New developments out of the Wizards camp via SI.
yes
According to Thomsen, the Wizards are looking to TRADE the 5th pick, but not for Rubio. Their owner feels that their team can compete in the east with a healthy Arenas and a developing Young and McGee.
The Wiz are looking to get under the luxury tax, so they will look to trade Mike James along with the 5th for some relief.
Good news on two fronts; Kings should be free to draft Rubio assuming OKC a) doesn't take him and b) doesn't swap picks with somebody who would really want him. Thabeet to the Grizz nearly looks like a done deal at this point, and this is coming from the Grizzlies camp.
The Kings should be in a position to take Rubio, and could potentially attempt to secure the 5th pick as well. Maybe a guy like Kenny Thomas and cash considerations (do we still have that trade exception available?) for Stevenson and the 5th could possibly get the deal done. I don't know that there is anybody the Kings would really like at the five spot, but it does translate to more buying power as a team. They could turn that 5 pick into 2 later first round picks (5 and 31 for 16 and 26, which belong to the Bulls), and fill some positions with guys like Jeff Teague, Jrue Holliday, Ty Lawson, James Johnson, Earl Clark, Austin Daye, Tyler Hansbrough. (why not?)
Realistically, none of this is going to happen. But it is plenty of fun to speculate.
My ideal scenario:
Kings take Rubio at 4.
Kings trade K9 and about 1.5 mil in cash for 5 pick and DeShawn Stevenson
Kings THEN move the number 5 and number 31 to Chicago for number 16 and 26.
-or-
Rubio @ 4, get the 5th pick
and trade the 5th to Minnesota for the 18 and the 28th.
possible? Didn't really check the numbers, but if Petrie is aggressive enough, it could happen. I know it is a weak draft in terms of NBA-ready talent, but that is not to say that there isn't a whole lot of potential with some of these picks.
Why for Washington? It might not put them under the cap right away, but you are talking about shaving about 2.5 mil off of what they have right now. K9 is an expiring, so thay would be under the cap next season. If they wanted to do Songaila for K9, they would end up saving about 3.5 million, but Darius is actually valuable to that team.
Why for Chicago?
I think they only do this if OKC doesn't take Hill at the 3. They get a chance to move up and take a post scorer, which they have craved... for a while now. They are also shopping Tyrus Thomas, feeling that Noah is a better player but they are redundant.
Why for Minnesota?
They want both Jennings and Evans, and if they played their cards right, they could potentially get both. They also like Harden here if OKC takes Hill. Minnesota is one of the teams that would definitely like two lottery picks in this draft. They have their eye on a lot of prospects, like Jennings, Evans, and DeRozan.
It would also be nice if the Kings would try to buy some second round picks, possibly from the Wizards, Pistons, Bobcats, or Suns and get guys like AJ Price, Jodie Meeks, Danny Green, Victor Claver, Dionte Christmas.
Anyway, just a few musings.