Tag: Ricky Rubio (Page 6 of 8)

      Jennings’ former teammate would take him over Rubio

      June 22, 2009 /

      TrueHoop tracked down Brandon Jennings’ former teammate, Ibrahim Jaaber, to provide a scouting report on Jennings and Ricky Rubio.

      Ibrahim Jaaber is uniquely situated to comment on both. It is much discussed that Jennings did not play much for his Italian team, Lottomatica Roma. That’s in part because Jennings played behind Jaaber, a former two-time Ivy League player of the year who has played in Europe since graduating in 2007.

      Jaaber agreed to provide a scouting report on his former teammate, Jennings, as well as Rubio, whom Jaaber faced on the court last December. I don’t know if it’s fair to expect Jaaber to be unbiased — Jennings is a former teammate, and he has no such relationship with Rubio — but he assures he is speaking from the heart when he writes:

      I look at both as players who will need to be nurtured and given a lot of attention in order to thrive in the NBA. After one or two seasons in the League, given the same coaching, opportunities and development, in my opinion, I think Brandon Jennings will be the overall better player. Which is not to say that Ricky won’t be successful. I just think Brandon has greater potential — and as they are both in my eyes players who will have to make great developments, I would invest my pick in the better athlete, Brandon Jennings.

      The piece is longer, and Jaaber makes a case for both players, but he’d take Jennings over Rubio.

      Jennings was a top 5 pick all season, but has seen his stock drop recently as concerns over his lack of playing time in Italy crossed with the emergence of several other point guard prospects, namely Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry and Jonny Flynn. Everything I’m reading points to the fact that Jennings is a great athlete and has outstanding quickness, but doesn’t have the same feel for the game as some of the other prospects do. His jumper seems to be falling and he has had several good workouts in recent days. He could go as early as #7 (to the Warriors) or possibly as late as #14 (to the Suns), and given the fluidity of this draft, even that’s not a solid range.

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      2009 NBA Mock Draft Version 3.0 + Updated Consensus

      June 22, 2009 /

      The draft is just a few days away, so it’s a good time to take one final stab at mocking the first round of this draft. I’ll continue to update the consensus draft this week, but this will be my last attempt at predicting what will happen this Thursday.

      First, let’s take a look at the most recent consensus. Chad Ford released the most recent version of his mock draft today, NBADraft.net also updated today, while DraftExpress updated their mock yesterday.

      Now I’ll go, pick by pick, through the first round, taking the consensus into account while also throwing in my $0.02 here and there.

      #1 CLIPPERS
      The Clips have shown no signs of trading away their opportunity to draft Blake Griffin. There is much fluidity with the next few picks, but the Oklahoma product is pretty much guaranteed to be the first pick. The Clippers will then (reportedly) try to move Zach Randolph or Chris Kaman, though it might be wise to move forward with Kaman and Griffin in the front court, Baron Davis at the point, and Eric Gordon and Al Thornton on the wing. Randolph is going to be tough to move. (I still can’t believe that Mike Dunleavy traded for him last season.)
      Pick: Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma

      #2 GRIZZLIES
      The consensus says that Hasheem Thabeet will be the pick and I don’t disagree, even though he just pulled out of a workout with Memphis due to a shoulder injury. DraftExpress thinks that Memphis will go with James Harden and move O.J. Mayo to the point, which they say is his natural position. I don’t know that they’ve given up on Mike Conley yet, so I think they will go big with this pick. Their biggest need is at power forward, so trading down and drafting Jordan Hill is a possibility. But if they stand pat, Thabeet could very well be the pick, even though he doesn’t seem to want to play in Memphis.
      Pick: Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn

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      NBA Rumors: Grizzlies’ quandary, Blazers want Hinrich, and more

      June 22, 2009 /

      Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has been actively working the phones, as usual.

      The Blazers have been making inquiries all over the first round. Their main target has been Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, a burly power forward who plays with a toughness the Blazers lack and coach Nate McMillan would appreciate.

      However, Sunday night, there was talk Pritchard has even grander plans. With point guard Ricky Rubio possibly slipping out of the top four, the Blazers are talking to the Wizards about acquiring the No. 5 pick.

      There’s no question Pritchard also is trying to figure out a way to get maximum cap room this summer to use for a free agent or in a trade. The Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu gets the most mention, but sources say Portland’s real target is Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich.

      Portland drafted Jerryd Bayless last year, but he didn’t have a very good rookie season, and head coach Nate McMillan would like Pritchard to steer clear of drafting another rookie. Hinrich would be a great fit. He’s relatively cheap (three years, $26.5 million remaining), experienced, and is a good defender.

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      NBA Rumors: Rubio, Boozer, T-Mac and more

      June 19, 2009 /

      Chad Ford writes about why Ricky Rubio is being so selective in his workouts.

      First of all, the idea that Rubio is the only one doing it is silly. James Harden has only worked out for four teams. Even the Knicks couldn’t get him in. Hasheem Thabeet will likely only work out for three. DeMar DeRozan has been really selective, and so has Stephen Curry.

      It’s pretty simple as to why Rubio is being selective: He is going to have to pay a lot of money for the privilege to play in the NBA next season. His buyout will cost him something between $5 and $7 million of his own money. That’s a lot of money, especially when you consider that Rubio wasn’t making a ton of dough in Spain. He essentially will be signing over his paychecks for the next couple of years to his team in Spain.

      The Kings have an obvious hole at point guard on a young team. It seems to be the place his camp wants him to land. If the Kings draft him, I don’t think there’s any question that Rubio would pay the buyout and come. The question is, will the Kings draft him? I think the odds are in Rubio’s favor, but it sounds like some in the organization still need to be convinced.

      Rubio’s future might depend on something he has no control over — is Russell Westbrook a point guard? A statistical study I did a few weeks ago revealed that he was turnover-prone and shoot-first, though obviously as a young rookie, there is room for improvement. If the Thunder think he’s a point guard, then I doubt they take Rubio. They’ll take James Harden, who averaged 4.2 assists during his senior year even though he was taking 13 shots per game.

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      Brandon Jennings: ‘I’m better than Ricky Rubio.’

      June 12, 2009 /

      Brandon Jennings isn’t shy. When being interviewed by the Sacramento Bee after a workout with the Kings, Jennings had some sharp words for Ricky Rubio. [Transcript from The Sporting Blog.]

      Jennings: Well, put it like this: If he was in a workout with me, Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Stephen Curry, he wouldn’t even probably be at the top.

      Reporter: You think he’s all hype?

      Jennings: Yeah.

      Reporter: Because?

      Jennings: Because he played in the Olympics, he been playing pro ball since he been 14, so you know, there it is right there. And you know, his stats? 26 minutes, and he be having like 16 points, 7 assists [inaudible — sounds like he says 900] steals? Come on. Twenty-six minutes, and you have all that? So I really don’t know. I really don’t know. I can’t wait to play him, though. I’m just letting y’all know that now. I can’t wait.

      Reporter: You think you should go before Ricky Ruubio in the draft?

      Jennings: Yeah, I think I’m a better player than he is. I can shoot the ball better than he can. The only time I’ve seen him do something is when he has a home run pass or something. So I think the dude is all hype. I can’t even front. I’m going to be real with you guys.

      Two weeks out, Rubio is still considered the top point guard in the draft, but his stock isn’t quite as high as it once was. While they love the “feel” that he has for the game, some personnel people are concerned about his overall athleticism and his suspect jumper.

      Meanwhile, Jennings stock has slipped considerably since midseason largely because he got inconsistent playing time while in Italy.

      Rubio is definitely more pass-first than he is shoot-first, and the opposite is true for Jennings, at least reputation-wise. Of the best point guards in the league, most are pass-first, so it’s no surprise that Rubio is favored right now.

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

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