NBA sacramento Kings

The NBA Draft started with a no-brainer -- Blake Griffin going No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, the fun happened, with Memphis taking Hasheem Thabeet and the Timberwolves' vexing decision to horde as many point guards as they could. A few other teams lucked out when players dropped down the board and into their laps. Check out the grades for the Western Conference after the jump.

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Three prospects from basketball-crazed Israel -- Doron Shefer, Lior Eliyahu and Yotam Halperin -- have been drafted by NBA teams in the past. But all were second-round picks, and none of the three made the league. But Omri Casspi took a major step for Israeli basketball by making into the first round, where the Kings picked him at No. 23.

There had been fears Casspi would be selected by a team seeking to "stash" him in Europe for a year or two, keeping his salary off the books but preventing another team from grabbing the talented forward. That won't be the case with Sacramento. The Kings need a talent infusion now. After speaking with team officials, Casspi told media he would be in the NBA in 2009-10.

Casspi will be competing for minutes with Donté Greene, an electric forward acquired in last year's Ron Artest trade. Andres Nocioni seems to be the de facto starter at the position, but there have been suggestions he'll be traded this offseason. Francisco Garcia also spends some time at the three, and begins a five-year deal this season.

Let me never doubt Kevin Pritchard's slapping skills, but Portland really tossed a curve into their leapfrog gambit by selecting fairly underhyped Spanish forward Victor Claver with the No. 22 pick. Claver has made it clear he won't be in the NBA for at least one more year, perhaps two. And there had been talk his agent had been pushing to be made a second-round pick, where the rookie salary scale doesn't apply.

But the Blazers seem to know Western Europe pretty well, so I'll trust their judgment. Pitt stud DeJuan Blair and Israeli dynamo Omri Casspi were both there for the taking at with Portland's pick; Casspi went one pick later to Sacramento, who Portland leapfrogged a day earlier. Portland had given Dallas two second round picks to exchange the Blazers' No. 24 pick for the Mavericks' No. 22. Dallas ended up taking B.J. Mullens (another lottery projected player) with No. 24.

Just before the draft begins, DraftExpress has reported (with Sacramento Bee confirmation) Portland will send disappointing back-up point guard Sergio Rodriguez to Sacramento. In return, the teams will swap second round picks: Portland gets No. 31, Sacramento will pick No. 38.

If nothing else, the Kings come away with a Spanish point guard! (Right? Hello?) Portland adds about $1.6 million to its summer stockpile, in which the team is expected to chase a top flight point guard or small forward. The Kings desperately need depth at the point, even with three picks in tonight's draft. Sergio doesn't fit Nate McMillan's ball-control offense, but might (might!) soar under Paul Westphal.

With the trade of Vince Carter to Orlando, incumbent wing Hedo Turkoglu -- an unrestricted free agent come July 1 -- seems less likely than ever to remain with the Magic. The Carter deal, which according to ESPN's Chad Ford will send Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie back to New Jersey, adds $2 million to Orlando's 2009-10, putting the team at roughly $65 million in payroll.

Magic bosses had indicated the team would enter luxury tax territory to keep Hedo, who should command a starting salary in excess of $8 million. But Carter changes the calculus. Orlando would be going well over the tax threshold to sign the 30-year-old Turkoglu, and Carter -- a playmaking scorer -- duplicates what Hedo does. So Orlando seems untenable, or at least illogical.

So where will Hedo land?

FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in Revisiting the NBA Draft.

Hard to believe that several NBA general managers can have regrets after two years, but it's true. The results of the 2007 NBA Draft are slowly reaping, which should teach a lesson to their 2009 brethren on Thursday about taking chances on raw college players, international prospects and even those who are allegedly "proven."

The biggest debate two years ago was whether the Portland Trail Blazers should take Greg Oden or Kevin Durant first overall. Oden was a franchise center out of Ohio State while Durant was the smooth scoring swingman from Texas. Durant had the better workout with the Blazers, apparently blowing the mind of coach Nate McMillan. Yet, the Blazers stuck with conventional thinking and took the big man.

ESPN.com reports the Blazers have agreed to give Dallas the No. 24 pick, the No. 56 pick and a 2010 second round choice to move up ... two spots, to No. 22. The Kings sit at No. 23. I think it's safe to say Kevin Pritchard has his eye on a player he thinks Sacramento also covets. I wouldn't be surprised if said player was Israeli forward Omri Casspi, who had a marvelous workout in Sactown a few weeks ago.

This would be trivial if Pritchard didn't pull the same move last season. The Kings picked No. 12 last June, with the Blazers at No. 14. Coveting Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless -- who had been reported to be at the top of Sacramento's wish list -- Pritchard worked up a swap with Indiana to move up to No. 11. The silver lining for Kings fans is that Bayless barely got off the bench while Jason Thompson shone.

Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.

With the NBA Draft just a few days away, Matt Moore and Tom Ziller joined me to discuss some of the many ways that we might see things play out on the big night in NYC. And just about every scenario hinges on what the Memphis Grizzlies decide to do with the number two pick.

There's Ricky Rubio and Hasheem Thabeet to consider, or the team could try to trade down to get some more value, while still scooping up someone like Tyreke Evans. We know that the Clippers have the first pick, but for all intents and purposes, the Grizzlies are on the clock.

Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reported Sunday morning that Ricky Rubio, a projected high pick in Thursday's NBA draft, is on the precipice of finalizing a buy-out agreement with his Spanish club, DKV Joventut. No word on how much of the $6.6 million owed to Joventut will be cut from the deal, but Amick said the resulting amount will be something feasible for Rubio, who should be a top five pick.

Further news on the Rubio beat: he met with Thunder officials in L.A. this weekend, and he will reportedly re-visit Sacramento today, where he is expected to engage in a work-out.

In an uncertain NBA Draft, that so many prospects have avoided competitive workouts is a bit odd. No player but Blake Griffin is guaranteed a spot in the top three, so you think the usual "boy versus chair" auditions would be out. Nope. To date, Hasheem Thabeet has not worked out with another player, nor have James Harden or Tyreke Evans.

As the draft moves closer (one week away), Evans has changed his stance: he'll work out against Stephen Curry this Sunday in Sacramento. Evans had previously blamed scheduling conflicts for his evasion of big talker/defender Terrence Williams. The Kings had reportedly tried to set up the two when both were in town, but Evans' camp (led by brother Reggie -- no, not that one) nixed it. Either way, Curry and Greece-bound Nick Calathes will provide less physical foils for Tyreke. (And yes, this also serves to debunk the "Curry shuts it down" rumor ... although the sharpshooter still hasn't rescheduled with Minnesota.)