I chose Blake. He’s the surest thing on the list and has the potential to be a better rebounding Karl Malone type player.

He is a safe pick but with a high upside as well.

I’ve made my preference for Rubio pretty clear. I think it will help improve the team if we draft Griffin, but I’ve never been 100% sold on him, and I think Rubio can improve the team more for next season and beyond.

I think Rubio has tons of potential. His Assist/Turnover ratio has been questions, but European scorers are known for being very reluctant to reward an assist. His court vision is excellent. And I cannot overstate how big I think it is that Rubio played against Paul, Kidd, and Williams in the Olympics without looking incompetent.

Although it’s about as close in my head as it is in the polling right now.

I think both guys are a risk, but I love the idea of adding a beast like Griffin to the JT-Hawes frontline. In a perfect world, Petrie’s able to get his gem PG at the #23.

Blake,Rubio,Blake,Rubio, Blake,Rubio. Damn, I can’t make up my mind let Petrie decide!

because that’s what Isiah Thomas would do…and Isiah Thomas was an awesome GM!!!

For me to poop on.

I went w/ Rubio.

If things were guaranteed, I would select Rubio. But looking at the possibility, however slight, that he may never come over is too big of a risk to take for this team now. I am also a Patty Mills fan and hold hope for a Griffin/Mills 1/23 pick. A core of Mills, Hawes, Griffin,Thompson, Martin, Garcia, Noc would make me very happy. If Dante develops, all the better. If Diogu is signed, even better yet. PG killed us this year, but I have to play it safe and take Griffin.

Although Shock showed a little promise ….. you don’t pass up Griffin.

I don’t really think I have to explain my position here, yet again. But, I’ll attempt to do so anyway for the sake of posterity (or ego—take your pick).

Rubio has put up solid numbers in the ACB (not the EuroLeague, but the toughest league in Europe by some accounts—and considered to be tougher than the NCAA by some accounts too). He’s put up 43% shooting from 3 (which is longer there than the NCAA—about half the distance from the NCAA to the NBA 3 if you need a visual), and has had a down year in terms of team success. Rudy Fernandez going to the Blazers did not help that.

Rubio has one of the highest assist rates in Europe (if not the highest), and doing this all the last few years at the tender age of 16, 17, and 18. (He doesn’t turn 19 until Late October this year.)

Blake Griffin is a scoring and rebounding stud. It’s after that that concerns me. He doesn’t block shots, and worse, doesn’t really seem to have the instincts for it. Some of this could be explained by not wanting to pick up fouls, or that his potential to rebound the shot is more important to Oklahoma than actually blocking the shot. Still, I didn’t see a lot of instinct there to do so. Maybe he’ll get a block per game in the NBA, but is that top flight for a big man? Not really, no.

Griffin also has poor assist rates, and high turnover rates. That’s nothing special, or to be alarmed over really, but being able to pass the ball out of a double team and create shots for your teammates is huge. It’s one thing that will, I suspect, always separate a player like Tim Duncan and him apart. (That and Duncan blocked a lot more shots on a far worse Wake Forest team in a very tough ACC.)

I don’t look at this need vs best player. I look at this as the best player available, and which player has more potential to be an upside player. I don’t see that in Griffin. I think he pretty much is what he is despite the chatter that he will get better and wants to. Andrew Bogut had similar chatter, and exactly how great is he? (Pretty damn good, but the 1st overall pick? No.) Not that I think Andrew Bogut is the baseline for this debate. I’ve seen player comparisons range from Carlos Boozer to Kenyon Martin. He has Martin’s athleticism (but not length I suspect), and Boozer’s inside ability. He also has Martin’s ability to rebound at a high level. Rebounding at a high level is not just about boxing out (no matter how much people say it). I’ve seen plenty of players who were boxed out grab the board during a game. Too many rebounds go long for it to be a perfect storm. There’s too many funny carom’s to be grabbed. In otherwords, if Griffin is not going to be a top flight shot blocker (something this team needs), and he is going to be a 10-11 board man for his career, and score 25 points a night, that is special. Sure, no doubt.

Why anyone on earth even CONSIDER a floppy, a spitting imitation of Pete Maravich, Spanish kid who has no athleticism and no outside shot? Especially over a NCAA stud like Blake Griffin? Because I’m crazy. (Or the fact that he can get his shot off despite that, or the fact that he’s very creative with the ball. Or the fact he manages to snare a top 10 level of NBA rebounds a night while on a lesser team, which is not a deviation from his career I might add.)

A franchise player doesn’t have to win a dunk contest, or hit his head on the backboard. A franchise player has to fill in weaknesses for the other talent on the team. Blake Griffin, in my amateur analysis, doesn’t do that. Ricky Rubio does.

because there’s no way to see another guy with his talent in a long time and we desperately need a pg like him to run our offense…I don’t see in Griffin the skills to be a Princeton offense big man (he’s definitely not shown passing ability) and, while is quite sure he will become an all star player, so is Rubio, in my opinion

what I read, I believe from David Thorpe. A few years back, the Blazers passed on both Deron Williams and Chris Paul cause their “need” wasn’t a point guard. Traded down to the 6th pick, and grabbed Webster ……

I don’t want that to happen to us!!

Because to me he has more potential to be better for the Franchise as a whole. He brings the Kings international recognition once again, he could get people caring about the Kings again, wanting to go to Kings games.

I think Blake and Ricky will both be stars in this league. Ricky is just the star that can help everyone be better. We’ve seen what a truly elite point guard can do for his team. Where would New Orleans be without Chris Paul? How many teams with elite point guards didn’t make the playoffs this year? Phoenix is the only one that comes to my mind. We saw what having Chauncey Billups did for those Detroit teams and for the Nuggets this year. And yes the Spurs are a great franchise, but would Championships 2 and 3 have happened without Tony Parker running the point?

So I think Ricky (can I call you Ricky?) will be better for Sacramento, and make our other players better as well. Can you imagine how good the Kings could be in the fast break with Shock and Hawes getting feeds by Ricky? If we pick Griffin, we’ll have to hope for a PG at 23 or Ramon Sessions.

Still, I’ll be happy taking Griffin if Petrie has that choice at #1. He’s a better evaluator of talent than I.

Trade for Rubio.

(assuming the team at #2 wants BG over RR)

previously stated (by pookey, moproblemz, ayksis and others), I picked Rubio. However, I would still be pleased if Petrie determined that Griffin was the STAR he wanted.

Griffin = A proven NCAA star, a consensus no1 pick, the player with the most chances of becoming a NBA star.
Bust Risk: 2/10.
Star Potential: 7/10

Rubio = a talented player no doubt with good European experience, sounds exotic to all fans because of his international background even though there’s nothing more than a few youtube videos.
Bust Risk: 8/10 (weak, non-athletic, no range, international).
Star Potential: 8/10 (If he ever overcomes the dozens of deficiencies)

would be a good option to have. Maybe not for No. 1, but below that, sure.

to trade for Rubio plus filler or another pick.
Something the Raiders should have considered with their pick this year. ;)

Maybe a little better on offense or on the boards, but I think he’ll probably end up being a complementary all star type: see Caron Butler or Pau Gasol. I think with the way that the rules are in the NBA right now, Rubio could be the caliber of player you could build a contender around.

after almost 500 votes, less than 10 votes separating the top two. That’s about as unconcensusy as you can get.

I just know more about him at this point.

The one negative has been Griffin’s purported height. The average NBA starting PF comes in at just under 6-10 these days. Now, that is 6-10 by NBA measurements. Just for example, Al Horford and Kevin Love are listed at 6-10, when neither one was 6-10 in shoes at their draft camps. In other words, if Griffn measures 6-7 in barefeet, which would put him at about 6-8.5 in shoes, he’ll be 6-10 by NBA measurement standards. That’s pretty stupid, but it is comparing apples with apples.

My hope is that Rubio would come here for a workout and prove to be even better than Griffin. But if I’m putting my board together today, Blake Griffin is my #1 pick.

Everything has been covered already and I’ve written why in many posts before.

What I fear the most about Rubio is seeing him in a different uniform doing things for that team that no other point guard can do. I don;t care if Griffin puts up 20-10 his first year and wins ROY (with another team) as much because there are many players who do the same.

You can’t go wrong with either of those 2 but I want the Spaniard.

I’ll just note that I voted for Rubio, and that I’m completely amazed that after 560 votes only two votes separate the dudes. Amazing.

Also, great thread y’all. I love each and every one of you.

It seems championships teams always have a star at the 1 & 5 positions. Griffn is the safer bet, but I want a championship so I took the riskier route.

A Griffin, Teague pickup in the draft however, would be interesting.

Petrie will be earning his money this year, or not…

I think that when this vote wraps, you can go right to the 3rd pick on the draft board. 1 and 2 are apparently in the bag, even if the order is still to be determined.

Throw out the three Rubio votes cast by Hawes, JT and Digou, and the one vote for Griffin cast by Beno, and you have a dead heat.

But Calderon started for Spain at PG and the score was 16-13 USA when Rubio came in. I paused it with the USA up 29-16, so that’s a 13-3 run that included Paul and Wade going by him or through him like he wasn’t there.

I’ll have to watch the rest of the game to get a more complete impression. I do like the fact he’s able to at least compete plausibly on the world’s biggest stage at such a young age and fit in pretty well.