So Much For Suspense

After the Clippers won the number one pick in this year's draft, their team's website featured an interview with Team President Andy Roeser. In the interview, Roeser was asked about whether or not Blake Griffin would be the team's pick. He responded by saying:

"We’re going to do our due diligence and then we’re going to pick the best player in the Draft. A lot of people do think that’s Blake Griffin. I would like to sit with Mike [Dunleavy] before we make that decision."

That seems to be the standard organizational response to this type of good fortune. Behind closed doors, you may be jumping for joy and starting to plan for next season with Griffin in your frontcourt rotation. But, publicly, we all appreciate a slight hint of suspense.

Apparently Mike Dunleavy didn't get the memo about meeting as an organization to make a decision, or about doing due diligence, or even about trying to keep some element of secrecy to what his team would do. According to this LA Times article , Dunleavy had this to say last night in a phone interview from Barcelona after hearing that his team had won the top pick:

"Clearly, we're taking Blake Griffin," Clippers General Manager and Coach Mike Dunleavy said in a telephone interview from Barcelona, Spain. "This guy is the No. 1 pick. We're extremely excited. He's the guy."


So, there it is. I've heard a lot of jokes this morning about what a bad break this was for Griffin. In actuality, I think this Clippers team will be pretty good on paper. Griffin will join Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, and Zach Randolph on the front line. That's a pretty solid frontcourt to pair with Baron Davis and Eric Gordon. Plus, how bad can it be to be rich and famous in Los Angeles? I'd certainly have to think this is a more attractive scenario than going to Sacramento. People were hyped about the possibility of Oklahoma City, but I think those prospects were more exciting for the Thunder organization than they were for Griffin. This is LOS ANGELES we're talking about.