Yuku free message boards

Today's NBA draft will present the Kings, a team that so badly needs to get it right, a complicated choice.

It's one that was made challenging after the May 19 lottery put them in the No. 4 position (in addition to their No. 23 and No. 31 picks).

Picking first would have been a no-brainer (Blake Griffin), second would have come with the luxury of targeting the best of the rest, and even No. 3 would have meant the lines of logic would be more clearly drawn.

It is no surprise, then, that the seemingly endless possibilities will likely be considered until the Kings are on the clock.

If the Kings don't trade their first pick - and league sources say they have been searching for a deal that would net a high-level veteran point guard for the fourth pick and other pieces - they will be picking from a group of players who have one thing in common: They're not the perfect fit.

The Kings are deliberating among players who each offer plenty of positives but whose weaknesses cloud the water.

"We're just not going to fill every need we have with one player this year - not that you ever can," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said Wednesday night.

Memphis guard Tyreke Evans is believed to be the favorite, with his height (6-foot-5), strength and smooth scoring ways enticing the Kings to simply take the best player.

And while the selection would surely add to a talent pool that remains too shallow, questions about Evans' shooting ability and whether he can be an NBA point guard mean there would be more questions to come. Namely, how would his isolation style fit with Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin?

Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn continues to have an ardent fan base within the organization. His repute as a pure point guard and leader who can be extremely physical have helped his cause, but the question of his height (5-11) and his shot may inspire the Kings to go a different direction.

Davidson guard Stephen Curry offers another quandary. As the draft's best shooter, he would be a boon for the Kings' offense, but he's considered neither a distributing point guard nor a good defender.

Yet it's Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio who was seen by many as the perfect antidote to the Kings' problems. The Kings were ranked 27th in assists last season (19.7 per game) and the creative Rubio is widely considered the best passer in the draft, a true point guard who can make his teammates better.

Still, concerns arose there as well, from his age (18) to his questionable shot to a perception that the leadership qualities that are highly regarded in Europe would take time to translate in the NBA. There remains the matter of his current contract, too, as the negotiations for a reduction in his $6.6 million buyout with his team, DKV Joventut, have not been finalized as expected and may not be completed by today.

Rubio's situation is unique because of his international fame and potential drawing power locally. He has been the fan favorite among draft prospects in Sacramento, a fact that matters more now than ever considering the team finished last in the league in attendance last season and is in desperate need of help at the Arco Arena gate. Petrie, however, said the business side will always benefit by taking the best player.

"The business of basketball mainly is going to be contingent on us improving and starting to win more games," he said. "Whatever happens in this draft tomorrow, there is not going to be any absolute truth - only some people will say there is. The absolute truth will come down the road, when the truth becomes more self-evident."

Rubio's agent, Dan Fegan, has made his intentions clear as they pertain to the Kings - he has been looking to fulfill their desire to upgrade at point guard while placing his client in a California city seen as ideal with a team full of young players like him.

There was the financial factor as well, as Rubio was once widely seen as a No. 2 pick yet now faces the prospect of falling.

"My best guess at this point is that no one knows who the Kings will select because the process is not over," Fegan said.

"I've known Geoff 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.

"That's one of the reasons why he has had so much success. Part of the process is using all the time available and not letting the media or other teams in on what you are truly thinking. Don't count Ricky out yet as a King, and don't count him in yet."

The various chatter around the league Wednesday reflected Fegan's sentiment, nowhere more so than in Minnesota. After the Timberwolves acquired the No. 5 pick from Washington, a league source said they offered Oklahoma City the No. 5 and their No. 18 to move up to No. 3 with the intent of picking Rubio.

Despite so many league executives and agents believing the Kings were targeting Evans, there were plenty who saw Rubio as their pick. The T-wolves, quite clearly, could believe they must move ahead of the Kings to pick Rubio.

"It's a little bit like seven-card stud," Petrie said. "You've got the flop, one card up and one more card to turn."

The name on the back of the basketball jersey simply says "RICKY." The question is whether he'll be trading in his Spanish uniform for Sacramento Kings purple.

The biggest buzz in the countdown to today's NBA draft surrounds Ricky Rubio, an 18-year-old with heartthrob good looks who still lives with his parents in a seaside town outside of Barcelona, Spain, keeps a curfew and has a Michael Jordan poster above his bed.

In Europe, Rubio transcends athleticism and falls into that nebulous category of celebrity. But will he be as popular with U.S. fans and, more specifically, the Kings, if the team takes him with its fourth pick in the draft?

"He'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."

There are five elements that add up to celebrity - some semblance of talent, a good back story, presentable looks, charisma and timing, said Kevin Wehr, an associate professor of sociology at California State University, Sacramento. Rubio satisfies all of them, plus he's young.

"Celebrities give us a distraction from the drudgery of our daily lives," Wehr said. "And it conforms to the mythology that we're taught about the American dream - if you work hard, live right and have talent, you will be rewarded."

Rubio first picked up a basketball as a toddler in soccer-crazed Spain, coincidentally around the time of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the original U.S. Dream Team. Just shy of his 15th birthday and while continuing to attend his local high school, Rubio started playing professionally with Spain's ACB League, considered one of the best outside of the NBA.

It was during the Beijing Olympics last year that the world took notice of the 6-foot-4, 180-pound teenager. Rubio became the youngest player to start in an Olympics final when he took the place of the injured José Calderón, who plays for the NBA's Toronto Raptors, against the United States' Redeem Team.

Although Spain lost by 11 points, Rubio played injured and still had six points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. He was likened to basketball legend Pistol Pete Maravich and dubbed "La Pistola."

Still, no one can predict how that experience along with his young age will translate into a grueling NBA schedule under pressure that gets more intense with the mounting hype.

"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 freelance sportscaster and former Kings announcer Jim Kozimor. "And when you don't know something, you tend to make up an answer - and it's usually pretty good."

Rubio is already an international phenomenon with more than 1,000 YouTube video uploads; a Facebook page with almost 26,000 fans from France, Italy, the Philippines, Indonesia, Denmark and other countries; Slam basketball magazine covers; and a "Meet the Rubios" video series at www.nikebasketball.com about his family, favorite foods and dancing skills.

But Rubio still leads a normal teenage life, said Jesús Pérez Ramos, who covers basketball for the Barcelona-based sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo.

That is about to change, said Scott Rosner, associate director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, a sports business think tank at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Here you have this guy with floppy hair running up and down the court … (who) more than holds his own against the best players in the world," Rosner said. "There's potential there. He represents hope and fans want hope."

The reality, however, is that Rubio - and anyone his age - is something of a gamble, according to Rosner.

"It's very hard to project how an 18-year-old is going to develop as … a person in the next five years, and that goes for basketball or investment banking," Rosner said. "It's almost a boom or bust kind of thing. I guess that's what makes some of Rubio exciting. He could be phenomenal, or he could turn out to be a bust."

His no-look passes aside, Rubio is NBA-ready, according to Pérez Ramos.

"He can do dunks and some spectacular things, but really he knows basketball and he knows how to run a team," Pérez Ramos said. "And his mentality is very, very strong."

ESPN's Fraschilla thinks it might be beneficial for Rubio to stay in Spain for two more years, but with the NBA, "the reality is, you strike while the iron is hot."

"Honestly, he's not in the category of player as Pistol Pete, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson," Fraschilla said. "But he's the best passer to come into this draft in a long, long time."

Although Tyreke Evans from Memphis was rumored to be the Kings' top pick this week, Rubio has visited Sacramento twice with a solo practice workout Monday. There is also the extra wrinkle of a $6.6 million buyout to get Rubio out of his contract with his Spanish team DKV Joventut.

Robert Valenzuela won't reach for his cowbell until the Kings turn around their losing record. The hairstylist, 55, has had season tickets since the franchise came to Sacramento in 1985, but he canceled them last year because he found himself leaving the majority of games unhappy.

"If you have a team that wins, you don't need a good-looking 18-year-old Spaniard," he said. "We used to go when they won. We stopped going when they were not winning. Looks are nice, but not as much as teams that win."

The Sacramento Kings have all but ruled out drafting star Ricky Rubio with the fourth pick and have focused on two other guards: Tyreke Evans and Jonny Flynn, league sources said.

The Kings' front office is fearful of the legal wrangling needed to free Rubio from the contractual mess with his Spanish team, and doesn't feel strongly enough about him as a "can't-miss" star to endure the saga.

For now, the Kings' front office and coaching staff is largely divided on Evans and Flynn. They'll debate it well into Thursday. The Kings could be inclined to take Israeli Omri Casspi with the 23rd pick, but opposing teams say they're still interested in packaging Nos. 23 and 31 to move up.

Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles has become a proponent of Brandon Jennings, a source said and could push to make the point guard the Bucks' choice at No. 10.

Sources say that Louisville's Terrence Williams is back in the mix with the Nets at No. 11. He's on the short list with North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Duke's Gerald Henderson. Charlotte is offering two second-round picks to try to get a second first-round pick (in the 20s), but has no takers so far.

Because of his comfort level with his teammates and city, and of course, the chance to get an $8 million-$9 million contract, odds are that free agent Jason Kidd will re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks. Yet, he has an intrigue with the New York Knicks that is mutual, and a Knicks source says they plan to try and meet with him once free agency starts on July 1.

Kidd is considering possibilities with Portland and Cleveland, but he always loved New York a lot more than New Jersey. He built good relationships with Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and Portland's Nate McMillan when they were assistant coaches for Team USA.

Barring a sign-and-trade deal, the Knicks would be limited to offering Kidd the midlevel exception.

The Portland Trail Blazers traded the 24th and 56th picks in the draft to the Dallas Mavericks for the 22nd pick on Wednesday afternoon, a league source told Yahoo Sports. Portland could use the pick to package with a player to move up into the lottery.

The Indiana Pacers are discussing trading point guard T.J. Ford with several teams, league sources say, including the Phoenix Suns.

With partial owner Michael Jordan there for a closer inspection, the Charlotte Bobcats brought Wake Forest's James Johnson into town for a second workout on Wednesday. Charlotte is debating among Louisville's Terrence Williams, Duke's Gerald Henderson and Johnson.

The New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies are pushing hard on a Quentin Richardson(notes)-Darko Milicic trade, and an agreement could come this week, league sources said.

The two teams have revived discussions from the February trade deadline on the deal. Richardson has an expiring $9.3 million contract and would be another athletic wing player to go with O.J. Mayo(notes) and Rudy Gay(notes).

Milicic, a 7-foot forward-center, is in the final year of his contract and could give the Knicks some rebounding and presence near the rim.

As the Minnesota Timberwolves prepare to make a push for Memphis' pick at No. 2, it's become clear that they won't package the fifth and sixth picks to get there. The Wolves have made it clear to teams that are trying to pry their 18th pick that it isn't available. They want to use that in combination with one of the two higher picks to make a deal with Memphis. … The Utah Jazz are enamored with University of Pittsburgh tough guy Sam Young at No. 20, who is a perfect fit for head coach Jerry Sloan. … Golden State has long been enamored with Brandon Jennings at No. 7, but league sources say the Warriors are considering Wake Forest forward James Johnson there as well. Few teams would have Johnson that high on their draft boards. … Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich(notes) is telling friends that he thinks he'll be dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers, who have interest in pairing him with Brandon Roy(notes) in the backcourt. … New Jersey Nets ownership finally told Rod Thorn that he doesn't have to trade Vince Carter(notes) in a salary dump. They thus pulled back on a possible trade with the San Antonio Spurs which would've brought them a package including Bruce Bowen(notes), Fabricio Oberto(notes) and Roger Mason(notes) Jr. Nets sources say that if owner Bruce Ratner is going to bail on the Brooklyn arena and sell his team to cut his losses, ownership groups who would potentially purchase the team would rather he doesn't gut it. … Oberto, who was traded to the Detroit Pistons in a three-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and will be bought out by the Pistons in a salary-cap move, will likely return to San Antonio as a free agent. … There's no chance Bowen returns to the Spurs if the Bucks buy him out as well. His relationship with Gregg Popovich deteriorated with his dwindling role a year ago, and that partnership is over. … League sources say the Nets have narrowed their choices at No. 11 to North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Duke's Gerald Henderson.

Mock Draft on Espn right now they are saying Kings take Evans with 4th pick..