Loud Links: June 8, 2009

4D hear to report that the Rubio saga continues. The latest news has the Spanish B-ball wiz-kid possibly suing his current team to lower the buyout price. Is this good news for teams with lower picks that can’t compensate the price of his buyout with regular rookie scale salaries? Guess what? Tyson Chandler was hurt worse than thought. I’m at a loss for words concerning Chandler. I wish Chandler the best, yet I’m slightly relieved to know that Presti and company made the right decision. There is more news from the Eurocamp, and some ESPN Insider articles concerning the historic results of the draft.

Ricky Rubio is suing? - Rotoworld.com
Ricky Rubio is reportedly suing his team, DKV Joventut, in order to reduce the amount of his approximately $6 million buyout clause. The lawsuit claims that there is an unreasonable disparity between Rubio's current salary and the buyout amount requested. With the draft fast approaching it shouldn't take long for an agreement to be reached -- at the moment two years remain on Rubio's contract, which he signed when he was 15 years old.

What impact would each potential NBA Draft pick have on the OKC Thunder? | NewsOK.com
But the truth is, eight different players could wind up being the guy Oklahoma City comes away with depending on what it does at No. 3. Our list might even be on the short side when you consider cagey general manager Sam Presti is making the call. Anything could happen.

New Orleans Hornets Coach Byron Scott anticipating upcoming season - Hornets Beat
Scott also added that surgery revealed center Tyson Chandler's injured ankle was worse than thought, and Chandler's rehabilitation could take four months, close to the beginning of training camp in October.

New Orleans Hornets take a look at UNC's Tyler Hansbrough - Hornets Beat
"First of all, he is a power forward, he's a rugged, very intense, fierce competitor," Scott said. "He's a much better athlete than I think a lot of people give him credit for. He shoots the ball much better than people give him credit for. So I don't think it'll be a big-time transition period for him as far as adjustment to the NBA style. College is probably more physical than the NBA until you get to the playoffs. I don't think the adjustment is going to take that long."

NBA draft: Eurocamp format shines in showcasing talent - ESPN Insider
De Colo was the big surprise at the camp. NBA scouts have been following him for a couple of years, and a number of NBA execs reported that he looked good in the group workouts in Minnesota last week. But he was borderline spectacular at the Eurocamp. He torched Mills' team on Day 1, leading his team to a 20-point blowout. And his production (13 points, 4 assists, 4 steals) didn't tell the whole story -- his floor vision, pacing and defense dictated the course of the whole game.

DraftExpress: Reebok Eurocamp, Day Two
Plenty of chatter about the Ricky Rubio situation, with the most interesting commentary coming from the many members of the Spanish basketball industry, which are out here in full force. The news this morning about a lawsuit being planned by Rubio’s camp is apparently very true, and there was plenty of spirited discussion regarding whether his exorbitant buyout relative to his proportional contract will hold up in a Spanish court.

NBA Draft - After pick 10, available talent drops sharply - ESPN Insider
Our statistical analysis shows the people picked 10th or above have a decent chance of becoming excellent NBA players. But go any lower, and we mean any lower, and you're in a casino. A foreign casino, with odd games and different languages. The odds are against players in the last 50 picks giving a team any more value than an average replacement player, as defined by John Hollinger's estimated wins added (EWA) metric.

NBA draft - It's smarter to pick young players than college seniors - ESPN Insider
The First Law of Tim Duncan states that the more college basketball experience a player has, the more polished his skills are, the more seasoned his character is and the more prepared for NBA success he will be. Its corollary, the First Law of Kwame Brown, states that a raw-tooled player straight from high school, however gifted and highly touted he may be, is ill-equipped for the rigors of the NBA game and represents a dangerous investment for franchises picking at the top of the draft.

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