2009 NBA Draft - What it means!?

So the NBA Draft has come and gone again. Will this be a great draft year or not, only time will tell. The early mail is that it is a shallow draft but the same thing was said about the 2001 draft and we've since got 3 all stars from the 28th pick or later!
There were some interesting picks and some interesting deals done, not the least of which saw the Timberwolves with 4 first round picks and 2 second round picks. They'll be hoping it's a good draft year.
We'll start at the beginning -
Clippers - Blake Griffin
Everyone thought this was a lock for weeks, but with the Clippers you just never know (after all this is the franchise that took Michael Olowakandi with the first pick in 98 over Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Jason Williams, Dirk Nowitski, Paul Pierce, the list goes on. They also took Lorenzen Wright at number 7 in 1996 while Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal were still available)
Suffice it to say, they've had some talent idnetification problems as well as some bad luck. In 96 they needed a centre, so left the players I mentioned behind and in 98, due to the poor choice in 96, they still needed a Centre, and there simply were none that year.
Which brings me to this year. Blake Griffin is by far the most NBA ready player in the draft, but he is Power Forward, and they've already got players that fill that role - Chris Kaman and Zach Randolph. But as just mentioned, that type of thinking has not worked for them in the past. They did the right thing, take the best player available and sort it out later.
Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet
Really could have used a Ricky Rubio, but he was just flat out not going to Memphis after their poor treatment of the Spanish in the past. So the next best player is Thabeet. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, they need scoring. But Thabeet is a REALLY good defender and will only get better.
Thunder - James Harden
They have a good point guard of the future and they were better off just taking a player they can fit in now and start building a franchise. Harden was the right man in this situation
Kings - Tyreke Evans
Short sighted from the Kings. Tyreke Evans will help them sooner than Ricky Rubio would have, and he will be a solid player for a long time if he stays injury free, but the Kings are a franchise that have gone close to greatness and lacked that killer punch. In 5 years time Ricky Rubio is more likely to be the killer punch than Tyreke Evans.
Timberwolves - Ricky Rubio/Johnny Flynn
I don't care what any expert tells you, the Timberwolves can not lose by making these 2 picks. They will not play together, at least not for long anyway. Flynn is too small to be a 2 guard. If Rubio goes back to Spain they have Johnny Flynn. If Flynn doesn't live up to his potential, they have Rubio to fall back on. If he becomes a superstar in a year or 2, they can offload Rubio who would still have the unknown quantity, would be a bit older and less of a gamble so they could get a good trade for him. Or if they decide that they still want to keep Rubio after a top season or 2 from Flynn, I'm sure they'd get a great deal for a player that is young and has had 2 geat NBA seasons! As it seems to be playing out at the moment, Rubio may be traded soon, and they still have Johnny Flynn. They just can't lose. Too many people have underrated their strategy here.
That's the top 5 (6 really) and her are some other intersting ones
Raptors - DeMar DeRozan
They took a risk and went for potential, but when you're the Raptors you have to take those risks. He had a great year for a freshman playing at the 2 and if this gamble comes off, it will look alot smarter in a few years. But that's if they can keep him, which they've had trouble with in the past. I wish them luck!
Bucks - Brandon Jennings
I have to say, I already hate Brandon Jennings. He comes across as an arrogant spoilt brat before he has even gone into training camp. He has trash talked other players in the draft (Rubio in particular), he didn't turn up to the draft because he wasn't guaranteed to go in the top 14. It's an honour and a privelege to be drafted at all. You need to pull your head in and get over yourself Jennings. Having said that, most of the NBA's best players have this attitude, so he could end up being a big star and with Andrew Bogut due to have a breakout year in the next year or two, the Bucks may have done well.
Nets - Terrence Williams
An interesting pick considering who was still on the board and it was a bit of a surprise for a player that was expected to go late first round, but he has 4 years college experience on what is now a fairly young team, so that will help. The Nets are rebuilding on a young backcourt now with Courtney Lee joining and are another team that will struggle for now but it will pay dividends in seasons to come
Spurs - DeJuan Blair
How the Spurs manage to get amazing late picks so often astounds me. not only have they got Ginobli and Parker later than 25th picks, now they have DeJaun Blair who was unbelievably still available at number 37! He is a great power forward that was unlucky not to go top 15, after a Sophmore season averaging a double double (15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds) He's only 6'7" but Barkley wasn't big either. Yet again the Spurs have got the steal of the draft
Trail Blazers - Patrick Mills
Patty is going to have to fight for his spot on the roster, but he will genuinely work his ass off and once given the chance to improve and then prove himself he will make teams wish they had taken him earlier. There's alot of talk that his passing isn't good enough, and he's too small to play the 2 guard. So teach him to pass better. Tony Parker still isn't a great passer, but he's a fast slashing player. Mills is as fast and once he does some work on his pull up jumper he'll be a worthy NBA Point Guard. And Portland is a great place for him to learn to play with this amazing young squad.
Overall it may be a shallow draft, but only time will tell us that...