• Brandon Jennings, Jonny Flynn and Jrue Holiday went head-to-head in front of the entire Kings brass in Sacramento this past weekend.
The Kings are looking closely at those three prospects, along with Spain's Ricky Rubio. And the chances that Rubio will slip to No. 4 seem to grow by the day. [...]
sources in Sacramento say that the Kings have reservations about Rubio and that it's far from a done deal that they will take him if he is on the board. [...]
Flynn appeared to have won the off-the-court battle. Although both Holiday and Jennings came off as mature, Kings officials were impressed with Flynn's charisma and his potential leadership qualities. [...]
The team also loved Flynn's penetration ability, his defense and the swagger he brought to the court -- something the Kings desperately need.
Sources say Jennings' combination of speed and quickness was impressive, but his shot selection and jump shots were not. Neither was his slight frame. From the sound of things, Jennings was probably more impressive in his Golden State workout than in the one in Sacramento.
Holiday was solid and shot the ball well, but he melted into the background a bit in a three-on-three drill when paired with Flynn. Apparently, Holiday deferred a bit too much to Flynn and ended up being a 2-guard in the workouts.
Holiday already has been in twice for the Kings, and you can expect them to try to bring back Flynn once more. Ideally, they would get to see him go head-to-head with Rubio, but right now I don't think Rubio would agree to even a one-on-none workout, let alone a competitive one like that.
• Speaking of Rubio, his situation looks a little more precarious Monday than it has seemed. I've assumed that Sacramento at No. 4 was his floor, and it still may be. But if he slips past Sacramento, things could get pretty interesting.
First, Rubio has been avoiding the Wizards. Apparently, his people don't think he's a good fit in the backcourt with Gilbert Arenas. If the Wizards pass on him because of that, I'm not sure where he'll land. Minnesota needs a point guard, but the Wolves seem to be leaning toward Curry and Tyreke Evans. The Warriors need Rubio badly, but they have a pretty rocky relationship with his agent, Dan Fegan.
Of course, both the Knicks and Rubio would love for a marriage to happen, but Rubio would be in a financial bind if he falls that far. He no longer would make the cash to afford a buyout in Spain unless the buyout is really reduced.
I still believe the most likely scenario is that a team will move up into the top two or three to grab him. But if that doesn't happen, things could get pretty crazy.
• The word out of the workouts in New Jersey was that Ohio State's B.J. Mullens skipped the workout because he had been promised to be picked in the top 16. The top 16 probably means No. 16, which is the Chicago Bulls. [...]
If Mullens does go to Chicago, that could be really bad news for Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, who is slipping a bit after the medical report from Chicago red-flagged his knees. [...]
Blair could be in for a draft night slide. The Sixers (No. 17), Wolves (No. 18) and Hawks (No. 19) don't really need a 4 like Blair. And although the Jazz (No. 20) could use another big if they lose Carlos Boozer, Blair probably is too similar to Paul Millsap.
I wouldn't be shocked to see Portland GM Kevin Pritchard, always the opportunist, try to find a way to move up into the middle of the first round to grab him. The Blazers want more toughness up front, and Blair certainly would provide that.
• There were a few weeks when it looked as though Jordan Hill might be slipping on draft boards. But the feedback I've been getting during the past few days says he's still very much in the mix in Washington and that the Warriors and Knicks also are taking a serious look at him.
As for the Warriors, Hill isn't a real need for them -- they have Brandan Wright, Ronny Turiaf and Anthony Randolph, who can all play the 4. However, if Golden State doesn't find a point guard it loves by the time it picks, Hill could be the guy.
The Knicks also could choose to go that way. If David Lee leaves via free agency, they would have virtually no front line and could use Hill's energy, rebounding and emerging offensive game. [...]
• New Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn made a point after taking over the team that he was adamant that players must come in and work out for the Wolves if they want Minnesota to draft them.
Then came word that Curry, who has done workouts with just two teams -- the Knicks and Bobcats (and possibly a third, the Wizards, on Monday) -- was shutting down his workouts before coming to Minnesota.
So Curry is out of the mix in Minnesota, right?
Um … no. [...]
"I think that in his case, he has such a long body of work because he's been in college for a few years, and we saw him [at the draft combine] in Chicago," Kahn said. "We interviewed him in Chicago, so it's not as if we're missing an interview on him. So I would feel in his case that we at least have a lot of information already. It would be more problematic if it were somebody that we didn't know as well."
With that said, I think Curry is the Wolves' best-case scenario at No. 6. Are they really going to scratch off a guy they want at No. 6 just because he didn't come in for a workout?