I only ask, because I don't think Rudy will be a long term Blazer. He will never start ahead of Roy He can't play point guard minutes for a long period of time His value is probably the highest it'll get. I like him, but as of right now (he will improve) he is our sharp shooter, which we now Marty can become. So, if KP were to sell high, what SF do you think we could get based on a package around Rudy? Tayshaun Prince? Dumars likes to over-value players. Is Prince worth Rudy? Gerald Wallace? They wanted Batum for him, would you give up Rudy for Crash? Personally, I think that may be a steep asking price. Caron Butler? He would give us the consistent 3rd scorer, but I think Washington is holding out hope they can compete with their big 3. I am targeting more vet SF"s, so they can mentor Batum and Batum can take over in a couple of years down the line.
We're not trading Rudy. And if you think this is the best he'll be, a 23 year old rookie, then I don't know what to say. I think you're underestimating the impact a full season of NBA experience and how it will help Rudy next season. He's smart as hell, and the more he gets used to NBA defensive and offensive schemes, the more he can exploit them. I fully expect Rudy to be much more consistent next year.
IDK how you can refuse to trade Outlaw and advocate for trading Rudy. None of them will ever start, they both are instant scoring off the bench and are good shooters. But Rudy is younger, Rudy can do more than just score, and Rudy is more versitile while Travis is more of a tweener. If you are wanting to trade Rudy for a SF, you want us to have Batum, Webster, Outlaw and the new SF on our team? Leaving your boy Travis with just backup PF minutes? like 10mpg? IMO, if we are going to get a SF, we are going to have to make a consolidation trade, mainly to clear up the SF logjam.
Do we? Rudy shot a better percentage both from the field and 3pt range this year than Webster ever has. Career numbers of .408 FG% and .372 3PT% sure don't seem very sharp-shooter like. As far as his minutes, I see Portland at some point in the future using a 3 guard rotation of Roy, Rudy and a PG (Bayless?). So it's not like he's going to be playing 25 mins a game the rest of his career.
Not sure about what SF, but i bet Toronto would love to have him. They like international guys as Toronto is a very international city, tempo of game favored by their GM, the Calderon connection etc. I would not do this but........Travis, Rudy, Pryz, Sergio, and Frye for Bosh? that leaves Oden and LMA a C, LMA and Bosh at the PF, Bosh and Martel at the SF, Roy/Martel at the SG, Blake/Bayless at the PG. (7 man rotation with a few added players) Plus we still would have Batum as well for spot duty.
Ummmmm......Since when is Rudy worth any of of those guys?!? Unless your planning on including Bayless in any deals involving those names.....it' crazy how some fans overvalue players on thier team and expect to get superior talent.
Artest although a great defender would take away from Roy and LA on offense cause Ron loves to score. I think Prince is a better fit for this team, plus he's a vet with a ring!
I don't completely disagree that Rudy will eventually have to be traded. The guy is simply too talented to be a bench player, and unfortunately he plays the same position as our best player. Rudy is one of my favorite Blazers, but realistically, I could see him being traded. He deserves to start in this league, and we don't have the position to give him. Do I want to trade him? No. Do I think we will eventually HAVE to trade him? Possibly. He could come off the bench for his career, ala Manu, but I'm not convinced. I think Rudy wants to be a starter eventually.
Rudy can't start yet, his body can't handle the bumping of a long season as a starter. I bet he'd agree with that too! He needs 2 or 3 years in a weight room and if Roy keeps getting beaten up the way he is he may split minutes with Rudy sooner than we think. Keep Rudy he may end up being our starter!
how do we know that martell will even be healthy? stress fractures in the foot are a dangerous thing and tough to compeletly heal from. besides that, as MSD pointed out, rudys numbers were better this year than webs have ever been.
I still think the eventual future is a three-guard rotation of Roy/Bayless/Fernandez. Done that way, they can all get 30+ minutes.
Rudy's trade value is exponentially higher than Outlaw's..not even close. Plus we have a replacement on the roster for Rudy in Martell.
Do people ever bother reading the whole post? I said a package revolving around Rudy...goo punch people!
I love Gerald Wallace's game. He would help the Blazers in their weakest areas... huge upgrade on D, unafraid to take it to the hole. Prince would similarly be a giant upgrade at the 3, no doubt. However, Rudy looks like he is going to be a player as good as those two, albeit at a different position and with different strengths; he is the perfect 6th man. I think in the short term, making those trades (depending upon who else is included) would make the Blazers a bit better; but Rudy still has plenty of room to improve. Finding a way to get a premier Defensive SF and keep the deadly outside threat and playmaking ability that Rudy brings would be far better. Trading Rudy at this point would be a huge mistake in almost any scenario I can (reasonably) imagine.
One thing that seems certain to me is that the Blazers are in a great position to work trades this summer that wouldn't have seemed possible in previous economic times. There are many franchises that are bleeding red ink and which will be forced to make some deals that they wouldn't otherwise even consider. Depending upon what moves KP makes, the Blazers will be able to take back something like $7-12 million more in salary than goes out in a trade. While he will have to give up some talent to make the deal work, I doubt that he has to give up any players that he really wants to keep. I'd put Rudy in that category.
I look at Rudy and I see a true sixth man. There's no doubt in my mind that eventually he could start for a number of teams, but I also think with his slight frame and the fact that he's already 23 there's not a whole lot of room left for physical development which is pretty key for a guy like him to be able to hold up physically as a starter over the course of a season. Rudy's a tough one for me, I think his presence on the court and his hoops IQ instantly makes the bench better and he's versatile enough to play a couple of positions, but I wouldn't say he's absolutely untouchable, especially if his inclusion in a trade package was the linchpin of a deal that would bring back a true star point guard or small forward. Everything with Rudy would depend on the deal.
The point of this thread really has to do with Rudy and his role. When I think of him, I get flashbacks of Petrovic.....who also played the same position as our best player.