NEW YORK - Hasheem Thabeet realizes his offensive game needs work and understands it will be hard for him to dominate defensively the way he did in college.
There are just as many questions about Ricky Rubio, starting with one even he can't answer: Will he play in the NBA next season? And one of these guys could be the No. 2 pick today. The defensive dynamo from Connecticut and the promising point guard from Spain have their doubters, but might be the best of the rest in an NBA draft with no apparent sure thing beyond Blake Griffin.
The Los Angeles Clippers have the No. 1 pick and are all but certain to take Griffin, the player of the year from Oklahoma. Then it's up to the Memphis Grizzlies.
"We don't have to take the test until Thursday evening," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said. "All the options are out there. Not just drafting, but moving back, trading for the right veteran. Everything is still on the table."
If Memphis does decide to deal, Minnesota could be a willing partner. The Timberwolves have four picks in the first round, including the fifth and sixth selections.
Whoever makes the call at No. 2 likely chooses between Thabeet and Rubio.
The 7-foot-3 Thabeet was the co-Big East player of the year and was the league's top defensive player, but still struggles offensively. "They say if we draft you, we want you to come over and just control the game," said Thabeet, a native of Tanzania who switched from soccer to basketball only seven years ago
Rubio faces similar doubts about his offensive skills because of an unreliable outside shot, but the questions about the 18-year-old Spaniard go beyond his play on the court.
Rubio has to pay a multimillion-dollar buyout to his Spanish club, DKV Joventut Badalona, to get out of his contract. And while his lawyers are working on a deal with the team and he expects an amicable parting, he said there's a chance he would stay in Europe if he isn't drafted high enough to earn a salary that would cover a significant chunk of his debt.
And he hasn't persuaded teams to spend a high pick on him in recent weeks. He worked out only for Sacramento, which has the No. 4 selection, but didn't feel it properly showcased his skills because his strength is in the full-court game. Yet Rubio, who played for the Spanish team that lost to the United States in last summer's Olympic gold-medal game, thinks he's still the best in a deep pool of point guards.
"I have the Olympic Games experience," he said. "For me, the difference from the other point guards is that I play against the professional guys, not the young players."
Though he refused to work out for the Grizzlies and said his mother was worried about Minnesota taking him because she dislikes cold weather, Rubio insisted he hasn't ruled out playing for anyone.
