How is drafting Rubio a bad move? He hasn't even played in the league yet. So at the very least that move should be pending. As far as the Wesley Johnson pick, his actually had a pretty good rookie year. Yes, he wasn't the BPA at the 4th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. But the guy has played good for them, I don't see how he was a bad move. Heck I'll tell you this much, the T-Wolves currently have a much brighter future then the Rockets due. ------------------------------- On topic: Its nice to see what a young talented players can do, when given an actual opportunity.
You haven't read what Rambis and Kahn said about Love before he became awesome, haven't you? They pegged him out as some sort of 6th man, not the only guy on the team who's worth anything - and then they trade Al, who while not worth his deal (Hayes is a better defender than Al in virtually all aspects despite the size difference) is worth more than whatever the heck we got. I'll grant Kahn this - he's less incompetent than Rambis. I'd rather have DD or Kwame coach the Wolves at this point compared to him. Not too bad given the hand he was built? He's had high draft pick after high draft pick. He's had cap space galore, and Taylor really isn't that awful of an owner - would Alexander be willing to spend money on this awfully run of a team? And he's got one All-Star. No wait, he didn't. McHale did. And Kahn and McHale wouldn't treat him as an elite player until he did ( We were going to the team through Darko freaking Milicic, all so Rambis could keep his precious triangle, damn the roster he's got), which to them has justified their current ridiculous strategy - "Hey, we got totally lucky with Love developing as he did, so what's wrong with just sitting around and hoping that one of Randolph/Flynn/Beasley just magically get it!" Beasley - look, giving him up a 2nd round pick was a good move. But people are acting like this is some amazing thing. Morey's grabbing of Budinger for nothing isn't endlessly trumped up by people outside of Houston, now, is it? And Beasley really isn't any better compared to his Miami days - he still suffers from his in between SF/PF problems, he chucks, etc. He's not the 2nd option on an elite team that I've seen other fans make him out to be. Flynn - god, you people are acting like he could be something. Flynn sucks. He sucks, sucks, sucks. That pick should viewed as the Marvin Williams pick, but people outside of Minny want to give Kahn a pass for this for some reason. Meanwhile, Rubio, from my understanding, no longer plays in the fourth quarter on his Spanish team. Many Minny fans still magically believe in him. I think they're deluded, and need hope somewhere from this pathetic franchise. And this is what it comes down to: We tanked last year. We really weren't trying. And Kahn's had good draft picks, and a lot of cap space to mess around with in 2010. And we didn't get better at all this year, and we're still viewed as a joke by the league. So yes, Kahn freaking sucks, but Rambis sucks even more and should ridden out of town.
For those of you wondering.... oh man we could have had Randolph instead of Terrence "the squid" Williams, please keep a few things in mind- 1. The Rockets front office had a vested interest in the Knicks sucking, and did not want to assit them in making a blockbuster trade to send another superstar to them in trade. Little did they know, Melo hasnt exactly caught the world on fire over there in New York, but more than likely they will be good next season and the value of their 2012 pick will be much less. 2. They considered it a draft pick, and picked based on need. If Randolph was with the Rockets he would have a to beat out too many people ahead of him for not just this this season, but next season as well. There was no guarantee he would ever see time on the court. Terrence however, addressed the need for an athletic wing player who could play the SF spot. Little did they know, he still thinks he's at Louisville and is a ball stopper. 3. Lottery protection - New Jersey gave the Rockets a pretty decent clause on their deal for Terrence. Top 15 protection is pretty decent considering that was Terrence's first public run-in with a coach, and had just set the world on fire in the D-League. Little did they know, the same issues he dealt with in New Jersey would follow him to Houston, and his D-League stint showed that... well he's a great D-League and college player... but he cant accept a smaller role at the NBA level. -Going back in time, im sure Morey might change his mind and deal with New York anyways for Randolph, but at the time, it was the right move to make unfortunately.
If Twill played for the Twolves, he would be their MVP - who cares if someone gets great numbers on a bad team. This achievement only matters to Twovles fans and fantasy basketball players
Number 1, drafting Rubio was a bad move because its been what, 3 years? And he still hasn't suited up. It doesn't matter how good or not he is, do you draft a top 5 pick with the expectation he'll only suit up 3 years down the road? The fact that its pending 3 years from when the pick was made tells you all you need to know whether it was good or bad. Also, Kahn took two pgs in the lottery and he ended up not getting any of the better ones like Curry, Lawson and Jennings. Flynn should have gone in the 2nd round with the way he's played. 9 pts and 3 rebs a game, while decent for a rookie, is extremely disappointing for a top 4 pick, esp. someone who's supposed to be somewhat NBA ready. I VEHEMENTLY disagree with this. I don't see what bright future it is you're talking about, as koujie pointed out they're on pace for another pathetic season and their pick belongs to the Clips. To top it off the wolves still have a ways to go to reach the 0.500 ball we're currently playing at. That's like saying Memphis still has a bright future ahead of them when Gay and Conley JR are already making max money, Z-bo is 30 years old and they might end up losing Gasol to FA. AR's had plenty of opportunities in NY. In fact, he put some pretty good numbers there. My question is his efficiency, he seems to be 3x more inefficient than Melo.
The funny thing about the '09 draft is that Kahn took two PGs back to back at #5 and #6 (Rubio and Flynn), only to have Stephen Curry fall to GS at #7. What's even more strange about the Rubio pick is that he had no intention of signing a contract in Minnesota at the time. So basically they've gotten nothing out of that pick.
The Rubio pick I can understand and defend. It made sense at the time. The Flynn pick? I look back at the 2009 draft, and at a glance, there are about 18 guys there I would rather have than Flynn. Flynn is like the Brooks we saw all of this season, without ever displaying the abilities that Brooks did last or the fact that Brooks has proven he can be someone in the playoffs. He would not be on the roster of the Rockets if he was here.
You cannot blame Kahn for Rubio not coming over, in the summer before the 09 draft Rubio and his team entered the draft and gave every indication that he would play in the NBA the next year. Rubio still has nice trade value if they ever decide to part with him. I dont think they could get a #5 pick in the draft, but they could definitely get a player of value. *as a sidenote though, Ive been laughing every time I see Sergio Lull's name mentioned as one of the top Euro guards right now. If the draft was over again he might even go ahead of Rubio. Could be on the biggest steals in the 09 draft behind...... guess who... Chase Budinger. Awesome.
Disagree. It was a Grizzlies/Steve Francis or Colts/John Elway situation where you have a team drafting a player despite that player openly stating that he wasn't going to sign.
I don't think you should use that argument. The hype around Rubio has been pretty high, and if you have a chance to draft a top PG, then the wait is worth it. Of course, we don't know how well Rubio will translate to the NBA. However, we can't use the waiting period against Kahn if he merely decided to pick one of the best players in the draft, which is the point after all.
1. Pending lockout, Rubio will be in Minnesota next season. I didn't mind that he chose to stay in Europe honestly. 2. Already admitted that one but Kahn only gave up Miller/Foye for him basically. 3. Johnson has been great, why is this even under bad moves? Just because he picked him over Cousins? 4. And a large trade exception, that is all they were going to get for a Al who was coming off his worst season. Had Al not been moved, I don't think Love would have blossomed into an all-star. Win trade. 5. They dumped Hollins along with Sessions. I prefer Luke to Ramon anyways.
He has been getting better but so far he's been a bust. I do hope he gets it together though. Actually I hope Kahn trades the lottery pick in a package for an All-Star, make the 2012 first as bad as possible. 30+ wins would be wonderful.
Even assuming that Rubio comes to this city, I'm not convinced he's going to be well, good. He's been getting worse and worse in Spain. If I could trade Rubio for Lawson or Holliday tomorrow, I would do it purely on the "bird in the hand." principle He's been great? What? Out of the lotto picks, Cousins, Monroe, Patterson, and Davis have been significantly better, and I would also would have preferred if we had George instead, as George has higher potential. He definitely has not been great when you consider his main advantage over Cousins was that he was supposed to be the NBA-ready guy compared to players like Cousins or Monroe - but that hasn't been the case at all. Not a great pick in the slightest. But oh, Rambis told us that Darko would make us set at center. Remind me what we did with the trade exception. For pete's sake, Jefferson's contract isn't great, but I expect something for it. Not a flat zero. And like I've said over and over again, Kahn deserves ZERO credit for Love. None. He never believed in Love until the 31-31 game. Neither did Rambis. Now that he's awesome, they're trying to pretend they knew all along, but that's a load of bull.
Another Mosnter game from Randolph vs good opposition. Way to go, great to see. I've always liked this guy. I hope ke keeps working harder on his game.
GMs are paid to make decisions not based on hype. More importantly Rubio already made it clear he wasn't coming to Minny and they still drafted him. If Kahn thought RUbio was the BPA, then that's great, but the fact is you don't waste on top 5 lotteries on players who will take 3 years to get here. That's why they're in the lottery, they're supposed to be high impact young players. Its not like Rubio was head and shoulders above everyone else either, there were questions about his lack of shooting ability and athleticism. I'm also not sure about this but I think after a certain number of years the rookie scale contract won't apply on the player anymore. IN this case Minny might end up paying top dollar for an NBA rookie.
1. Ok fine if you like waiting 3 years to see your player. Just remember he'll still be a rookie when he gets here, so give him 2 years to adjust +the 3 years waiting time then that's 5 years already. 2. I'd rather have Miller/Foye than Flynn. 3. 9 pts and 3 rebs is great? LOL C-bud can get that in his sleep. They needed a center, and Cousins with his high IQ, drama and overeating habits would have reminded everyone of Shaq in LA. 4. Al Jefferson's worst season was still pretty good, certainly worth more than a low first rounder. More importantly if they shipped him out a season earlier they would have gotten major returns for him. THat's the definition of buy high (centerpiece of stuff received for KG) and sell low (traded for a low first rounder from UTAH). 5. Seriously? I think Ridnour is already approaching 30. Why are they so fixated getting mediocre players at the same position anyway? ALl of their interesting players are either forwards or point guards.
