Rubio calling the shots?

[Fez Hammersticks]

“Rubio doesn’t want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so. Fegan [Rubio’s agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can’t have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City. “

“He’ll pull out if he doesn’t like what he’s hearing,” the NBA source tells us. “Or he can stay in and force the Grizzlies to call his bluff—would they really take him knowing that he may never come over? That’s one way to get him to fall to three.”

Some other Draftexpress tidbits:

Jrue Holiday in the words of one executive, is “moving up more than anyone in this draft” right now, and could find himself in the 6-10 range when it’s all said and done. He even has an outside chance of being selected 4th by Sacramento, and he will indeed be working out there tomorrow from what we’re told. New York (8), Toronto (9) and Milwaukee (10) appear to be especially interested.

The other “big riser” in this draft may be DeJuan Blair. Reports are swirling about Blair measuring a legit 6-7 in shoes (with a 7-2 wingspan) as well as losing as much as 15 pounds since arriving at IMG Academy. A slew of NBA teams have reportedly been out to evaluate him and some of the other top prospects training at the facility, and the buzz is growing around him every day seemingly. Milwaukee at 10, New Jersey at 11 and Indiana at 13 appear to be his sweet spots at the moment, and if he falls past there, he apparently will not get past Phoenix.

Austin Daye is another player with some strong hype at the moment. “He’s the most skilled player in the draft” one executive told us recently. “He’s not as soft as people think. He’s going to get drafted between 10 and 15. If he works out great, he may even go earlier.”

While it may seem strange for the Clippers to so quickly anoint Griffin as their choice before really possessing a full picture of what’s on the table, many in the league think Dunleavy (also the Clippers GM in addition to their head coach) wants to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that Griffin is going first, in an effort to get teams to make their best offers.

Link​

 

[alex42083]

Chris Wallace and Memphis are screwed... They won't get any FAs with their cap space, and prospects don't want to play for them. Serves you right Chris.

 

[MAS RipCity]

My top 2 draft prosppects are on fire..Blair and Holiday.
I really hope we move up and get Blair...he is so perfect for this team.

 

[EPIC FAIL GILDERHUS]

Chris Wallace and Memphis are screwed... They won't get any FAs with their cap space, and prospects don't want to play for them. Serves you right Chris.

Karma sucks, doesn't it Grizzlies?-must be the curse of Darius Miles...maybe its time to contract this team, or else move them somewhere else. they had no interest in Vancouver, now no interest in Memphis by fans or potential players-after all, who wants to play in front of 3000 fans every home game?

 

[maxiep]

I maintain that either we move WAY up or we move out of the 1st round.

 

[Sedatedfork]

I maintain that either we move WAY up or we move out of the 1st round.

We have way too many 2nd round picks to not do something. I think we will move out of the 1st round and acquire either a veteran or future picks.

 

[maxiep]

We have way too many 2nd round picks to not do something. I think we will move out of the 1st round and acquire either a veteran or future picks.

By moving out of the 1st round, I mean we'll trade it for a 2010 1st round pick.

As for our 2nd rounders, we seem to have a theme with those--if we find a player we like, we take him, if not, we trade it for more 2nd rounders. Heck, that Clips 2nd is almost another 1st round pick.

 

[MAS RipCity]

KP loves the draft, he'll do work and it looks like he'll have to move up big time to get Blair.

Also, move the Grizz to Seattle and the clippers to st louis..la doesn't need 2 teams

 

[Reep]

All those second round picks could be used on foreign players though. If you pick enough and let them mature in Europe, then you figure at least one should work out down the road.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Dont forget that with so many teams in financial trouble, Paul could again buy another 1st round pick and then trade it with our current first round pick to move way up or get a good veteran.

 

[illmatic99]

By moving out of the 1st round, I mean we'll trade it for a 2010 1st round pick.

As for our 2nd rounders, we seem to have a theme with those--if we find a player we like, we take him, if not, we trade it for more 2nd rounders. Heck, that Clips 2nd is almost another 1st round pick.

In weak drafts such as this one, I'd bet our second round picks have more value than #24.

 

[La Bomba]

So in other words he is going to cry his way out of the top 5?

 

[ironcrotch]

Dont forget that with so many teams in financial trouble, Paul could again buy another 1st round pick and then trade it with our current first round pick to move way up or get a good veteran.

hot damn, i love this time of year!

 

[hasoos]

We have way too many 2nd round picks to not do something. I think we will move out of the 1st round and acquire either a veteran or future picks.

Just like we had way to valuable of a golden ticket in RLEC to do nothing?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Does Rubio not know how much of a dump Sacramento is? I mean Memphis sucks balls too, but yikes.

 

[ironcrotch]

Does Rubio not know how much of a dump Sacramento is? I mean Memphis sucks balls too, but yikes.

I actually don't think it has to do with location but the idea of success. Memphis, Clips, and OKC don't really have the history of being successful while the Kings were recently successful with a solid fan base. I wouldn't be surprised if this was more about being in a potential winning situation as opposed to being drafted by a perennial loser.

But I agree, Sacramento is a dump. I once turned down a promotion because it required me to relocate there.

 

[La Bomba]

The Kings were ranked dead last in attendence this year. Their fan base is like most fan bases, they go to games when they're good.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I actually don't think it has to do with location but the idea of success. Memphis, Clips, and OKC don't really have the history of being successful while the Kings were recently successful with a solid fan base. I wouldn't be surprised if this was more about being in a potential winning situation as opposed to being drafted by a perennial loser.

But I agree, Sacramento is a dump. I once turned down a promotion because it required me to relocate there.

How much do you want to bet he's interested in Sacramento because it's in "Caleeforneeya?" When I lived in France about ten years ago every 20 something person I met was simply enthralled with the notion of California and Baywatch and all of that shit ... I'm guessing he's thinking there's warm sandy beaches and palm trees right outside his front door if he moves to anywhere in that state.

 

[Reep]

Rubio is not slipping down to #5. The Grizz or OKC will take him and trade him. There just isn't enough value in the draft after him. His trade value is worth more than any of the players after him.

So, what do the Grizz want/need?

PF, backup PG?

I don't see that Portland has the pieces to do a direct deal.

Maybe Bayless, Outlaw, 1st round pick and take back Jaric

 

[cdub503]

grizz get him and trade bayless and pieces to get him?

 

[hasoos]

It seems to me a lot of you are assuming he would find Portland a worthy spot to play in as well. There is nothing to indicate he would like to play here over any of those other places.

 

[cdub503]

It seems to me a lot of you are assuming he would find Portland a worthy spot to play in as well. There is nothing to indicate he would like to play here over any of those other places.

well what it seems like hes bitching about is that the said teams dont have any chance at success (other than sac and LA maybe he thinks those are more high profile/media saturated places) i think he would be happy in portland unless nate had a short short leash on him. AND hes got rudy whats not to like?

 

[retroblazers]

i woulda thought that having gasol in memphis would help them in taking rubio, but maybe gasol (both of them) told him bad things about memphis? maybe lack of spanish fans out there? could be the same reason for the no to OKC, lack of spanish support out there. makes you wonder though if he'd even want to play in portland if we could some how end up with him

 

[Reep]

What about something like this:

The Grizz need a PF and backup PG

Blazers want Rubio?

Clippers now add Griffin, have too many PF/Cs, but need scoring from a backup guard or SF

If history is to repeat itself for the Grizz and Clipps, Clipps would take Outlaw and Bayless, send Zach to Grizz (where former Jail Blazers go frequently) and Portland gets Rubio. However, without relying on the ineptitude of these franchises . . .

Portland sends Bayless and Outlaw (&Frye?) to Utah; and Sergio to Memphis
Utah signs and trades Boozer to Memphis
Memphis sends Jaric and Rubio to Portland

This assumes that Boozer would be okay going to Memphis (not far from N.C.)

It seems to me a lot of you are assuming he would find Portland a worthy spot to play in as well. There is nothing to indicate he would like to play here over any of those other places.

I'm sure Rudy could convince him to consider Portland. If he wants a good dynamic young environmnet. If he wants sun and girls in bikinis, then Portland should let him go.

 

[La Bomba]

Actually, I refuse to believe anything until something comes out of Rubio's mouth, not his agent. Maybe this is what Fergan wants. Way to early to speculate.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

How much want to bet he's interested in Sacramento because it's in "Caleeforneeya?" When I lived in France about ten years ago every 20 something person I met was simply enthralled with the notion of California and Baywatch and all of that shit ... I'm guessing he's thinking there's warm sandy beaches and palm trees right outside his front door if he moves to anywhere in that state.

I came from England to grad. school at USC, and I didn't know anything about it, so I called them up and they said "It's right between the mountains and the sea! You can practically ski down on to the beach!"
By the time I was looking for apartments on the edge of South Central, it was too late.

And don't forget Michael Olowokandi who went to the College of the Pacific because of the word "Pacific". Isn't it in Stockton or some hellhole?

Somebody should show Rubio round Barstow. That'd cure him real quick. Although, remember, parts of Spain are pretty desert-y. Check out the movie "Jamon Jamon" (and not just because of a young Penelope Cruz).

 

[Uther TheGardener]

Karma sucks, doesn't it Grizzlies?-must be the curse of Darius Miles...maybe its time to contract this team, or else move them somewhere else. they had no interest in Vancouver, now no interest in Memphis by fans or potential players-after all, who wants to play in front of 3000 fans every home game?

Actually they had a lot more interest in Van than in Mem but Van lost interest when it was clear they were to the craptasique city of memfleas. in van they were averaging 13k before it was clear they were coming VAN got hosed!

 

[LittleAlex]

well what it seems like hes bitching about is that the said teams dont have any chance at success (other than sac and LA maybe he thinks those are more high profile/media saturated places) i think he would be happy in portland unless nate had a short short leash on him. AND hes got rudy whats not to like?

He has an 8 million dollar buyout from his current team. Since the team he goes do can only cover 500K of that, Ricky is going to loose a shit ton of money to come over. The speculation is that he would love to cover some of that loss with endorsements. Portland as a city is one of the worst places for that type of money. I don't think Portland has a chance to get him anyway.

Even if they do, I could see him just hanging out in Europe for awhile ala Tiago Spliter.

 

[Ed O]

Chris Wallace and Memphis are screwed... They won't get any FAs with their cap space, and prospects don't want to play for them. Serves you right Chris.

I think that this statement is, at best, premature... and almost certainly wrong.

Ed O.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I wonder if the Lakers will be looking to trade for Rubio?