I thought Jennings bumped heads with coaches and they never gave him any PT. Maybe I'm wrong, I just thought he never got on the court.
Rubio was 17 in the 2008 Olympics. Who cares if he was outplayed by an NBA starting-level PG and another NBA-level guy? Fernandez was a couple of years older than Rubio when he came over. It's very possible that Ricky has hit his limit, but I think that given his innate abilities and his youth, there's a pretty good chance he becomes at least an NBA starter and perhaps a lot more than that. Ed O.
I'm not a huge Flynn fan, but he'd make a good backup PG/potential PGotF. Rudy and our first would seem fair to me, and not a bad deal for MN if they're looking to move Flynn. Ed O.
I'll take what you say about Rubio with a grain of salt. You used to post on BBF how Rubio would be able to PG the Blazers to a title in his rookie season, and if it meant trading LMA for him, it was worth it.
Heh Not sure about him being the best international PG prospect ever, though, but good foresight! There was no way an overhyped PG was getting by David Kahn in that draft, but you didn't know that at the time! I'm excited, natch, curious to see Rubio come over and play in the NBA next year. Hopefully the lockout is minimal, because between having Rubio and Love on the same team, the T-Wolves could have two guys put up All-Star numbers on a 12-win team.
12 wins seems unlikely if Rubio is having an All Star-caliber season, but they still might not make the playoffs. But at least that's a nice core for a good GM (post-Kahn) to build around.
Meanwhile, Kyrie "I played 8 games at Duke" Irving being tossed around at #1 is "hyped just right" for you? Or Enes "I didn't play a lick of college ball and came off the bench a few minutes for a Turkish team" Kanter at #2 or #3?
Maybe on talent displayed at the time, but I'm sure the risk that Rubio wouldn't come over immediately was priced into his draft stock, which is why he fell. And for good reason, as he didn't come over for a couple of years.
Big difference b/w #2 money and #5 money. IIRC, that was the big factor. He could pay his buyout out of the #2 salary, but it would've been tough with #5.
Memphis had drafted Mike Conley Jr. as their PG in 2007. As ambivalent as I am about Conley's game, I think he'll be a better NBA player than Rubio, because at least Conley Jr. has quick feet, can defend, and can shoot a bit.
So all players that came out of high school are overhyped? If it wasnt for the age limit that was implemented Irving and Kanter probably would have jumped to the league at 18.
my point is that if a guy is "so overhyped it's sick" while playing 5 years in the euroleague, what are the thoughts on the hype-ness of Irving and Kanter, who've played a total of 8 games in the US between them?