It’s waaaaaaaay too early to start judging the 2009 NBA Draft, but that’s not going to stop me (or anyone else, for that matter) from trying. It takes at least three years before a draft class really shakes out, so there’s no reason to fly off the handle criticizing (or praising) a team for what they did on Thursday night.

That said, as the draft wore on, there were some picks I liked and some that I didn’t. This is by no means the final say on whether or not the pick is good or bad; it’s just a snapshot that’s based on what we know right now.

So let’s jump the gun:

CHEERS TO…

Thunder: #3 James Harden
I don’t know that Russell Westbrook is really a point guard, but Harden projects to be a great fit in OKC.

Sixers: #17 Jrue Holiday
The talented freshman worked out for most of the lottery teams and was reportedly up and down leading up to the draft. With this much PG depth, I figured someone would slip and the Sixers were the beneficiary. In Holiday, they get a lottery talent and their point guard of the future, though Lawson would have been able to come in and help the Sixers more immediately.

Nuggets: #18 Ty Lawson
I thought he’d go to a team in more need of PG help, but the Nuggets swooped in and snatched him up. At the very least, I think he’s going to be a capable starter.

Grizzlies: #36 Sam Young
At 24, Young doesn’t have the upside of many of the players drafted ahead of him, but he’s already a better player than most, as well. If he can improve his handle, he could be a starter-quality small forward.

Spurs: #37 DeJuan Blair
Think this guy played with a chip on his shoulder before? Just wait and see what kind of energy he brings in 15-25 minutes playing for the Spurs. I know his knees are an issue, but I’m shocked that he wasn’t picked earlier in the second round.

Hornets: #43 Marcus Thornton
The Hornets have issues on the wing and they took a point guard with their first pick. They made up for it in the second round by acquiring Thornton, an off guard, from the Heat. He’s a great scorer and can make contested jumpers.

JEERS TO…

Timberwolves: #5 Ricky Rubio / #6 Jonny Flynn
It’s not that I don’t like the individual players or the individual picks; they just don’t make any sense when picked together. I don’t know how a Rubio/Flynn backcourt will be successful. Had the T-Wolves drafted Stephen Curry with one of the picks, it would have made a lot more sense.

Jazz: #20 Eric Maynor
Maynor is a good all-around player, and maybe the best that was available, so let’s not be too hard on the Jazz here. Still, how many minutes is he going to play behind Deron Williams? If he turns out to be a player, they can use him as an asset, so maybe they didn’t feel that way about any of the frontline players that were available.

Hornets: #21 Darren Collison
New Orleans has star/superstar quality players at PG, PF and C, and a good young prospect in Julian Wright at small forward, so off guard seems to be their biggest need. Like Utah, the Hornets went with a point guard to back up their best player. I like Collison, I just don’t like this pick for New Orleans (though they made up for it in the second round).

Blazers: #31 Jeff Pendergraph / #33 Dante Cunningham
I don’t have a problem with the players themselves, but with the fact that Portland passed on DeJuan Blair twice in the second round (where the financial risk is much lower if his health turns out to be a problem). They could have used his toughness and rebounding, but were unwilling to roll the dice on his knees.

Probably the most perplexing sequence of events occurred early last night when the Minnesota Timberwolves picked Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn — two pure point guards — with back-to-back picks. My first instinct was that GM David Kahn (Kaaaaaaaaaahn!) was working out a trade for one of the guards, possibly moving Rubio to the Warriors or Knicks or some other team for a pick and/or veteran help. But then Ric Bucher popped his head in to inform us that Kahn said that he plans to play Rubio and Flynn together. Later on, Kahn mentioned a few examples of point guard duos that have played well in the past, citing Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge, and…gulp…Michael Jordan and John Paxson.

Setting aside the Jordan/Paxson comparison for a moment, let’s look at the other two examples. DJ and Ainge were both 6’4″ combo guards and neither guy had to have the ball in his hands to be effective. I don’t think the same will be said about Rubio or Flynn (certainly not Rubio). Dumars was 6’3″ defensive stopper and deadeye shooter, while Zeke was a ball-dominant playmaker. In short, Thomas was a pure point guard, while Dumars, Ainge and DJ were combo guards. Those backcourts worked because the two players complemented each other.

But back to Jordan/Paxson — if I’m a Timberwolves fan and I hear that my general manager is referring to Michael Jordan as a point guard, I’m getting out on the ledge. MJ was a 6’6″ wing, who could do everything — handle, shoot, post up and play defense. He was more of a 2/3 who could run the point if necessary. If Kahn really thinks that he was a point guard, then that shows an alarming lack of basic knowledge about the game.

But that’s not the only reason the comparison is invalid. A general manager should not be invoking Jordan’s name when discussing his first few picks in the draft. He is arguably the greatest player ever to play the game, so it’s not fair to expect your rookies to do the same things he did. Any backcourt that featured Jordan would have worked. He was that good.

Once Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden and Tyreke Evans were off the board, I thought for sure the T-Wolves would take a point guard (Rubio or Flynn) and Stephen Curry, who is a smallish combo guard that can shoot the lights out. If you want to run him at off guard, you need to pair him with a pure point guard to set him up. A Flynn/Curry or Rubio/Curry backcourt would have had a real chance at working. Rubio/Flynn would serve as the playmaker, while Curry’s shooting would create space for Al Jefferson and Kevin Love to work in the post. Defensively, a backcourt like that would have its share of problems, but at least it would make sense on the other end of the court.

I just don’t think a Rubio/Flynn backcourt will work. Both players are ball-dominant and neither guy shoots the ball very well. Rubio isn’t strong enough to cover most opposing shooting guards and Flynn isn’t tall enough to cover big guards on the block. Throw in the fact that Rubio doesn’t sound too thrilled about the prospect of playing in Minnesota, and Kahn might have one big mess on his hands.

Here is some more commentary about Minnesota’s first two picks…

Bill Simmons, from his draft day diary: An orgasmic Fraschilla says Rubio is “the best passer in the last decade of drafts” and he’s “got a Gretzky-like feel, he sees the game two and three plays ahead.” Totally agree. So much for Minnesota doing the right thing. The Wolves just took Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn … whom I really like … but … well … he’s a point guard. Didn’t they just take Rubio? Did I black out? You’re going to have two young ball handlers playing together — one who’s 5-foot-11, the other who’s 18 years old and weighs 180 pounds (and 30 of that is his hair), and that’s your plan? Who’s guarding the Kobes and Vinces out of those two? Why didn’t they just take Curry? And why aren’t the ESPN guys wondering about a trade here or, at the very least, murdering this pick? THEY JUST TOOK TWO STRAIGHT POINT GUARDS!!!!!!!!!!

Chris Mannix, SI.com: In a draft deep with point guards, Minnesota seemingly picked all of them. At least that’s what it felt like as four of the first five picks by new GM David Kahn play the point. After a couple of trades, the Timberwolves were left with Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, along with UNC shooting guard Wayne Ellington and forward Henk Norel of the Netherlands. For now, the Timberwolves say they will go to camp with both Rubio and Flynn. But Rubio may have something to say about that. Sources close to Rubio say he is less than enamored with the prospect of playing in the Twin Cities and that his buyout situation with his Spanish club remains sticky. If Rubio balks at coming to Minnesota or if he is forced to remain in Spain for another year (a long shot, but possible), the Timberwolves could be forced to deal him.

Tom Powers, Pioneer Press: At first, we thought Kahn had a trade up his sleeve. After all, he had just sent his two top shooting guards to Washington. Randy Foye and Mike Miller saw the bulk of the action at that position for the Wolves last season. As near as I can tell, someone named Bobby Brown currently sits at the top of the Wolves’ depth chart at that position. That’s because he is the only veteran two-guard left on the roster. And he’s not even a true shooting guard. But Kahn quickly sent word that he planned to keep both players, giving examples of how two point guards have co-existed in the same backcourt — Michael Jordan and John Paxson, for instance.

Chad Ford, ESPN: Rubio and Flynn might have been the two best point guards in the draft. But to fall in love with them both and actually take them both amounts to point guard polygamy. I really don’t know what to think about the Timberwolves’ draft. I keep waiting to hear about a trade that tells us where Rubio or Flynn is really going, but it hasn’t come, and GM David Kahn says he wants to keep them both. So, to recap: The Wolves traded two key players on their roster, Randy Foye and Mike Miller, and took back bad contracts to get the No. 5 pick, a questionable move. Then they got the two guys they love, Rubio and Flynn. Terrific. Then Kahn announced his idea to have Rubio and Flynn play together in the backcourt. Huh? I could see it, I guess, had it been Stephen Curry they drafted to play alongside Rubio. But Flynn as a 2 guard? Really? The Wolves appear to have outsmarted themselves. Here’s the problem: Even if the Wolves’ idea to play them together was a good one (and it isn’t), I don’t think Rubio would go for it. If he wants to, he can go back to Spain for the next year or two (or more) and really foul things up for the Wolves. Given how things look right now, I think he just might do it.

Jim Souhan, Star Tribune: Kahn assures us the two will play together, in the manner of Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge or Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas. That concept, along with Flynn’s toughness, is intriguing, but this draft will be defined by Rubio. He could be great. He could be a soft Euro who gets eaten up by stronger, fiercer players such as Tyreke Evans and Flynn. I lean toward the former view. In a league that has outlawed handchecking, skilled guards — and especially skilled guards with size — can dominate. The key for Rubio will be working with a coach who can help him develop and teammates who can make use of his passing. That’s where this gets tricky. At this moment the Wolves’ two cornerstone players — Al Jefferson and Rubio — might as well play different sports. Jefferson needs room and time in the low post, and the Wolves didn’t draft Rubio to stand outside, dump the ball in to Jefferson and get back on defense.

Henry Abbott, TrueHoop: [Kahn] called Rubio potentially a “transformational” player, and was clear that “it was not an attempt to take Ricky to trade him.” (There was a report from a TrueHoop reader in Minnesota that Kahn was effusive about Jonny Flynn, and mentioned to the assembled crowd that it was possible Rubio would not come over this season, which was odd as Rubio had said time and again he would come.) Whether Kahn intends to keep Rubio or trade him, it’s a good strategy to say he’s in Minnesota to stay. Were Kahn to say that he drafted Rubio to trade him, he’d lose leverage in trade negotiations. (He needs his suitors to think that he’d hate to part with Rubio, but for the right price … we could talk.) Remember when the Bucks drafted Yi Jianlian, and there was much bellyaching about whether not the Chinese player would report to Milwaukee? A year later, Yi was later traded to a team more to his liking, in New Jersey. His hard-bargaining agent was Dan Fegan — who also represents Rubio. That’s no sign the relationship between the Timberwolves and Rubio will end the same way — culminating in an eventual departure. But it’s starting out in similar vein.

LaRusso, my buddy and admitted Minnesota Timberwolves fan, will be joining me. I’m a Bucks fan, so between the two of us, our teams have three picks in the top 10.

All times are in PT. (Eastern Time gets all the love, but Pacific Time is where it’s really at.)

Let’s get this thing rolling…

4:18 PM: There’s a rumor that the Warriors might send Andris Biedrins, Marco Belinelli, Brandan Wright and the #7 pick to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire. That seems like an awful lot to give up given the trades we’ve seen go down in recent days. But Stoudemire is a borderline franchise player, so a good center (Biedrins) and three prospects (Belinelli, Wright and the #7 pick) doesn’t seem crazy.

Jeff Van Gundy is talking like the Vince Carter trade means that Hedo Turkoglu is gone. I’m not so sure.

4:26 PM: Regarding Turkoglu, Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel echoes Van Gundy’s take: “The Magic have yet to confirm the deal, but the addition of a scorer in Carter, the trade would seem to end the Magic’s quest to bring back forward Hedo Turkoglu for a long term deal.”

This all comes down to whether or not the Magic are willing to go over the luxury tax for the long term to keep Turkoglu.

4:39 PM: Thanks for eating up four minutes with that pick, Mike Dunleavy. He makes maybe the worst acquisition in years (Zach Randolph and his bloated contract) and he gets awarded with the #1 pick and Blake Griffin. The NBA should do away with the progressive lottery system and give all non-playoff teams an equal chance at the top pick. In fact, all 14 picks should be decided by an equal lottery. It would be more exciting (just think, every team has an equal chance of coming out of the lottery with the #1 pick or the #14 pick — talk about the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat) and it would eliminate all the tanking we see at the end of the season, which not only betrays the NBA fan base but also taints those late season playoff races.

But back to Griffin, who looks like the real deal. He’s my bet for Rookie of the Year. (I know, I’m really going out on a limb there.)

4:41 PM: LaRusso just told me that Taylor Griffin was the #1 pick of the Harlem Globetrotters. I don’t even know what that means.

Barring a trade, I think the Grizzlies are going with Thabeet here.

4:46 PM: Thabeet’s upside is Dikembe Mutombo, and if the Grizzlies get that kind of a defensive presence, they’ll be thrilled.

OKC on the clock…I think the best fit is James Harden, but lately the pundits have been saying that they’re very interested in Ricky Rubio. Russell Westbrook wants to play point and this pick might determine if the Thunder think he’s the point guard of the future in OKC.

4:52 PM: Harden! He’s the guy they liked all along, but the late rumored push for Rubio threw the pick up in the air. He’s a great fit in OKC, though Westbrook may need to refine his shot selection a little bit to become a more balanced point guard.

Kings on the clock…LaRusso is hoping that they take Rubio, so his T-Wolves can’t. I think Evans might be the pick here. He has been playing really well lately, though ownership apparently likes Rubio.

4:55 PM: Nice bow tie, James!

4:56 PM: Wow, Evans’ late push (great workouts in Minnesota and Sacramento) sealed the deal in Sacramento. He’s big, rangy and athletic. He’s not necessarily a pure point guard, but he has a lot of upside and can do a lot of things. Jay Bilas loves this guy.

Two picks for the T-Wolves…LaRusso wants Minny to take Stephen Curry and Tyreke Evans…oops, he’s gone. He wants Curry and Flynn. I think they’re definitely going to take Rubio with one pick, and probably Curry with the other. He’s undersized, but the league is getting smaller and he can shoot the sh*t out of the ball. DeMar DeRozan and Jrue Holiday are the darkhorses.

5:03 PM: Let the Ricky Rubio era begin. I heard this cat speak earlier on the broadcast and he sounded like a 13-year-old kid. LaRusso is not happy, but Chris Paul says he’s the real deal, so it’s tough to argue with that. He needs to improve his jumper, increase his strength, but he’s already a great ballhandler and passer. He’s a pure distributor and is incredibly unselfish.

Pick #2 coming up. I think it’s going to be Curry, who is going to be a small off guard, but the league is getting shorter and shorter.

5:10 PM: Flynn?!? I think Minny has a trade brewing because it just doesn’t make sense to draft two point guards back to back.

Golden State on the clock. They’re supposedly interested in Curry and Jordan Hill. I think Curry will be the pick, but he didn’t work out for the Warriors. If Golden State does go with Hill, expect to hear a big cheer as the Knicks fans in attendance relish in the fact that Stephen Curry will be coming to New York.

5:15 PM: Curry to Oakland. I think he and Monta Ellis can play together. They’re both combo guards but Ellis is more of a penetrator while Curry can shoot from anywhere on the court.

The Knicks are on the clock and supposedly they have a big interest in Jordan Hill. (As a Bucks fan, I hope they pass.) Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings are also possibilities.

5:21 PM: Damn it! I hoped they’d pass and Hill would slip to my Bucks. Milwaukee re-signs Sessions and we’re in business. I think this pick by the Knicks signals that David Lee will probably be gone soon.

Toronto on the clock. They’ve been linked to DeMar DeRozan for weeks, but lately some other names have popped up — Jrue Holiday and James Johnson to name a couple.

5:28 PM: DeRozan it is. If he pans out, he’ll be a great fit in Toronto. John Hollinger’s Draft Rater doesn’t like him, but Hollinger said that his system has a tough time rating one-and-done freshman.

My Bucks are on the clock. I think Jennings is going to be the pick as the rumor is that the team has become increasingly intrigued with his potential of late. I don’t know what this means for Sessions, but I agree that it would be tough to pass on his upside here. (Or pass on Holiday’s upside, for that matter.)

5:32 PM: Jennings it is. John Hammond is swinging for the fences. It will be interesting to see how he develops with Scott Skiles as his mentor.

The Nets on the clock and the word seems to be that they’re going to go with Terrence Williams.

5:38 PM: Williams to NJ. He really shot up the draft charts in the last week or two. He’s a great athlete, defender, rebound, but he needs to improve his shooting.

Bobcats on the clock — Henderson has been the rumored pick for a while, but James Johnson is apparently a Michael Jordan fave. We’ll see if His Airness gets his way.

5:45 PM: Henderson brings a lot of athleticism and good defense to the table. He has an improving offensive game, but isn’t polished on that end of the court quite yet. He is one of the best finishers in the draft and should develop into a fine starter/star caliber shooting guard.

The Pacers on the clock. I don’t think they pass on Jrue Holiday here, but stranger things have happened. Ty Lawson might be Larry Bird’s kind of guy. They also need help up front, so Tyler Hansbrough and DeJuan Blair are possibilities as well.

5:51 PM: The Pacers really needed another big white guy to join Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Foster, Rasho Nesterovic and Josh McRoberts. Seriously, I think Hansbrough will turn out to be a starter-caliber power forward and with his great work ethic and energy, he projects to have a long NBA career (barring injury, of course).

Suns on the clock. If they pass on Holiday here, there’s a good chance that he’ll be there for the Sixers at #17. The same goes for Ty Lawson. The Suns could go any direction with this pick. No one really knows what the hell Steve Kerr is doing. I’m not even sure he knows what he’s doing right now.

5:56 PM: The Suns took Earl Clark, a versatile forward who has a lot of upside.

Holiday and Lawson are still on the board, and with the Pistons and Bulls coming up (neither team needs a PG), the Sixers should be guaranteed a shot at least one of them at #17. It turns out that NBADraft.net was right on with Holiday’s stock. The rest of the mocks seemed to have him going in the top 10.

Detroit has been linked to Austin Daye and B.J. Mullens.

6:02 PM: 6’11″ and skinny, Daye is a skilled forward who needs to improve his strength. In three or four years, he should be a player.

The Bulls are on the clock and they’ve been linked to DeJuan Blair. James Johnson is another guy to consider, though Blair is the better rebounder and low post scorer.

6:06 PM: Mark Jackson drives me nuts. He takes “Master of the Obvious” to a whole other level.

6:08 PM: James Johnson is a face up power forward, who has seen his stock fluctuate the last few weeks.

Philly is on the clock and they need a PG. Will it be Holiday, Lawson or some other PG? Or will they go another direction altogether.

6:13 PM: I don’t think the Sixers expected Holiday to be there, but they must have done their homework because they took him. They have to be thrilled, though it’s going to take him a couple of years to figure things out. He’s extremely athletic, but played off the ball at UCLA, and didn’t have a great freshman year. He’s in Jay Bilas’s top 10.

Minny on the clock. Will it B.J. Mullens? LaRusso is just hoping that they don’t take another point guard. Sam Young would fill a positional need.

6:19 PM: Okay, something must be going on. The T-Wolves took their THIRD point guard. LaRusso is pulling his hair out. I think they have a trade or two brewing.

Ric Bucher just confirmed that Lawson is going to the Nuggets for a future first rounder.

This pick kind of screws the Hawks, who need a PG. Eric Maynor and Jeff Teague are still there.

6:23 PM: Teague is definitely a shoot-first point guard. I like this pick for the Hawks because he should be able to immediately come in fill the void left by Mike Bibby, who is likely on the way out.

Utah is on the clock and I think DeJuan Blair is a real possibility. Carlos Boozer is probably leaving, so assuming the Jazz re-sign Millsap, Blair could fill his spot off the bench. Utah also has a need at center (if Mehmet Okur leaves) and maybe small forward (Sam Young?).

6:27 PM: Eric Maynor…hmm…they already have Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer, so it’s surprising to see the Jazz go with a guard here, but maybe they figured he was the best player available. Maynor should be a good pro. I expect he’ll develop into a starter-caliber point guard. He’s a good all-around player.

The Hornets are on the clock and they have a need at off guard and at center, assuming they move Tyson Chandler this offseason. Mullens is a possibility, though he isn’t going to help Chris Paul anytime soon. New Orleans could go a lot of different directions with this pick. Wayne Ellington might be the best fit.

6:33 PM: Wow, I like Collison, but the Hornets have other needs right now. If I’m Chris Paul, I’m probably scratching my head on this one.

The Blazers are supposedly interested in DeJuan Blair here. They want some toughness up front, but they also need a point guard (though the pickings are pretty slim here). I think Blair is easily the best player available, though I like Sam Young too.

6:39 PM: Victor Claver. He’s probably going to stay overseas for a couple of seasons, and Fran Fraschilla loves him. Claver looks like another international face up forward. Interesting to see the Blazers pass on Blair.

The Kings are on the clock, and Blair and B.J. Mullens are still out there. Sam Young would be able to come in and contribute right away.

6:44 PM: Omri Casspi — he’s a hard-nosed forward from Israel. Fraschilla loves him. (Does he love everyone?) Another team passes on Blair. GMs must be awfully worried about his knees. That’s the only explanation I can think of.

Dallas is on the clock. Mark Cuban said he made that trade with the Blazers because he thought he could get their guy at #24. We’ll see if his “guy” is there. The Mavs could use a young point guard or an off guard. They’re in pretty good shape up front, though they could use a center. Pickings are slim though and I’m not sure they want to wait on Mullens.

6:49 PM: Mullens is a project, but he has upside, or at least they say he does. Centers drafted outside the lottery usually don’t pan out, so it will be interesting to watch his development.

If I’m the Thunder, I’d definitely take Blair here.

6:53 PM: Rodrigue Beaubois, point guard. Um, okay…

The Bulls have another shot at Blair here. We’ll see if his wait is finally over.

6:55 PM: Bucher is reporting that the Thunder are going to send Beaubois to Dallas for Mullens. Dallas probably figured out that OKC was interested in Mullens and snatched him up. I expect they’ll probably get some cash or a second round pick as part of this trade. Beaubois looks to be the Mavs’ project at point guard.

6:59 PM: Taj Gibson…huh. The Bulls went with size, but dissed Blair again. He (Gibson) has a lot of length, but isn’t very polished offensively.

The Grizzlies could use Blair. I sound like a broken record…

7:05 PM: DeMarre Carroll to Memphis. He’s a great energy guy and is a pretty good finisher. The Grizzlies definitely have a need a power forward, unless they plan to move Marc Gasol to the 4.

LaRusso is hoping that the T-Wolves take another point guard. I say they take Blair. Yes, DeJuan Blair. (Sam Young would be a nice pick too.)

7:11 PM: Wayne Ellington to the T-Wolves. This a position of need for Minnesota. Ellington shot the ball really well in the tournament and I think this is a nice pick for this late in the draft. It’ll be interesting to see if Minnesota keeps both Flynn and Rubio. Conventional wisdom says that they can’t play together.

7:16 PM: The Lakers (Knicks) select Tony Douglas, a shoot first combo guard. Mike D’Antoni will find a way to utilize his scoring ability.

Cleveland is on the clock. They need an athletic, perimeter forward to match up with Rashard Lewis, but there isn’t really anyone that fits the bill. DeJuan Blair is still out there.

DeJuan Blair.

7:22 PM: The Cavs take Christian Eyenga…okay.

I am stunned that DeJuan Blair fell out of the first round. There must be serious concerns about his knees to fall this far.

I’m pretty wiped, so I’m going to stop at the end of the first round. There are still several quality players on the board, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of the guys that go in the first 10 or 15 picks will end up contributing this year.