I find it strange that people are so surprised that other team's executives and scouts are so ho-hum about him. He's not only got some real flaws to his game that bring into question his ability to fit in with any given team, but his narrow list of desirable destinations and circumstances paints a picture of a prima donna or at least somebody who needs a whole lot of accomodation to be placated or made happy in the NBA. If he doesn't land in an ideal situation via trade, then I fully expect him to return to Spain at the end of his rookie scale deal.
I thought it had to do with his back surgery and general unhappiness over not having a defined role on the team.
Rudy fucked up. If he hated it here, sandbagging was the worst thing he could have done. Now his value is so low we might as well keep him. Andy Miller needs to tell him the quickest ticket out of Portland is to play to the very best of his considerable abilities.
I would like to give Rudy the benefit of the doubt, but players who are legit hurt generally don't fuss about wanting more playing time and a bigger role.
At this point, I don't consider Rudy a part of this team or this team's future anymore. Give his minutes to Matthews, Bayless, Williams or whoever actually wants to be here.
A true professional does not allow problems to hold them back. I have a hard time believing that Rudy line anyhow. Through 3 quarters of one playoff game alone he was 0-12 at one point, and most of them were wide open jumpers he was missing. Rudy had plenty of opportunities in the playoffs to nut up and show his stuff. The team went out of their way to try and get Rudy going IMO. The facts are Rudy missed a ton of wide open shots and pussed out. The facts also are that in the pre game warmups prior to all the games he played this season, he never practiced with vigor. What would you think as a coach if your player only sat in the corner practicing one handed 3 pointers, and 3 point trick shots all warm up session long, and then not practice the shots from where he will get them in the offense at all? He was sandbagging pure and simple. If Rudy put out effort and played hard, I would have no problem rooting for him even if he wasn't a big producer. But the opposite is true.
They also generally own up to the injuries slowing them down and are usually a little more upbeat about coming back the following year and making up for it ... typically they don't talk about being "deceived," or replying, "I'm under contract" when being interviewed and asked about coming back for another season.
You noticed that to? I saw that on several occasions and was a bit dismayed that an NBA'er would practice left handed threes from the corner during warm-ups. The one game I remember in particular (and I don't remember the opponent) Pendegraph was shooting threes with him. Now, Rudy did hit like 5 in a row with his left hand at one point, but probably not the best way to use his time prior to the game. ...I'm not suggesting this speaks to the sandbagging comment, but I do wonder how serious he takes the game.
To me it speaks to what I said a while back about Rudy being a guy worth acquiring simply because he'll sell tickets. He has star appeal with the general sports audience. The people that watch closely are well aware of his flaws, but those aren't the people that fill the seats. As such, I think you'll find the vast majority of people would be surprised at how lightly he's regarded by scouts and execs.
Has anyone else noticed that Jason Quick fell on the face of the freaking earth within the last week or so?
Yeah...a Hunter Thompson type vacation, where he consumes mass quantities of drugs and visits the darkest recesses of his frontal lobes!
