Thunder Draft Preview: The Choice May Come Down To Harden and Thabeet

The Thunder seem to have narrowed down their choice with the number three pick to Ricky Rubio, Hasheem Thabeet, and James Harden.   ESPN is reporting that General Manager Sam Presti met with all three players on Sunday in Los Angeles.   Thabeet would give them a defensive post presence, kind of a “goalie” type to go with Russel Westbrook's outstanding perimeter defense. The Thunder are loaded offensively, so Thabeet's offensive shortcomings wouldn't necessarily kill the team.   Harden would give the team another outstanding scorer in the back court. He could be a very solid complement to Kevin Durant. Harden is also seen by many as an “NBA ready” type of player who could step right in and contribute to the rising Thunder.   The wildcard in all this remains Rubio.   Having spent the last four seasons playing professionally in Spain, it has been hard to evaluate him.   Some compare him to Pete Maravich or Steve Nash, while ... (link)