Blake Griffin No. 1 NBA Draft Pick

Clippers, Rubio, Curry Biggest 2009 Stories

The 2009 NBA Draft, held June 25 in New York City, was fairly uneventful as far as the drafts go, and will be a tough to grade until 3 or 4 years down the road. Easily the biggest (if not surprising) pick of the night went to the L.A. Clippers, who drafted Blake Griffin No. 1.

Griffin Headed to the Los Angeles Clippers

Griffin was the clear favorite to be chosen with the No. 1 pick, and has been touted as a sure thing NBA talent.

Griffin was a stud in the college ranks, but he was drafted by a team that is consistently poor year after year. It will also be interesting to see how the Clippers utilize Griffin on a roster that includes centers Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby, and power forwards Zach Randolph, Al Thornton and Brian Skinner.

Timberwolves Select Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn

The craziest part of the night came from the Minnesota Timberwolves, who used the No. 5 pick on Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, and the No. 6 pick on Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn.

Each is a dynamic passer and very quick, but both are small and play the same position. The Timberwolves traded Randy Foye to the Washington Wizards to acquire the No. 5 pick, and in doing so lost their top scoring guard.

A better pick for the Timberwolves would've been Davidson guard Stephen Curry. While Curry is a little undersized, playing with a frontline scorer like Al Jefferson, and teamed in the backcourt with either Rubio or Flynn, would've left Curry open for jumpers or for driving to the lane to score.

The Timberwolves did get a scorer later in the first round by drafting North Carolina forward Wayne Ellington with the No. 28 pick, but had Minnesota used their previous pick on Curry, they could've used the No. 28 pick to draft more frontline help in the form of Pittsburgh forwards DeJuan Blair and Sam Young.

Pistons, 76ers Draft Players that Fit Well

Both the Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers made selections that could help their respective teams as early as next season.

With the 15th pick, the Pistons selected Gonzaga forward Austin Daye. According to his NBA.com prospect profile, Daye averaged 12.7 points for the Zags last season.

Daye gives the Pistons another athletic front court player to pair alongside young power forward Jason Maxiell and a near-star in Tayshuan Prince. It could also allow the Pistons to trade volatile veteran Rasheed Wallace if they desire.

Meanwhile, the 76ers needed a point guard in case veteran Andre Miller leaves bolts for free agency this summer. That's why selecting UCLA point guard Jrue Holiday with the 17th pick was important to the team.

Third-year player Louis Williams is Philadelphia's other main point guard, so if the team doesn't re-sign Miller or sign another veteran, Holiday could be playing major minutes next season for the 76ers.

Other Picks Could be Stellar Down the Road

This draft was considered weak by NBA experts, but that means many of the players drafted in the first round have could be surprise stars.

Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Jordan Hill, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Jennings, Terrence Williams and Gerald Henderson were also all taken in the lottery portion of the draft. Any one of these players could turn into an All-Star in the future, but there's also a strong chance they could be first round busts in 3 or 4seasons. It is just too early to tell.