By Dave Daily

The NBA Draft is Thursday in New York City and here are my first-round projections based on information about workouts, team conjecture and possible deals. Ricky Rubio seems to be the biggest mystery of the draft due to his obligations to his pro team in Spain (buyout as much as $7 million) and some suspicions about his ability. Is he quick enough to defend point guards in the NBA? Does he have a good enough jumper to keep defenses honest? I think Rubio could get drafted as high as second, but most likely, you’ll see a team like Minnesota jump up to take him in a deal. Washington at number five, has also received as many as 10 offers and should make a deal to get an established veteran. If Rubio slips to five, all bets are off as they may keep him.

1) LA Clippers Blake Griffin Oklahoma
2) Memphis Ricky Rubio* Spain
3) Oklahoma City Hasheem Thabeet UConn
4) Sacramento Tyreke Evans Memphis
5) Washington Stephen Curry* Davidson
6) Minnesota James Harden Arizona
7) Golden State Jonny Flynn Syracuse
8) New York Jrue Holiday UCLA
9) T oronto DeMar DeRozan USC
10) Milwaukee Jordan Hill Arizona
11) New Jersey Gerald Henderson Duke
12) Charlotte Terrence Williams Louisville
13) Indiana Eric Maynor VCU
14) Phoenix Brandon Jennings Italy
15) Detroit B.J. Mullens Ohio State
16) Chicago Earl Clark Louisville
17) Philadelphia Ty Lawson North Carolina
18) Minnesota James Johnson* Wake Forest
19) Atlanta Jeff Teague Wale Forest
20) Utah Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina
21) New Orleans Austin Daye Gonzaga
22) Dallas DeJuan Blair Pittsburgh
23) Sacramento Omri Casspi Israel
24) Portland DaJuan Summers Georgetown
25) Oklahoma City Darren Collison UCLA
26) Chicago Sam Young Pittsburgh
27) Memphis Chase Buddinger Arizona
28) Minnesota Toney Douglas Florida State
29) LA Lakers Wayne Ellington North Carolina
30) Cleveland Jonas Jerebko Sweden

*-possible trade