Draftexpress' Jonathan Givony was pretty high on him after the Nike Hoop Summit and the U-18 world championships, but when Nic went to the Euroleague he kind of disappeared, because he had (has?) more of a role-players' mentality. But you can see for yourself here that he was projected as high as a top 4 pick at one time. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Nicolas-Batum-537/mock-draft-history/ As for Rubio I think there's a pretty good chance he could be good, but for a guy without elite athleticism, not much of an outside shot or an ability to finish is he really a lock to be a great NBA point guard? When I look at his film I see a guy with great court vision and underwhelming physical tools: This year's stats: Code: Year League Team GP Min Pts FG FGA FG% 2Pt 2PtA 2P% 3Pt 3PtA 3P% FTM FTA FT% Off Def TOT Asts Stls Blks TOs PFs 2009/10 ACB Barcelona 34 20.0 6.6 2.1 4.7 44.7 1.0 2.1 47.9 1.1 2.6 42.0 1.5 1.9 79.7 0.5 2.1 2.6 4.4 2.0 0.1 1.8 1.6 2009/10 EURO Barcelona 22 20.9 6.8 1.8 4.9 37.0 1.0 2.5 38.2 0.9 2.4 35.8 2.3 2.5 89.3 0.5 2.4 2.9 4.1 1.4 0.0 2.1 2.0 From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ricky-Rubio-1155/stats/#ixzz0tDzQwYWs I have my doubts.
I did ask, and thank you for reminding me. He didn't slide from the top 5, though, because of rumors of his health. As for whether Rubio is a "lock" to be a great PG... of course not. If such a thing were possible, and he were that thing, we couldn't trade anyone on our roster to get him. On the other hand, there's no lock that Batum will be an average starting small forward, either. Presumably he will be, because of what we've seen so far and his age (and I'm delighted he's a Blazer, don't get me wrong)... but Rubio would be a more valuable player at the PG spot even if they're equal in terms of their capabilities, and I think Rubio's upside is significantly higher than Nic's. Ed O.
Depends what you mean by "physical tools". He doesn't have great hops (although, unlike Steve Nash, he can dunk) but he's fast. And he has quick feet and long arms and is a very pesty defender. He's a better athlete than, say, Mark Jackson ever was. And at least as good a passer. (And lest you forget, Jackson is second only to Stockton in assists.) It's well known that there's a difference between speed, quicks, and hops. Rubio is probably at best average in hops (for basketball players, not the general public), but good in speed and great in quicks. He was giving Chris Paul problems in the Olympics. His absolute bottom baseline is Kirk Hinrich with Sergio's flash and passing.
Only David Kahn would trade Batum for Rubio. You're out of your freaking mind if you trade Nic for Rubio, and I'm a fan of Ricky.
You're confusing me. Would he be the one giving up Batum in this scenario? Oh yeah? Well I would do it and I'm a fan of Batum!
Rasta, you keep harping on Rubio coming here and being the piece to push us over the top. OK fine, for the sake of argument let's say that's true -- that he is the one critical cog that is missing from the Blazers rotation that makes them title contenders -- Why the fuck would he want to play here after Sergio and Rudy's trials and tribulations? Even if Nate were to be fired and a regime change occurred, we'd still be a small market team on the left coast which puts him about as far from home as he can get.
Technically not an accurate representation of what I've said: all I'm saying is that he may be the best possibly-available option. There are many good PGs I'd also be happy with (Jrue Holliday, for example) that I don't think the respective teams would give up for what we can offer. Second: why should Rubio think that the same thing will happen to him? He would have to think that Sergio and Rudy's problems come from (a) being Spanish and (b) Nate McMillan hating Spaniards before he believed that he wouldn't do better. He's got to know that he's got a different game from both of them. And there are plenty of people who will tell him he's an order of magnitude better than both. (You're also forgetting that Rudy's rookie year in Portland was seen as a rousing success all round, and Rudy was much beloved. Unless I'm much mistaken, Nate was the coach then, too. Even Sergio was much beloved his first season, even in limited time. But Sergio was even dropped by the Spanish National team, so it's not just Nate who had his doubts.) You're also assuming that Rubio wouldn't come over unless he was on (say) the Knicks, Lakers or Heat. But he's a kid, and when you start out, just about any American city is exciting. I believe he would've come over to the Wolves if they hadn't immediately drafted Flynn. If you read that article that circulated around this year's draft that described Rubio at last year's draft, it was clear that he was really befuddled by Flynn's selection. That same article makes it seem like he wanted Sacramento - another small market town that crapped on Sergio, and that has a much worse team. If the Blazers do well in the playoffs, they become more attractive. I think this reveals, once again, the belief that all Spaniards are prima donnas. I think half the crap that appears in the Spanish tabloids is posturing by agents.
What I meant is if Kahn had Batum he'd be dumb enough to trade him for Rubio. But, I've always liked Ricky and would like him in Portland if we can't land CP3. Though, with how Rudy was treated here by Nate and the system we play in I doubt Ricky would want to come over if the Blazers had his rights.
Rubio is looking like the real deal so far. Rick Adelman was a great choice for coach to help develop him.
I'll admit (at least so far) I was totally wrong about the guy. Gotta wonder what he'd look like if Rambis was still there though? Rubio in a triangle offense wouldn't be a pretty picture.
We couldn't have had Rubio, but we could have had Adelman... I want to see what Adelman does with Webster to fluidize his shooting.
Here's a stat I saw somewhere that seems hard to believe: Rubio is the only player anywhere who has played every second of every 4th quarter so far this season.
It's interesting to see how Adelman is using him as a closer. All I know is that Minnesota games are now "must see" for me on league pass. The kid is good ... even when things aren't going perfectly for him, he still manages to make it look like he has a plan out there.
