Same. Przybilla is really valuable to Portland right now, with Oden's struggles to stay on the floor, but unless Oden busts (not my current expectation), his value to Portland will continue to decrease as Oden takes more time. In addition, Przybilla will lose value to age in a few years. It's worth dealing what should be a declining value asset for someone who could be a mainstay for over a decade.
I could deal with pryz going although I love him it'd give whatever back up pf/oden/aldridge more time
I think we're about a year premature on entertaining the idea of moving Przy. On the plus side I think he's going to be a really hot commodity as there seems to be a dearth of good defensive centers, especially centers that have an ungodly 22% rebound rate.
Agreed. My gut feeling is telling me that Rubio may not pan out as well as some are predicting. Surely Sergio has the same skill set?
Rubio has very good defense, and very long arms to go with his offensive skills. I'm not one to pick up on foreign player hype. I never understood the word going around for Bargnani and Gallinari and Milicic, and I admit I didn't really pay much mind towards Fernandez either, but Rubio has it. Sure, that's my opinion, but I don't really go gaga for the foreign guys. I just see an NBA player in him every time I watch him play a game.
I don't know if you could get Rubio without trading one of the big three. It seems easier to get Sessions, if as it appears, we can offer more than Milwaukee can match ( I think they are limited to the midlevel, while we can offer more in subsequent years). But here's a trade that I think would get Rubio (though I'm not sure I would offer it) Portland trades- Aldridge, #1 pick Memphis trades- #1 pick, Gasol We get Rubio and a serviceable power forward. We then decline options on Blake and Outlaw- so that we have 13 million to go after Boozer/Milsap. Memphis gets someone who is definitely a stud at power forward. Instantly, their 1st or 2nd best player- a core of Aldridge/Gay/Mayo
This why I think the idea of trying to wrangle things to get Rubio is such a poor idea. We're likely going to have to overpay to get him and there's still no guarantee that he's going to be able to step in and be the missing piece that pushes this team to contention, let alone come in and be able to start. There are free agents like Sessions and Miller and other players likely available via trade like Hinrich that have already proven themselves capable starting quality point guards and we're not going to have to trade away cornerstone pieces like LaMarcus to get it done. Frankly, the notion of trading LaMarcus for Rubio probably makes us less of a contender in the short term and the long term; we have no proven offensive players in our front-court aside from LMA, and he's still barely scratching the surface of his potential (IMO). Counting on enough cap-space to try and lure a free agent like Millsap or Boozer seems like a pretty high risk with major "blow up in your face" potential. I'm all for getting Rubio if we don't have to mortgage the house to do it, but I just don't see him being a viable target at all considering what our "available" trade assets actually are.
This is just a question, b/c I think that I agree with Nik's post above, though I think we can pull off a move to #2 in a couple of ways. LMA for Rubio and Gasol is probably too much for me to stomach. But it brings up a decent point. For all the talk about Sessions as an FA signing (I'm not nearly as big a fan of Miller, and PLEASE don't bring Bibby here), he's an RFA, not a UFA. He may or may not be a pipe dream, since not a lot of good RFAs go to other places. And after him there's a dearth of quality PGs, much less ones that are available. OTOH, just in FA you could get a bunch of PF-types (or even the draft). Wouldn't most say it's a valid question to ask if a stud PG is worth more than a stud PF on our team? (I'm not prognosticating Rubio as one just yet...just bringing up a point). If KP and crew think that Rubio's the Real Deal, and we can get a Slightly Lesser Real Deal in FA or the draft at PF, don't you have to think about it?
I would trade anybody outside of Oden, Roy, LA for Rubio, and IMO I would try as hard as hell not to deal Rudy either...whether that leaves enough to get Rubio is up for debate...but the cost would be high.... Outlaw, Batum & Bayless for starters....throw in our 1st round pick, a future 1st?, 2nd rounders...take a bad contract back (Jaric)? That is as far as I would be willing to see POR go...and yeah, IMO it is a lot, but the bottom line for POR is...IF you beleive Rubio is going to be a great PG, then you make the deal, b\c the reality is championship teams rely on 8 or so "key" guys...and if you can plug in Rubio as a starter\core player...for 3 guys who are not among your "core" players...then you do it.... MEM & OKC execs SHULD be concerned b\c I think Rubio does have some serious leverage here...and the DX article spelled it out very well....Unlike Jianlin, he is playing at the next highest level of competition (not chinese league)...he is still very young (18?), he is very well paid, he plays for his hometown...He doesn't need to come over this year...or for a few years...heck, if he waited to come over (like Rudy) that would be 5-6 years from now, and he would still only be 23-24....Not to mention he has to PAY HEAVILY for the privelage to even come over this year, you don't think that means a little extra consideration from Rubio? No wonder he wants to go to a "good" situation...You think he wants to go to loserville Memphis? Seriously, with a cheap owner, a team possibly up for sale and a history of letting thier best players go and inept trades by thier mgmt? Or bum-frackin egypt ...otherwise known as OKC? Sorry, but I don't think Wallace is that charismatic of an individual to convince a guy like Rubio that thier team is "on the rise" would you believe him? would anyone? That guy is an idiot... And I am sure Pau Gasol will have nothing but positive things to say about Memphis right? "Yeah sure Ricky, you can win an NBA title there..." Uh...yeah...right... Sorry, but if Rubio wants to play "hardball" with NBA teams, he is in a perfect position to do so, and he he has nothing to lose and millions of dollars (literally) to gain by doing so...and any GM that takes him at #2 or #3 and then cannot convince him to come over for 2-3+ years, won't be the GM of that team when\if he ever decides to come over....THAT is guaranteed....
As bright as Rubio's future is, the cost of aquiring him will be very high. We would likely have to give up proven players, and Rubio is unlikely to make an impact anytime soon. Do we throw away any chance of contending for the next couple of seasons, and waste 2 years of Roy's prime, to get a guy who *might* be a stud someday? Sorry, but IMHO, that is too high of a price to pay. The Blazers need to stop thinking like a rebuilding team, and start thinking like a team that wants to win.
I agree - if you can get him for role players - you do - otherwise - you look elsewhere. We can upgrade the PG position of this team even if we do not get Rubio - and to be honest - it would be silly to break the bridge in order to put a nicer railing system...
Indeed. Rubio may very well eventually be an unholy combination of Pistol Pete and Jason Kidd, but he sure isn't going to be that in the next couple of years. Portland needs to concentrate on making moves that put them in the title hunt next year. Otherwise, they are wasting valuable time.
It all depends on the cost, but I don't think that Roy is in his prime yet. He's 24. While a player at ages 25 and 26 are certainly able to contibute, I think that we see pretty consistently that players in their late 20's/early 30's are in the best position to lead their teams to championships. Great players like LeBron and Kobe are the exception, I think. In my mind, I'm still interested in building up the core, if it means building up our upside as a team... even if it means bumping back that peak a couple of years. Rubio is, in my mind, a player that is a likely all-star level player. He's young and he's unproven and he's not perfect, but I think that he's special, and if we can add him without moving one of our big three, I'd be in favor of it. I like Rudy, but I think that a very good backup shooting guard is less valuable than a very good starting PG. I like Joel, but I think that we could add a veteran C to back up Oden... it would hurt, but it would not impair our core and Rubio would be worth the pain. I still have high hopes for Bayless, but Rubio is simply a better prospect. Outlaw? Webster? Again: they have value, but not enough to be a deal-breaker. Batum would probably be most painful for me to move other than the big three, but assuming we held onto Webster and Rudy, we'd be able to make the small forward spot work... and I like Rubio more than Batum, all things considered. Ed O.
Y'know, if I'm Rubio/Rubio's agent, I get myself drafted this year as high as possible while my stock is sky high, but I stay in Europe until my contract runs out. I make a good salary in Europe, I don't have to pay the buyout, and I have two years to force a trade to a different team than drafted me if that's what I want. I'm still very young, there is plenty of time to get through the rookie contract and get a big payoff on the other side when I'm in my prime. Why rush over to the NBA when it just costs me money? Plus that way I get to see what the new CBA looks like before I make the jump - if things look bad, I can just stay in Europe. barfo
Best case scenario for us is that he decides to stay another year or two (lowering his value where we could get him for combo of pick/Outlaw/Bayless), in the meantime we sign Dre Miller to a 3 year deal and let all our other players mature then infuse a more mature Rubio in a couple of years.
