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The Blake Griffin Lottery

The 2009 NBA Draft Lottery is tonight and well I'm not that interested. If you flip through ESPN's mock draft lottery tool, there is not a single scenario where Blake Griffin does not get drafted first. In fact I have yet to see one scenario where Ricky Rubio does not get drafted second. Sure, Blake Griffin is a monster and Ricky Rubio is supposed to be some stud Euro-Point Guard, but neither seems a lock to be a perennial all star. It's not like landing either is going to jump a team like the ClipShow from irrelevance to playoff glory.

If this draft closely resembles any of the past its clearly the 1997 Draft, aka the Tim Duncan Lottery. We all knew Duncan was going 1 and Keith Van Horn was going #2. The rest of the picks were uninspiring. Sure Chauncey Billups has morphed into one of the best point guards in the league and for awhile T-Mac was one of the top scorers in the NBA, but neither was a guaranteed thing on draft day or for a few years. The rest of the draft picks were either complete busts or mediocre role players.

The 2009 draft seems likely to have similar results except of course Blake Griffin almost certainly does not equal Tim Duncan. Hasheem Thabeet has shown a softness unacceptable for a man who will bang bodies with the big boys. Could this potentially change? Yes. Is there any chance in hell I'd want to drop the #3 pick on him? No. But there's limited other options. Jordan Hill seems like a Joakim Noah-type hussler, not really a #4 draft pick. Harden disappeared in their tournament games. Can't say I've seen much of Holliday, DeRozan, or Jennings. Do James Johnson or DeJuan Blair scream superstar? Etc. Etc. Etc.

Overall this draft does not inspire much enthusiasm on my end. I have a limited feel on many of the players. The players I do have a feel on, I'm not particularly impressed. Throw in the fact that the top two picks are a lock and the Celtics are not invloved and this might just be the only NBA Draft post of the year.
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