Who cares? He's a softy and nothing more than a mere spot-up shooter. Sure, he'll be useful in that type of offense but let's not act like the Mavs are going to repeat now because of this addition alone.
They're in prime position to make some big upgrades via trade (and an MLE signing) without shaking up their core. They could be really good next year. But Kidd has got to start slowing down sometime soon...
In the NBA, Rudy is a butterfly with no toughness. If the Mavs depend on him too much, he will fail. If he can come off the bench and not have a lot of pressure on him each and every game, it might work out well for Rudy.
I liked this move when I saw it...sux for us as I think the Mavs got better...yes, they have a FA to sign, but I think most players will want to stay...they're stacked...
if rudy wasnt happy with his role in Portland what makes you guys think hes gonna be happy playing spot minutes as just a 3pt shooter on dallas?
Well he's be a starter on a contending team. He's always complained about being a starter. See you can twist it that way too.
I'm a little confused with this one. If you google the term "spot up shooter".. I'm sure you'll see Rudy's mug along with Battier, James Jones, Korver etc. Fernandez showed a lot of promise his rookie year in terms of looking like a well rounded player that could dribble, penetrate and create but after the hard foul by Ariza when he was a Laker he's never been the same. Rudy is tentative, passive and camps outside the perimeter. He was a fan favorite here in Portland but he's soft nonetheless.
He will start in Dallas so there should be no issue. JT comes off of the bench. DeShawn Stevens started most of the play-offs and they moved Berrera to the starting line-up because they were not happy with Stevens play. There is no garantee that Butler makes it back all the way with his excellerated age and coming off of major knee surgery.
...he's going to be better than Peja so right off the bat he's already set up to succeed. It's a great pickup for the Mavs and Rudy should feel very lucky he ended up there.
...well in this case, I'm guessing Mark Cuban get's poorer. Besides, the Mavericks aren't exactly "rich" with talented players - Dirk is really the only guy on that roster every team in the league would take. Everyone else on that roster has been passed around to quite a few teams by now and aren't really desirable to most teams.
From the Mavs standpoint, he's probably an upgrade from Peja even though they play different positions. As Asian Sensation pointed out, Rudy had a very promising rookie year but hasn't been the same since getting creamed by Ariza. His outside shooting has been underwhelming. If Rick Carlisle can build Rudy's confidence and get him to raise his game, shooting % and defense, the Mavs will be happy. Otherwise, prepare to be disappointed. I say Rudy is only "probably" an upgrade because Peja shot the ball well and was an effective rotation player until the Finals. Rudy was complete trash in the first round against the Mavs. He (and his supporters) can't use Bradon Roy as an excuse if he doesn't step up next season
I can't recall ever seeing a player flop as frequently as Barea. Watching him apply full court pressure on the other team's ball handler is just annoying. Every two or three steps, he goes flailing backwards trying to con the refs into calling an offensive foul. He didn't just do this occasionally either. He did it every single time I saw him play full court defense in the playoffs.
