’t exactly getting Sacramento fans buzzed about next season. The Maloof brothers have to make a splash, and they bring in the biggest name in the draft pool.
Curry still needs to put some meat on, but his scoring ability is not to be messed with. The Davidson-product reminds me of a shorter version of Thunder forward Durant. Both came into the league very skinny and extremely talented with the ball in their hands.
5. Washington Wizards -Earl Clark, PF, Louisville
The Wizards came away disappointed after leaving the lottery with the fifth pick. At least the Wiz own a solid veteran core in Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenes.
Plenty of good perimeter play means Washington has to look inside.
I like Clark here because of his versatility. The 6-foot-9 Clark has all the physical tools to be a force in the league.