Agreed. Morey seems to like drafting contingency plans to stash away in Europe. They don't always work out (Newley doesn't seem to be making the leap, Eliyahu and Leunen are probably fringe players at best), but they're extra movable pieces that don't affect trade economics.
He mentioned this in the article. So, it sounds like he can play good defense. He mentions a couple times that his physical level/height allows him to defend both guard positions. I think its a no-brainer, if somehow Brooks gets traded, to replace him with Lull (if they can get him out of contract). I think that would be a mistake (to lose brooks). Noone mentions this either, but Lowry could get traded, instead of Brooks. As, I think Lull fills in the void of a Lowry more than a Brooks (driving fouls, defense) + he has a 3 pt shot. I'd miss Lowry too. I bet they just wait til the year after next to bring him over. I don't think they'll trade his rights. Morey seems pretty protective of PG talent.
Hah, I'm going to laugh at my comments I just made. Just watched video of him from another thread. He IS NOT NBA ready. He would not touch the court on the rockets until he learned some Defense. He gets blown by, can't figure out the pick and roll d, and overall looks like he way over commits and jumps out to defend. So, poor footing defensively, needs alot of work. All that negative said, give him another year to develop, figure out away to get him some defensive coaching, and then bring him over. His offense looks very smooth and quick with a nice shot. I bet they'll bring him over summer after next (is he out of contract by then?) and coach him up to see if they think his D has enough potential. With his length, if they could coach the defense, he'd be a special player.
If u believe rubio's feet are better than kid, go watch some tape. At 30+, kidd is still faster,quicker,and stronger than rubio. Kidd also has a post game, was an elite nba defender, not some euroleague, and was runner up in the mvp race and single handedly took a morbid franchise to the finals twice. Ok, morey likes him and thinks hes a stud, i've watched him and think he marco jaric type. A big guard,slow feet,no shot. I could be wrong like any other human, I'm just telling you from the 30 games or so i watched of him. Dumars had a great streak going before he drafted darko at 2.
I am not saying that Rubio is better than Jason Kidd, obviously. I am well aware of Jason Kidd's 15 years of dominance. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TRsN5aWzXiw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TRsN5aWzXiw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> Kidd should have used some of that quickness on the slow 17 year old on this play. You say that Rubio can't shoot, yet his statistics and work ethic show otherwise. He is shooting 47% from three, and has always shot over 80% from the line. Again, He is shooting 47% from three. He is an elite defender in a fantastic league, and If we have learned anything from Shane Battier it's that you do not need to have tremendous athletic ability to be an elite defender. Skill, work ethic and desire will do just fine. Ricky Rubio has all the intangibles, and obviously the numbers (Daryl Morey) for anyone to believe that he will be effective as an NBA PG. Anyone can see that he has elite court vision as well. You are basing your entire account on the false notion that he can't shoot. and the opinion that he has slow feet (Care to back that up with some numbers?) Larry Bird had some of the worst feet to ever grace an NBA basketball court, but you would swear that he was the guy leading the break half the time. His tremendous basketball IQ and instincts completely trumped any lack of athleticism. Rubio is a master at changing his speed as well, much like the great Sam Cassell, who was WAY slower than Rubio.
First, thank you all for the compliments and responses. I think defense is certainly a problem to a greater or lesser extent in every young PG. Llull is a tall PG with good legs, strength, athleticism and a good attitude, he has more than enough tools to be, not a decent, but a very solid defender at that position. I think it might be possible that he has declined somewhat his level this season for having more offensive responsibilites. It's a common phenomenon that for example we've seen this year with Ariza, Landry or Scola (inevitably, you lower the level of concentration and intensity). Also note that he's defending SGs in some of those videos, and he probably is still not very used to it. I really don't think he will have much problems in this sense, he's a very active player who even can raise the collective level. Think in George Hill, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar... Sometimes they make mistakes, but all them have nice defensive potential. We're talking about a similar body... Spanoulis was used in a spot-up shooter role. I truly think that coach Gundy could have done far more to integrate him and turn him into a useful piece, because shooting was probably the last of his strengths. Spanoulis is a p&r player who needs the ball to help his team. He's also a good defender at PG position and crafty player without the ball. At that time the Rockets offense was very static and very McGrady oriented. Spanoulis simply didn't fit here, and less as SG... Llull on the other hand is a much better shooter, but even Spanoulis would fit better in current Rockets offense. Thanks xiki. I agree with you, I think that unfortunately he will have to return Europe to regain confidence and the characteristic joy in his game that currently is not being seen. He's still young, hopefully he can redirect his career and we can see him again in the NBA at a higher level. I'm sure he has the talent, but the truth is that nowadays he looks like depressed, and his natural game transmits the opposite. I don't think so. He lost a step with that -serious- injury , he's still a very solid player in Europe and all winning teams want him on their roster, but he's no longer a star, and absolutely not an NBA player. Wow, he's exploding right now, he dominated Barcelona big guys in some Euroleague games (Vazquez, Lorbek, N'Dong...). A 23 y.o. 7-2 center with a nice coordination and mobility. He's been compared with Pau Gasol... I don't know if he has that much talent but he looks definitely promising. Anyway he has contract with Real Madrid for the next 2-3 years. This is a little dated, but you can know him better. Also take a look at youtube. He's my favourite spanish player over Pau, I think is pretty hard to be a better player having that body, sometimes he's unreal. I talk about his particular situation here. Leebigez, I disagree with this you say about Rubio. I don't think he's slow at all, he always looks calm, quiet and under control (certainly does not look like a typical 19 y.o. kid) but he has a very good first step and a very good change of rythm, perhaps somewhat misleading, true, but he has it. Of course he needs improvement in other areas, some defensive aspects (again like every young PG) and offensively cut down turnovers and specially improve his mid range game (and mid-range shot), sometimes he's too predictable off the p&r. But he has shown significant improvements this year, for example in his perimeter shooting (mechanic and percentages).
Gave you whatever rep I could Mr. Anchel I like your observations... they are very astute and they show that you are very well versed with, and a true lover of the game. Hope to hear more of your observations and opinions - they are very fair and well balanced. Cheers!
You are spot on with everything you said. Rubio is a phenomenal playmaker and has plenty of defensive tools and loads of bball smarts.
Just to show you how different we watch basketball games, that video proves my point. He didn't even create seperation from Kidd. He got a step and kidd was still in his hip pocket. When you see pg's like westbrook,parker,brooks, and even guys like nash, they get the step and increase the distance between themselves and the guy who was guarding them. Thats what I mean by slow feet. DJ Augustine has slow feet and he's a mall guy. There is no way in hell rubio is anywhere close to a good nba defender. Funny you brought cassell who was a clutch shooter from day 1 and developed a post game rather quickly, not to mention he had range and could create seperation.
In his hip pocket? Looked to me like he was chasing his backside... Battier does not have quick feet, yet he can guard the quickest SG's in the league as good as anyone... Rubio CAN be a good defender...
Battier has long arms and is a better athlete than people give him credit for. Not to mention, shane isn't chasing 6'1 guys handling the ball alot. If you watch the video you posted, he got a step on kidd and didn't increase the distance and gain seperation. In the nba, that a huge difference and can realy tell what kind of career a player wil have. I've never said he didn't have good court vision. In fact i think he has really great court vision, but my thing is when you're that size and play that position, you're going to struggle with the quicker guards. Not only that, he can't abuse the smaller guys because he has 0 post game and he's not a good shooter. I can also say, he can get better at shooting, so maybe that will come around. I'm going to say this as prospects, if livingston was healthy, rubio couldn't hold a candle to his ability on the court as a big pg. Maybe rubio will prove me wrong and be all this everyone thinks he will be or maybe he will be jasecavechiks or plannic.
Rubio has a 6-9 inch wingspan/ Battier has a 6-10 inch wingspan... :grin: Maybe not 6-1 guys, but Shane can chase Dwayne Wade. Rubio has all the tools to be a good defender, number one and two being heart and work ethic, the most important attributes for a defender. He also has one of the highest basketball IQ's that we have seen in a decade...
Come on Rubio could be a good defender in the NBA. He shut down Tony Parker in the 2009 European basketball tournament. What I worry about is if he could create off the dribble in the NBA. He doesn't seem to be explosive nor quick.
Llull stats yesterday: 25 min. 16-2-2, 6/9 FGs. 1 TO, 1 ST. Watch the game. Other games: @ DKV Joventut @ P.E. Valencia ACB Stats
