Rudy forcing KP to deal him?

I gotta agree with ks...Rudy hasn't proved anything to warrant all his bitching..aaaand he's really regressed this year..people want to talk about aldridge regressing look at Rudy

 

If this story originated from the Spanish newspaper Marca, the odds are it's 100% bullshit that it's true.

They are a mouthpiece newspaper for Real Madrid and will literally make up quotes and lie about players coming in to sell the paper.

This goes on 365 days a year in the European football world.

 

all his bitching? Good grief, the only ones bitching here are posters... as usual

"I just want to play I don't care where" is a diplomatic shine on answer to a speculative question. He is getting minutes/playing in Portland so it seems his harsh demands/needs are being met...

STOMP

 

Rumors or not, I've been saying since last season that I think Rudy won't be here long term. He was a star in Spain, and I believe he wants to start in the NBA. I just don't see him ever being happy in Portland.

 

I can appreciate Rudy's situation. He gave up a lot of scratch to come over here and play and probably had the goal of being a star and so far things haven't exactly gone according to plan. His situation here in Portland is always going to be tenuous just because of the position he plays and who is playing in front of him.

I wouldn't be shocked to see KP package Rudy along with another player (Bayless or Webster?) and maybe this year's draft pick to go out and get a pretty good point guard with some defensive chops and the ability to hit the long ball as the heir apparent to Miller. Aside from Rudy not being that guy to pair up with Roy full time, Bayless also looks more and more like he's not going to be that guy; just because his shooting from distance has been so abysmal his first two years in the league, when it was a strength for him at AZ and he just doesn't look that comfortable or "tuned in" when it comes to running the point.

 

what player on their rookie deal wasn't a star at their previous spot? Okay Brandon Jennings, but I'd guess that most feel that they should start or at least get more minutes.

Rudy hasn't been playing very well which is what I'd guess he's as concerned about as anything... I wonder how he's really doing physically? Regardless, Portland can choose to keep him on the cheap for 3 seasons past this even if he wants out

STOMP

 

Yeah, but come on STOMP.... Rudy was a god in Spain. That's not a small town or a college, that's a country. He was one of the best players in Europe. It's not the same thing. I think he had delusions of grandeur and so far things have been bumpy for him.

 

this is common for guys on the bench... and so what? Dude has no leverage to force an out

STOMP

 

I'm not saying he does. I'm saying he's unhappy and I don't think he'll be here long term because he won't want to be a career backup to Brandon Roy. You disagree?

 

Can he just quit on Portland and go and play in Spain next year? I have to admit I don't really understand how these contracts work.

Anyway, even if not, he does have some leverage. He can threaten to go to the media. He can whine and complain and be a black eye on the team. He can dog it in games and practices. NBA players on contracts do that maneuver in an effort to get traded, and it does work sometimes. (See Vince Carter for the ultimate example. But there are lots of guys who've made it so unpleasant to keep them that they get bought out.)

In Rudy's case, it could be an especially effective tactic. If he makes a huge spectacle and burns every single bridge in the NBA, he can still go back to Spain and be revered as a superstar. No matter what he does here, people there remember him as a key guy on a Silver Medal team.

 

FIBA won't allow a player to break one contract in order to play professionally in another country. Rudy will be our property for at least one more year. If, at that point, he is unhappy and still not playing well, the Blazers may decide to not pick up his team option, but I don't think that will happen.

 

Pretty much, but I don't think he has forsaken the NBA, just Portland. I think Rudy still sees himself as a star on an NBA team. The whole point of this is not what is real, but what Rudy perceives. He does have value, and I think he is going to be the guy that we move this summer. Bayless will be around for a while simply because he's so young and KP won't want to give up on him, but I think we're going to see JB move to the backup shooting guard spot and maybe bring in another point guard prospect.

 

I kind of disagree. The Blazers had to do a hard sell on Rudy to get him to come over in the first place; he left tons of money on the table when he could have been making millions more in Europe, and if he asks for a buyout so he can go back to Spain to get the money and PT he wants and the Blazers don't give it to him, he's got a better than average chance of turning into a real locker room cancer.

Yes it's true that he can't force them to buy him out, but the Blazers would be effectively killing their relationship with him if they didn't come to some kind of agreement, which would have ramifications for some of our other Euro draftees like Koponen, Freeland and Claver who would see what is happening and likely influence their decision about whether or not they would ever want to come play here for a Blazers' management that is so difficult to deal with.

 

3 years is longterm. If he wants a raise prior to the end of his cheap rookie deal, by far his best course of action is to play better and say all the right things. I certainly don't see Brandon Roy as keeping him from earning starter type minutes on this club... in fact I think it's entirely possible that Brandon Nic and Rudy will end up getting the most run of their wings & guards over the next couple of seasons.

living a dream earning millions playing a game he loves, I'd speculate he experiences moments of happiness

STOMP

 

I completely agree with this. Bayless is a slashing guard with some fair to middling distributions skills for a shooting guard. But asking him to become the guy who sets up the team's bigs or to setup the offense in general seems like a stretch ... and I'm not so sure you can teach NBA level court awareness, just like I don't think you can teach Rudy to go to the hole like Jerryd.

 

dogging it would also likely hurt him on his next deal... cutting off your nose to spite your face sort of stuff. Definitely a far riskier course then doing his best and handling his business internally at appropriate times.

STOMP

 

More like 2.25 years, and I don't consider that long term. Five to six years is long term. Roy and Aldridge type deals. Rudy is still on his rookie contract, and it's very possible that he will simply go back to Spain in two years if we don't trade him.

Starter type minutes is not the same as starting. Just ask Andre Miller. Some guys want to start. Some guys play better as starters. I think Rudy is one of those guys who want to start. I'm just wondering how much of this stuff is true (the Turkeyglue thing and now this).

 

I hate how this stuff is always leaked to Spanish news outlets. Why can't Quick get the scoop?

 

I think your post clarified who is really clueless. Thanks!

 

Banging balls. Yet another symptom of not wearing underwear.