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Intrigue and Scandal and Such


My brain is mush.  A horrible season has caused us to be evaluating prospects and talking about the draft since January.  Frankly, I'm tired.  This draft has more smokescreens than a John Woo movie.  But still I'm going to try to make sense of it.

The Grizzlies are trying to puff their chest out and be a big player, saying they'll draft Ricky Rubio, but nobody is buying it.  Chris Wallace is already a bit of a laughingstock, and he can't afford to end up with egg on his face again.  Deep down, he knows he cannot go toe-to-toe with Fegan.  And he knows he would have zero leverage if he drafted Rubio and tried to trade him.  Wallace has made some dumb moves, but I have faith that he is smart enough to realize this (can't be that dumb, right?  Right?).  So the Grizzlies will not draft him.

The bigger question then becomes whether or not they trade the pick.  Based on everything Amick has reported, it doesn't sound like the Kings are going to blink.  They'll stay at 4 and get what they get.  This is actually a much bigger deal than we've realized up until this point.

It is being widely reported that Memphis actually likes Tyreke Evans, and would like to draft him.  But Wallace thinks he can trade down and still get him.  There is no incentive for OKC to trade up, so you're looking at any team after Washington.  It is possible that this could happen.  But the catch is that if Rubio is off the board, it is very likely the Kings will draft Evans.  This is why the Kings refusal to trade up is so key.  Memphis can draft Evans, or they can trade their pick.  They, in all likelyhood, cannot do both.

But there is yet another wrinkle.  Do the Kings actually like Evans that much?  Personally, I think they actually do.  But it could just be the single greatest smokescreen misdirection ever pulled. 

Have I clarified the situation?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  Is it Thursday yet?