Make no mistake, the Blazers are a better team than they were a few years ago because of personnel changes. Rudy is part of that, and it is important that folks recognize that. Now that being said, if Rudy wants to start getting more minutes, he needs to start playing better. But it's not like the guy currently ahead of him at SG has been lighting up the scoreboard either, so in a way, he has a point.
^^^^this. Rudy is a great piece. He would have more value to someone else who didn't have Brandond Freaking Roy as their starting SG. He would look great on quite a few teams in this league.
I voted on the third one. I don't know if any of them defined how I really feel about this situation. Rudy needs time. If Nate is going to go with three guards, Rudy needs to be one of them. If that means sending Blakeys ARSE to the bench, I guess that's what it means. As for moving Rudy. I don't know why we speculate about these things. For that to happen, that would mean Pritchard would have to pick up the phone, structure and close a deal. Has he shown any evidence that he is willing to do this or competent enough to do this?
This one. The rest of the poll choices are too hot or cold for me. I like Rudy, I think he's a good player with some decent upside and not a whole lot of potential for ever being a starter on this team. If you can get an all-star (or near star) small forward in some kind of consolidation trade where he was one of two or three outgoing Blazers then I'd part with him in a heartbeat and wish him well where ever he ended up.
Keep Rudy, Blake is a goner. Once Batum is back in the mix Blakes clock will officially start ticking.
I like Rudy for this team but if the right trade came along I would have no problem parting with him...The only thing I don't like about Rudy is his lack of effort on defense.
Currently our best SG behind Brandon, Rudy also has more true PG talent than anyone else on the team. On this team we'd be best off starting Rudy alongside Brandon, and forget that 3-guard gimmick lineup before it bites us in the ass.
I partially agree with you, in that I'd rather Rudy was on the floor with Miller and Brandon rather than "Steady Steve." At least with Rudy, Miller, Roy you've got two 6'6" inch swingmen who can play a little bit of 3 and won't give up quite so much length defensively. C'est la vie, I guess we'll see how long Steve stays in the starting lineup.
I can't pick any of those. I think he has real value at position of non-need...if we could use that to fill a more pressing need I'd say go for it. However, since he's on a cheap contract it's a little harder to do a straight across easy trade.
Of course you keep him.....PROVIDED you utilize him correctly. If Nate isn't going to utilize his talents, then he will walk, and certainly you would want to trade him before letting him walk for nothing.... Having him sit on the perimeter waiting for a pass, or to shoot three pointers is GROSSLY underutilizing him.
Rudy plays starting two in a three guard lineup and backup two and third string one in a traditional lineup, getting roughtly 30 mpg.
From a marketing perspective: At the GBlazer shop in the RG, when I quickly walked through it, I saw four player jerseys for sale: Roy, Aldridge, Oden and Fernandez. Walking around the RG I saw mostly Roy and Oden jerseys, but more Fernandez jerseys than Aldridge jerseys. Basically, Fernanadez is a crowd favorite and you don't just move a guy like that to move him. If there is a great trade, fine . . . but you don't shop Rudy.
