Not only is there a fascination with Spanish teen Ricky Rubio, the Olympic whiz who has conjured images of Steve Nash and "Pistol" Pete Maravich, but also plenty of tempting smallish speed guards, including Ty Lawson and Jonny Flynn.

Point guards, in fact, appear to be in abundance for next week's selection process at Madison Square Garden, with the group also including Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Eric Maynor, Patrick Mills, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Toney Douglas and A.J. Price.

But are any considered must-have commodities? Not quite. Not based on what we've seen the past month. It is why Rubio no longer is viewed as a lock as a top-two or top-three selection, why Lawson may slip beyond his supposed championship pedigree.

Finding the next Deron Williams or Chris Paul no longer is the ultimate priority. It is finding someone who can handle and score, regardless of whether that is a point guard or shooting guard or small forward.

With the league's dearth of true post-up players, and therefore a dearth of double-teams in the paint, the goal is to have someone on the floor to draw enough attention that someone else is open. It is what made Bryant such a do-it-all presence in the finals.

"He has an ability to get himself in and out of trouble with his vision that I think improves his ability to dominate offensively," Fisher said of Bryant. "He reads situations very well, and he's able to take double-teams and score, but he's also reading where the double-teams are coming from, who's coming, and we talk a lot during the game about staying prepared for a shot opportunity or for certain things to happen because of how teams are playing.

"He loves to dominate a game, and so if he chose to pass more, he would easily average Chris Paul-type assist numbers. But he's a born scorer, and he's always said that, and we don't mind it because that sets up everything else that we do."

Slideshow   NBA draft: The top prospects A look at the top players available in the 2009 NBA draft. more photos

Similarly, Turkoglu proved so valuable as a playmaker from a position other than point guard that he took mere hours after the finals to let it be known he would invoke his opt-out clause and become a free agent July 1. His next contract figures to start with an eight-figure 2009-10 payday.

Of course, there only are so many Bryants and James and Wades and even Turkoglus to go around.

As much as the draft, free agency could also be telling.

Is a spot-shooting Mike Bibby worth the price typically paid to a top-tier point guard? Have Jason Kidd's scoring limitations rendered him as something less than special? Is a less-than-explosive Andre Miller where the game is heading?

Coaches and general managers often hearken to the era when a guard was a guard, when the designations of being a "one" or a "two" rarely were quantified. In the Walt Frazier-Earl Monroe backcourt, was there truly a designated point guard?

Ditto for Goodrich and West.

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If the pass was there, you passed. If the shot was there, you shot.

Sort of like Kobe did these past two months, and especially these past two weeks.

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