The Minnesota Timberwolves received bad news on Monday when they officially lost the hope of Ricky Rubio coming to the NBA this season. In fact, Rubio won’t land in Minnesota until 2011 at the soonest.
The Timberwolves drafted Rubio as the fifth overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft. Many NBA experts thought that Rubio would play in the leauge this coming season. Instead, his Spanish club DKV Joventut has traded him to another Spanish club — FC Barcelona.
The 18-year-old playmaker extraordinaire has been on the basketball scene for a while and is regarded as one of the most exciting players …read more

The 2009 NBA Draft took place in New York City on Thursday night. Everyone knew Blake Griffin was going number one overall to the Los Angeles Clippers but the rest of the draft was up in the air. Here are the 2009 NBA Draft results for both the first round and the second round:
First Round
1) Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin, F, Oklahoma
2) Memphis Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut
3) Oklahoma City Thunder: James Harden, G, Arizona State
4) Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans, G, Memphis
5) Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio, G, Spain
6) Minnesota Timberwolves: Jonny Flynn, G, Syracuse
7) Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry, G, …read more

On a night when surreal events appeared to be the norm, the 2009 NBA draft fit right in.
The fact that Michael Jackson passed away yesterday was beyond surreal. Add in Farrah Faucet and you’ve got a double-whammy.  Then Shaq gets traded to Cleveland to team up with Lebron for what seems to be a destined championship run in 2010.
What else happened on draft night?
Here’s a brief recap for your viewing pleasure:
• Richard Jefferson was traded to San Antonio.
• Blake Griffin was the number one pick in the ’09 draft.
• Tyler Hansbrough went to the Indiana Pacers.
• Golden State stole Stephen …read more

Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio is getting tons of publicity. Many scouts believe he’ll be one of the top two or three picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. However, don’t count fellow point guard prospect Brandon Jennings among the impressed. According to an SI.com article, Jennings had some stern words regarding Rubio.
“Yeah, I think I’m a better player than he is,” said Jennings. “I just shoot the ball better than he can. The only thing I’ve seen him do sometimes is when he has a home-run pass or something like that. I think the dude is just all hype. I …read more

A few weeks ago, there was some concern that Ricky Rubio would pull out of the 2009 NBA Draft. However, now he appears ready to stay in the draft. In fact, he is taking steps to make the buyout of his contract in Spain more affordable.
According to various reports, Rubio will need to pay more than $6.5 million to buyout his current contract with DKV Joventut. The good news for NBA teams is that Rubio will likely pay that amount if the worse comes to worse for him.
Outside of Blake Griffin, many scouts believe that Rubio is the best player …read more

I know we’re still in NBA playoff mode (speaking of which, how good was the Bulls/Celtics series??? I didn’t want it to end!), but I took it upon myself to look ahead, just a bit, to the upcoming 2009 NBA draft.
Short of creating a mock draft, I listed which players I personally think rank in the top ten as far as prospects go. I think they are the cream of the draft crop. Whether or not NBA scouts agree with me is another question.
Lyndsey’s Top Ten 2009 NBA Draft Prospects

With March Madness in full swing, it’s a good time to look forward to the 2009 NBA Draft. Although there aren’t many franchise-level players available, there are a number of players that will be able to excel at the NBA level.
Here is a look at the top ten prospects for the 2009 NBA Draft:
1. Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
2. Jordan Hill, Arizona
3. Ricky Rubio, Spain
4. James Harden, Arizona State
5. Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut
6. Greg Monroe, Georgetown
7. Brandon Jennings, Lottomatica Roma
8. Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
9. Willie Warren, Oklahoma
10. Stephen Curry, Davidson
While the outlook of the 2009 NBA Draft is sure to change as draft …read more