Ricky Rubio College: Spain Position: PG Height: 6'4'' Weight: 180 lbs. Date of Birth: 10/21/1990 NBA Comparison: Jason Kidd 2008-09 Stats: 10.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 37.4% FG, 42.3% 3FG, 80.4% FT Key Strengths * Amazing court vision * Defensive stopper * Incredible basketball IQ for an 18 year old * Known for clutch play in Europe * Good size for a natural PG Key Weaknesses * Poor shooting * Led his league in turnovers/40 minutes * Not freakishly athletic * Buy-out issues Outlook: Rubio is likely to work well in virtually any situation he is put in. Despite being a guy from Spain and only being exposed to European basketball, Rubio has a very Americanized style of play, with his flashy passes and ability to go outside the fundamentals to make plays happen on both sides of the ball. He can play in a fast-break system if he was asked to, but he could also run the offense on a team that likes to slow it down, it doesn't seem to matter for him. His great defense displayed in Europe is another good sign for scouts looking at him for the highest level of basketball in the world. As far as which teams should take a look at him, the Grizzlies should take him, if they're smart. Mike Conley Jr looked promising in the final stretches of this last regular season, but they can't pass up on a guy like Rubio if he's willing to go there (which I'm confident will end up being the case). I see Rubio's great ability to distribute the ball, and Mayo's ability to put the ball in the hoop to compliment eachother quite well, along with his Spanish teammate Marc Gasol running the show down low for Memphis. If Memphis does not decide to take them, teams like Sacramento, New York, and Minnesota should take good, hard looks at trading up for this kid. This big issue is still with him and his apparent refusal to play for certain teams. Not surprisingly, his agent, Dan Fegan, had the exact same situation with a client by the name of Yi Jianlian two years ago; that ended up being nothing. Former teammate Pau Gasol formerly playing in Memphis, along with current Memphis Grizzly Marc Gasol being a part of this should help Memphis' chances of landing this stud. [video=youtube;12FOZsjWxwk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12FOZsjWxwk[/video]
My pipe dream was for the Blazers to get the first pick in the second round, let teams that don't need him get the top three picks or so, and have him fall to the second round due to buyout issues. I would love to have him on the Blazers, won't happen though. I'm sure whichever team gets him will have a very good PG for a long time.
