http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/59839/20090615/rubio_could_slip_but_will_stay_in_draft/ For those of you who want him, would this make it easier or harder to get him? And does it make it more or less enticing to try to get him?
Sounds like some teams are trying to drive down his value in order to get a steal. Teams didn't know about his strength or shooting ability a week ago? I call BS since Rubio's probably been scouted for a few years already I bet.
What the hell would we want a PG for? Why do you think we have passed up on good PG for the last half of a decade? There is an unwritten rule that the Blazers cannot have a competant PG. So the only way Portland drafts him, is if he truly sucks.
I would trade Bayless + pieces, and take on extra salary for a chance at Rubio. He is obviously a few years away, but I think his ceiling is very high, and he is very likely to reach it. This news probably makes it easier to land him.
Players slip. Chris Paul fell to the fourth spot in spite of being widely considered being the best PG prospect since Magic Johnson. Paul Pierce fell to the tenth spot after being first team all-american as a junior at Kansas. I am very very confident that Rubio is going to be a special player in the NBA, and if he slips I'd like to think it'll just make it that much more likely Portland will land him. Ed O.
My position as well. If Rubio's stock is really slipping (not due to poor play, just due to volatility of percpetions), I'll bet Pritchard's eyes are lighting up. A draft slide for Rubio gives Pritchard a chance to pull off a serious heist. Of course, I also agree with rocketeer...I'd be pretty surprised if Rubio goes anywhere other than #2.
The fact that he isn't "NBA ready" may influence some teams. I would bet, however, that the mess surrounding his contract is weighing far more heavily. If he slips, it will be because teams are afraid he won't be in an NBA uniform anytime soon. I know next to nothing about Spanish law, so I will not even offer a wild guess as to whether that is a realistic fear.
I find the "Not NBA ready" label to be a pretty funny and inaccurate one..... Considering that he has been a starter on a euroleague team which offers better competition than college, and has been playing there for 3-4? years....and played PG for a Spanish National team that finished 2nd in the Olympics to the U.S. Clearly, he is not ready.....
His head may be NBA ready - his body is another story. At this point his jumper is inconsistent, and he is too slender to get to the rim and finish consistently either. Even in Europe he has to play a gambling defense, because he can't guard grown men straight up. If the transition was tough on Rudy, who is several years older and more physically mature, it could be downright brutal for Rubio. This could be a case where the kid doesn't even make the all-rookie team - and in the long term winds up the best player in this draft!
NBA ready is silly. People said the same about Rudy and Prince. Rubio looked great a year ago during the Olympics. That was year ago. Advance that by a year and a half, and he'll do just fine. He'll hit the wall like all rookies do, but it's just what he has to go through. I don't know about you but I'd like to see the Blazers grab all the championships between 2010 and 2020. Ricky Rubio would ensure that.
Oy. Might be overstating it slightly, but adding Rubio to Oden/Roy/Aldridge/Batum would make a pretty sure championship contender for a decade or more, IMO.
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/08...son//teamnumber/362/fe_teamPlay_playStat.html rubio's stats in the olympics: 4.8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 2.13 steals, 28% shooting(35% from 2, 16.7% from 3) in 18.5 minutes. is that really great?
Statistically speaking, at 17-years old, against the extreme level of competition he faced, yes. He wasn't the main cog on that team. That's not what impressed me. It's that he was able to blend in and help contribute at such a young age. He helped the team instead of hindered them. Not to mention his defense and offensive control, for his age, was something I found quite remarkable. Can't look at stats in a vacuum.
No offense, but Rudy went on record as saying Rubio was going to need time to make an impact in the NBA - and I give his opinion on the matter a bit more weight than anybody posting here.
This doesn't say anything about his stock dropping(don't know where anybody got that). The Thunder and Grizzlies wont pick him because Rubio says he wont play for them. And the Kings only says it's not a lock, but that could be a smokescreen trying to raise the price if a team wanted to trade up. Rubio should widely be regarded as the 2nd best prospect in this draft. It's fun to live in fantasy land but Rubio wont be coming to Portland, ever.
