Memphis Grizzlies center Darko Miličić, the infamous #2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, has been traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Quetin Richardson.

The Memphis Grizzlies had the #2 overall pick in last night’s draft and selected center Hasheem Thabeet of Tanzania.  Even after unloading Milicic, the Grizzlies still have three international centers on their roster – Thabeet, Marc Gasol of Spain, and Hamed Haddadi of Iran.

Miličić was infamously selected #2 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, right after LeBron James, and before the likes of current NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony (#3), Dwyane Wade (#4), and Chris Bosh (#5).

That year’s draft had a record high 21 international players selected and also included David West (#18), Boris Diaw (#21), Leandro Barbosa (#28), Josh Howard (#29), and Mo Williams (#47).

This will be Miličić’s fourth NBA team in his seven-year NBA career.  He started out with the Detroit Pistons before being traded to Orlando then Memphis, and will now suit up for New York.

From the Congo to Israel to three players from Spain, there were fourteen international-born players selected in the 2009 NBA Draft.

The fourteen players ended a sex-year slide in which fewer and fewer international players were chosen, from a record high of 21 international players chosen in 2003 to 2008, when there were just thirteen players selected.

There were definitely some surprises, none bigger than Ricky Rubio slipping to fifth where many mock drafts had him going as high as #2, but no lower than #4. With the fourth pick, the Sacramento Kings decided to go with another 6-5 player, combo-guard Tyreke Evans, instead of Rubio.

In not so much of a shock, Hasheem Thabeet went #2 to the Memphis Grizzlies. The 7-2 center is seen as another Dikembe Mutombo, a player that can change the game on the defensive side of the court.

1. Hasheem Thabeet, Tanzania (#2 to Memphis) >
2. Ricky Rubio, Spain (#5 to Minnesota)
3. Victor Claver, Spain (#22 to Portland)
4. Omri Casspi, Israel (#23 to Sacramento)
5. Rodrigue Beaubois, France (#25 to Oklahoma City)
6. Christian Eyenga, Congo (#30 to Cleveland)
7. Sergio Lull, Spain (#34 to Denver)
8. Jonas Jerebko, Sweden (#39 to Detroit)
9. Henk Norel, Netherlands (#47 to Minnesota)
10. Sergiy Gladyr, Ukraine (#49 to Atlanta)
11. Goran Suton, Bosnia (#50 to Utah)
12. Nando de Colo, France (#53 to San Antonio)
13. Patrick Mills, Australia (#55 to Portland)
14. Emir Preldzic, Slovenia (#57 to Phoenix)

Fellow Spaniard Victor Claver was another surprise. The high-flying forward was the third international player selected in the draft, and picked much-higher than expected at #22. Claver was one selection higher than Omri Casspi (#23), the Israeli player slated to go third in many mock drafts.

Jonas Jerebko was primed to become the first Swede to be drafted in the NBA’s first round, but the 6-9, 22-year old forward fell to Detroit Pistons in the second round at #39.

Buoyed by Michigan State’s run in to the NCAA finals, 6-10 center Goran Suton was selected at #50, it’s no surprise that the Utah Jazz picked the Bosnian pivot up, Suton fits the bill for the Jazz perfectly.

One of the biggest shocks was how far Aussie Patrick Mills fell. As with Rubio, buzz was strong after Mill’s performance in the 2008 Olympics. He was booked as a late-first rounder in many mock drafts, but the 5-11 Aborigine point guard slipped all the way down the late-second round to #55, only five picks from the end of the draft.

Other international players selected were Rodrigue Beaubois, Christian Eyenga, Sergio Lull, Henk Norel, Sergiy Gladyr, Nando de Colo, and Emir Preldzic. Barring coming over and having great rookie camps, Claver, Lull, Gladvr, Suton, Mills, and Preldzic are all expected to stay/go overseas for more experience.

Links and Resources:  NBA Draft Second Round Picks (ESPN),  Just 13 International Players Chosen in the 2008 NBA Draft (Interbasket),  Rubio goes fifth, Thabeet drafted #2 (Interbasket),  International Players you should know in the 2009 NBA Draft (Interbasket), Spanish Basketball Forum (Interbasket), Patty Mills in, Greivis Vasquez out (Interbasket), Jonas Jerebko: First Swede drafted in NBA’s first round? (Interbasket), Patrick Mills, Joe Ingles among four Aussies in NBA Draft (Interbasket), Spain’s Victor Claver joins Rubio in 2009 NBA Draft (Interbasket), After UNC Loss, Goran Suton’s Future Looking Up (Interbasket)

As expected, Blake Griffin was selected with the first overall draft pick. Not quite as expected though was Ricky Rubio falling to the number five slot.

The Spanish phenom point guard was selected with the fifth pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA Draft.  Rubio fell, most-likely because of a combination of his agent’s demands to play in California, his contract buyout, pre-draft chatter, and underwhelming workouts.

All those factors seemed to have dulled the hype that was built up from Rubio’s performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The other international player that was supposed to go in the top five picks was Hasheem Thabeet.  The center from Tanzania and Co-Big East Player of the Year was taken by the Memphis Grizzlies with the #2 pick.

As of 17:30 PST, the draft board looks like this:

#1. Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers)
#2. Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis Grizzlies)
#3. James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder)
#4. Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings)
#5. Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves)
#6. Jonny Flynn (Minnesota Timberwolves)
#7. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
#8. Jordan Hill (New York Knicks)
#9. DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors)
#10. Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks)

Versatile forward James Harden was taken third by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Tyreke Evans was selected #4.  Interesting that the Kings went with Evans; rumors must have been true that Rubio didn’t perform so well with his secret workout in Sacramento this past week.

Minnesota also had the sixth overall pick, and picked combo guard Jonny Flynn out of Syracuse. Stephen Curry was taken #7 and is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry.

With the 2009 NBA draft commencing later tonight, the internet is buzzing with speculation and mock drafts.

Interbasket has done its best to gather the articles and quotes concerning the intenational man (er, teenager) of mystery, Ricky Rubio.

We’ll be continually updating the quotes throughout the day, so check back every hour or so…

• “Then I will play with my friend Marc Gasol. If Memphis takes me, Memphis takes me. But we will see what happens tomorrow.” said Rubio when asked about potentially being drafted by Memphis with the #2 pick. “It’s the NBA.  For me all the teams are OK.”

• If the Grizzlies don’t use the second pick in the NBA Draft on the consensus second-best player in the draft, they had better hope (Rubio’s) a bust. Or they’ll look ridiculous. It’ll be like the Pau Gasol trade, only worse. – Memphis Commercial Appeal

• “Don’t count Ricky out yet as a King, and don’t count him in yet.” said Dan Fegan, Ricky Rubio’s agent. “I’ve known Geoff (Petrie) for over 20 years, and in my experience he is a very deliberate thinker who will examine every aspect of a draft candidate and trade possibilities before he makes a final decision.”

More quotes after the jump:

• “All the options are out there. Everything is still on the table. I think there are four or five guys that are the most likely possibilities,” Memphis general manager Chris Wallace told USA Today, who have the #2 pick in the draft. “We haven’t gotten down to say: ‘There is one guy. It’s over. That’s it.  We don’t have to take the test until Thursday evening.”

• “Rubio, once his jump shot develops into a weapon, seems destined for greatness.  In my book, there are two sure things in this draft: Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio. The Grizzlies should take advantage of being in position to draft a potential franchise point guard. Does Rubio have flaws? Sure. His perimeter shot needs work, the 18-year-old has to fill out and we’ll see about his defense. But he’s heady, flashy and a natural leader on the floor. If the Grizzlies pass because of financial issues or because they are scared he won’t sign, they will regret it.” – Chris Mannix, CNN/SI
  

• “I don’t see Rubio being that dynamic player now.  I think he’s got a lot of potential. He’s a very flashy player. He has a great mind for the game and he’s a terrific passer. I don’t see him — just physically, and because he doesn’t shoot the ball very well — I don’t see him having an impact as a rookie.” said Danny Ainge, the Boston Celtics’ executive director of basketball operations and general manager.

• “He is, in my opinion, one of the best passers I have ever seen and has a great basketball IQ, I compare Ricky Rubio to Wayne Gretzky in his prime. He sees plays two and three passes ahead.” said ESPN international-basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla. “Honestly, he’s not in the category of player as Pistol Pete, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, but he’s the best passer to come into this draft in a long, long time.”

• “(Rubio) could become a mini Magic Johnson and make everyone around him better.” said Aran Smith, President of NBADraft.net

• “What’s intriguing about Rubio is we don’t know anything about him. What we hear isn’t very concrete. So he’s a big mystery man.” said Jim Kozimor, former Kings announcer.

• “(Rubio’s) a new breed – he’s been compared to the lead singer in one of those boy bands,” said ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla. “He’s got that kind of persona along with a game that personifies flair and excitement.”

• “I think the dude is just all hype. I can’t even front. I’m just going to be real with you guys.” – fellow point guard prospect Brandon Jennings on Rubio.

• Ricky Rubio separating himself from the competition: “For me, the difference from the other point guards is that I play against the professional guys, not the young players… I have the Olympic games experience…”

• “The Ricky Rubio situation I think I went a little overboard by calling him all hype. He’s a great player. He has the most experience out of all of us in this draft. He’s been playing pro ball since [he was] 15. So about him being over-hyped, that was wrong of me.” Brandon Jennings told the Washington Times. “I have much respect for the dude. We did a photo shoot together for Slam Magazine, so I got to know him off the court. He’s a real good guy.”

• Rubio on all the pre-draft talk: “I don’t think about what they say about me.  I only think about my objective. I have my own dreams and I don’t listen to people who say you’re going to be in the top or you’re going to be all hype. I don’t care. We’re going to see what they can do on the court. I talk on the court.”

Links and Resources: Rubio has no concerns, even if others do (New York Times), Intrigue in NBA draft starts at No. 2 with Memphis (Yahoo/AP), Ricky Rubio : The Next Pistol Pete / Drazen (Interbasket Forum), Grizzlies gambling if they choose any player other than Rubio (Memphis Commercial Appeal), No easy fixes, answers for Kings (Sacramento Bee), Jennings: Rubio ‘a really good guy’ (The Washington Times), Phone ringing for Grizzlies’ GM as draft nears (USA Today), Hot Draft Questions (CNN/SI)

A report by the AP has many less foreign players ready to be selected in the NBA draft this year.

“This year, in Europe, there really weren’t as many players ready,” Pacers president Larry Bird said. “There’s some guys ready to come over, but they’re not ready to play in the NBA.”

A record 21 international players were drafted in 2003, but the total has dropped each year since; falling to thirteen in last year’s draft.  If the mock drafts around the net hold up, that number will drop again this year.

In this year’s draft, the only sure fire foreign first rounders are Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio and Tanzanian center Hasheem Thabeet, but even with the prospect of being drafted in the top-five, there are still many concerns surrounding them.

From there, Omri Casspi of Israel, Patrick Mills of Australia, and Jonas Jerebko are slated to go anywhere from the mid-to-late 20s to early second rounders.  At worst, there may only be seven international players drafted in 2009 with Rodrigue Beaubois (France) and Victor Claver (Spain) likely to be second round picks.

The problems international players face are complicated contract buyouts and the difference of approaches between the international game and the NBA.  But that same problem can be seen as a blessing by some teams.  Teams that have full rosters and own lower draft picks can pick on potential, keeping the player overseas for 2-3 years of extra seasoning.

“I do think it’s a down year, but I don’t think it’s a trend,” said Ryan Blake, the NBA’s assistant director of scouting. “It’s just how it goes and how people developed.”

Links and Resources: Foreign talent pool for NBA draft down this year (AP), Even Thabeet, Rubio come with doubts (Yahoo/AP)

Ricky Rubio had a quick, clandestine one-hour workout in front of the Sacramento Kings today, and the word is that both parties left a little underwhelmed from the whole experience.

The Sacramento Bee reports that Rubio  had a less-than-stellar performance in front of Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie and head coach Paul Westphal.

Even Rubio, who hadn’t touched a basketball in nearly a month, wasn’t exactly geeked with his workout.

At the Sacramento airport, Rubio told reporters that the NBA workouts are a biased against his skill set:

“It’s difficult to show them what I have to do on the court, because there are no teammates and nobody there,” said Rubio after his workout. “I can’t show them what I do on the court. This workout is not my style. I need my teammates around me to play basketball. I was alone.”

Rubio has a point.  Ricky’s strengths aren’t his jumping ability and his speed, but his IQ and natural court-sense of both offense and defense.  Even though we all know what Ricky’s strengths are, we expect more and more.

Rubio’s representatives requested that the workout be behind closed doors, and it was a good call.  Given the hype and expectations, anything less than Rubio dunking with his feet and throwing behind-the-back passes straight into the hoop, I don’t know how the workout could have been anything more than just normal.

The way the 18-year old has been put on a pedastel in the last few years, I don’ think it’s possible to have impressed anyone.  Still it’s unlikely he’ll go anywhere past the first four picks, and the only reason he may go past the second selection is because Rubio reportedly told his agent that he wouldnt’ play for Memphis or Oklahoma.  The two teams with the second and third picks in the draft.

The Sacramento Kings are slated to select fourth in Thursday’s NBA draft.

Links and Resources: Kings finally get to see Rubio play (Sacramento Bee), Report: Rubio wants Sacramento, not Oklahoma or Memphis (Interbasket), International Players you should know in the 2009 NBA Draft (Interbasket), Spanish Basketball Forum (Interbasket)

NBA Draft night is upon us and Interbasket wants to keep you informed.

We recently did a quick, unscientific roundup of several mock drafts on the ‘net to determine the top-12 international players you should know about in this year’s draft, and where they’re likely to be selected.

The consensus #1 pick is NBA-ready power forward Blake Griffin. After that?  No one is sure.  It all really comes down to a team’s need and their selection that will set off a domino effect.

Just a month ago, it was near-certain the second pick would be Spanish point-guard prospect Ricky Rubio, but in the last two weeks, James Harden and Hasheem Thabeet have climbed up the mock drafts.

Is it because of Rubio’s demands to play in California or because the 6-4 point guard is truly overhyped?

Thabeet moving up
Thabeet is used to making huge strides, such as he did in his three-year career at UConn.  Thabeet has ursuped Rubio as the first international player to be picked in this years’s draft, but just by a hair.  In our analysis, Thabeet is going to go anywhere from #2-3 and Rubio will be drafted #3-4.

After the fifth pick or so, International basketball fans will then have to sit on their hands for next twenty-odd picks. Then around pick #24-26, Omri Casspi of Israel is slated to be selected.  Following Casspi is 5-11 Aussie speedster Patrick Mills, who is pegged to go around pick #28-30.

1. Hasheem Thabeet, Tanzania (#2-3)
2. Ricky Rubio, Spain (#3-4)
3. Omri Casspi, Israel (#24-26)
4. Patrick Mills, Australia (#28-29)
5. Jonas Jerebko, Sweden (#28-29)
6. Rodrigue Beaubois, France (#33-35)
7. Victor Claver, Spain (#35-36)
8. Sergio Lull, Spain (#38-39)
9. Nando de Colo, France (#54)
10. Henk Norel, Netherlands (#54-55)
11. Vyacheslav Kravtsov, Ukraine (#55-56)
12. Emir Preldzic, Slovenia (#57-58)

Other international players that could hear their names called: Joe Ingles (Australia), Sergii Gladyr (Ukraine), Milenko Tepic (Serbia), Christian Eyenga (Congo), Goran Suton (Bosnia), Luke Nevill (Australia)

According to the eleven mock drafts we looked at, Thabeet and Rubio are the only surefire first round picks.  As with most mock drafts though, take this with a grain of salt.  With less than three days remaining, that’s a lifetime and there will certainly shuffling yet to be done.

Links and Resources: Patty Mills in, Greivis Vasquez out (Interbasket), Jonas Jerebko: First Swede drafted in NBA’s first round? (Interbasket), Patrick Mills, Joe Ingles among four Aussies in NBA Draft (Interbasket), Spain’s Victor Claver joins Rubio in 2009 NBA Draft (Interbasket), Ricky Rubio declares for 2009 NBA Draft (Interbasket), Hasheem Thabeet vs. Goran Suton, Foreign Centers to clash in Final Four (Interbasket), After UNC Loss, Goran Suton’s Future Looking Up (Interbasket)

Patrick Mills of Canberra and Joe Ingles of HappyValley are among four Australian players that hope to be selected in this year’s NBA draft (discuss).

Mills and Ingles are the top two prospects coming out from down under.  With Luke Nevill and Aron Baynes likely fighting to be a second round pick or securing a spot during free-agent camps.

After playing well in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and two successful years at St. Mary’s (USA), the 20-year old Mills (discuss) is expected to follow in his cousin Nathan Jawai‘s footsteps to become the second indigenous Australian to play in the NBA.

The 6-0, 175lb point guard, who averaged 18.4 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.2 steals last season, is likely to be a late first round pick.

Joe Ingles (discuss) has been on the Aussie radar for sometime now.  Ingles is a 6-8, 200lb SG/SF and has been in Chicago for the last couple months working out with several NBA and European teams.

The left-handed Ingles helped the South Dragons win last seaon’s NBL championship-winning and also played well, in limited time, during the 2008 Olympics.

He was the NBL’s rookie of the year in 2007, and holds the record for most points scored by an Aussie in an NBL debut – 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the field.

Check out this YouTube clip of Ingles.

7-1 giant Luke Nevill of West Australia is hoping that his size and experience after four years playing for the University of Utah will garner interest.  The 250lb 23-year old put up 16.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, and blocked 2.7 shots in the MWC conference.

Aron Baynes of Queensland rounds out the Australians in contention.  The 6-10, 270lb center spent four years at Washington State.  Baynes averaged 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in his senior season in the Pacific Northwest.

The 22-year-old Baynes most likely head to the Euroleague if he’s not picked up in the draft, having already signed a two-year deal with Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas.

The 2009 NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 25th, 2009.

Links and Resources: Patty Mills in, Greivis Vasquez out of NBA Draft (Interbasket),  Patrick Mills Olympic Profile (Interbasket), Video: Joe Ingles, A Basketball Prodigy (YouTube), Australia Basketball Forum (Interbasket), Joe Ingles, Aussie Prodigy (Interbasket)

* adidas NBA Australia Green/Yellow Boomers Cap from NBA.com

While Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings continue their petty little pre-draft spat there are plenty of other players in Europe that are of  interest to NBA scouts as the big night looms on the horizon just a couple of weeks away.

Among the more intriguing prospects this season is Sweden’s Jonas Jerebko (discuss), who has been playing in the Italian League for Angelico Biella, tough losers in the play-offs earlier this month.

That failure has caused Jerebko some problems, though, since he refused to try out for scouts early at the Reebok Eurocamp last week after telling ESPN draft guru Chad Ford that he was just too tired to play any more.

But those scouts who stayed on for the Monday sessions in Treviso would not have been disappointed when Jerebko finally arrived on court and put up an impressive performance that could well have sent his stock back into the first round.

Until then, the disappointment of some of his inconsistent play had seen him drop to a second round ranking, which led some to think Jerebko could even refuse to take a deal to move to the United States, but salary cap needs of some teams picking late in the first may well have changed that.

Interbasket suggests that a number of teams are likely to be in the market for a European prospect who they can keep stashed away (and off their salary list) for a couple of seasons, and Jerebko looks to be the player at the top of that list.

Jerebko can play either forward spot, and in his 28 minute outing in his only game at the Eurocamp, missed just one of his seven shots, adding five steals and four rebounds in a performance that had scouts forgetting his earlier apathy towards participating in said tournament.

While he may already be NBA-ready, more so than the likes of Vladimir Dasic (who is withdrawing from the draft anyway) and Patrick Beverley for example, one or two more seasons improving his offensive game could mean a team at the end of the first round getting a real steal this season.

My basketball bet? Jerebko will go to Chicago at #26 to draft and stash, or to Oklahoma City (#25) or Minnesota (#28) as the first Swede to be drafted in the NBA’s first round.  Many of these teams that are interested plan to add Jerebko to a young roster with hope that he is ready right now.

Links and Resources: Sweden: Jonas Jerebko, Jon Stefansson Thread (Interbasket), Brandon Jennings not sold on Ricky Rubio (Interbasket), Swedish Basketball Forum (Interbasket), Andy Charles of basketball betting regularly contributes to Interbasket  (BettingFair)

Today was the last day that fence-sitting underclassman had to decide whether they wanted to remain in this year’s NBA draft or to pull out.

And two key international point guards, Patrick Mills and Greivis Vasquez, made their decisions today. This  year’s draft is point-guard heavy; already including ballhandling prospects Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Stephon Curry, Jrue Holiday, and Jonny Flynn.

Aussie point guard Patrick Mills, who made a splash in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, kept his name in the hat.  The speedy 5-11 Sophomore at St. Johns is expected to be drafted somewhere in the late first round.

Other underclassmen that decided to remain in the 2009 draft were Austin Daye of Gonzaga, Jeff Teague from Georgia Tech, Jodie Meeks of Kentucky, and Chinemelu Elonu of Texas A&M.

Another international point guard decided to pull his name out.  Greivis Vasquez of Venezuela, the mouthy 6-5 guard that pulled off a triple double regular season win against eventual champions North Carolina will be back in a Maryland jersey for his Senior Year.

Junior Luke Harangody will return for his Senior year at Notre Dame.  Devan Downey (South Carolina) and Scottie Reynolds (Villanova) will also remain at their respective schools.

The 2009 NBA Draft is Thursday, June 25th, 2009.

Links and Resources: Maryland’s Vasquez Withdraws From NBA Draft (Washington Post), Brandon Jennings thinks Rubio is overrated (Interbasket), Greivis Vasquez’s triple double upsets #3 North Carolina (Interbasket), Patrick Mills Olympic Profile (Interbasket)