NBA draft: Timberwolves surprise by following up Rubio pick with another floor general

Flynn points the way

Falls product taken sixth by Minnesota

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NEW YORK—The ESPN cameras took away all the guesswork for Jonny Flynn.

Minutes before any pick is announced, cameras are pushed into the prospect’s face. So after Ricky Rubio was selected with the No. 5 pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the cameras began to hover around one of the top point guards ever produced by Western New York.

Then NBA Commissioner David Stern said, “With the sixth pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves select Jonny Flynn from Syracuse University.”

When Flynn, the former Niagara Falls High School and Syracuse point guard, officially became a part of the NBA on Thursday there was plenty of joy, a little bit of relief but somewhat of a feeling of surprise. When he finally suits up for the ’Wolves he will be competing against Rubio. Both play the same position: point guard.

“You see the NBA going to a format with two point guards,” said Flynn. “That’s what the game is shifting to. It’s good to have two facilitators who can make plays on the court. I think we can boost each other’s level of play and I can’t wait to go play with him.”

It was certainly a curious move by Minnesota, which recently parted ways with longtime General Manager Kevin McHale and doesn’t have a coach. After Flynn was selected, rumors quickly floated that either Flynn or Rubio would be moved to the New York Knicks in exchange for Arizona power forward Jordan Hill, who the Knicks selected at No. 8 to loud scattered boos at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

But the deal never materialized so Flynn and Rubio are teammates, which doesn’t seem to concern Flynn.

“You’re just a basketball player out there, whether you’re playing with a superstar, Kobe Bryant or Le- Bron James, they’re going to have the ball most of the time anyway,” Flynn said. “But with two [point guards], you don’t have the pressure on you to do everything so it’s going to be great.”

Rubio, who some have compared to the legendary Pete Maravich, didn’t sound as optimistic.

“That’s a big surprise for me, they took another point guard,” Rubio said. “But we are going to see what they want. I don’t know yet what exactly they want.”

Flynn joined Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, Christian Laettner and Greg Oden as Western New York natives who have been drafted in the first round.

In 73 career games at Syracuse the 6-foot, 195-pound Flynn averaged 16.6 points and 6.0 assists. Flynn ranked 38th at Syracuse in career scoring (1,211 points) and seventh in career assists (439). He started all 73 games of his tenure, scoring in double figures in 64 contests.

Flynn is the first Syracuse player selected in the draft lottery since Carmelo Anthony went third in 2003. Flynn’s former teammate, Donte Greene, was the 28th overall pick last year by Memphis.

“It’s been a crazy ride over the past two months, but I shot up the draft boards,” Flynn said. “When I first came out I was a late first-rounder and then with some good workouts and a good showing at the NBA draft combine I really shot up the charts.”

Flynn, his parents and sister and nephew watched the draft from the green room and didn’t wait long for his name to be called.

Memphis’ Tyreke Evans and Rubio were the only point guards taken before him.

Thursday night was a happy ending to a month of uncertainty for Flynn. He spent much of the past month on the road traveling to workouts in Minnesota, Sacramento, Golden State, New York, Toronto and other places and selling himself — both as a personality and a player—to potential employers.

When he first announced he wasn’t returning to Syracuse, Flynn was expected to be picked at the low end of the lottery. Along the way, Flynn heard reporters and draft mavens question his decision to turn pro and assert that he would have been the No. 1 point guard taken in the 2010 draft.

Flynn heard them criticize his size and wondered if he could run a team as a shoot-first point guard.

“It was definitely a roller coaster ride, people telling you that you should stay in school and they tell you you’re making the wrong decision,” he said.

But Flynn himself never seemed overly anxious about the process. As usual, he remained giddy. He was confident he was going to end up in a situation where he could thrive and he is prepared to work. His size doesn’t matter.

“You look at guys like Chris Paul, you look at Aaron Brooks in the past playoffs, guys like that have really dominated the basketball game,” he said. “When I see that, I kind of throw my hands up in the air and say, ‘Yeah for the little guy.’ ”

As expected Blake Griffin, the National Player of the Year from Oklahoma, was selected No. 1 by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Griffin was followed by Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet at No. 2 to the Memphis Grizzlies. Arizona State guard James Harden went No. 3 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Flynn’s teammate at Niagara Falls and Syracuse, Paul Harris, was not selected in Thursday’s draft as was another Syracuse player, Eric Devendorf.

It was a busy day for trades among veterans as well, the blockbuster move being Shaquille O’Neal being shipped from Phoenix to join James in Cleveland. The Cavs sent Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to the Suns, along with a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and cash.

Also, the New Jersey Nets reportedly agreed to a trade All- Star Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to Orlando for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee.

NBA draft first round

rmckissic@buffnews.com

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