The Official Daily Thunder Big Board (v. 2.0)
With the first edition of the big board, Joe and I reserved the right to update and revise our opinion after the pre-draft combine results came in. And good thing we did because there was some fairly big information to come from it. Players being short, being medically red flagged or players not testing at all. There was definitely enough info in some situations to revise and re-evaluate. Remember, this is NOT a mock draft. It’s the top players according to us, with an eye towards the Thunder’s needs. Since OKC picks third, a lot of these guys will be irrelevant, but there’s always the possibility to move down or move up from No. 25 as well.
(In parenthesis is what the player was ranked in our first big board. Players 13-30 will be up tomorrow. Get excited.)
1. Blake Griffin (1) – 6′10″/ F/ Oklahoma (highlights)
Royce: Sigh… if only. If only.
2. Ricky Rubio (2) – 6′3″/ G/ DKV Joventut (highlights)
3. James Harden (3) – 6′5″/ G/ Arizona State (highlights)
Royce: I’m actually extremely close to bumping Harden to the two slot. I just think he fits with this team like Ace Ventura in parking spots. His game compliments every other Thunder starter and he would form a nice two-guard combo with Thabo Sefolosha. Really the only reason Rubio remains above Harden is the hype. I just can’t ignore it, even though I’m desperately trying.
4. Stephen Curry (5) – 6′3″ / G/ Davidson (highlights)
Royce: I’m on the wagon. I’m totally convinced he’s going to be a solid NBA player. I don’t know if he’ll dominate or if he’ll score 20 a game, but he’s going to be good. He’s one of those guys that you can just kind of sense it. He’s got an entirely polished game, is well-spoken, has great basketball lines and any question about athleticism was answered at the pre-draft combine. He’s a legit 6’3, moves extremely well side-to-side, can leap better than we thought and handles the ball extremely well. Honestly at this point, since he can play two spots, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s more of a Presti guy than Harden.
Joe: We agreed that Curry needed to be higher than we had him on our original big board. I was impressed with his numbers at the combine. He same max vertical leap as Blake Griffin and he racked the bench 10 times and he was a legitimate 6’3 1/4 in shoes. Read more…
