Every Dukie is either a bust or will have a career ending (or career altering) injury. There is a curse. Stay away from players who go to Duke.
A Kar, To say that Morey doesn't know much about Euroleague players is, well... That is part of his JOB. Whatever position you think Llull plays is your opinion, and I think you're missing the point. Morey probably calls him a PG because that's what position his size and skill set would translate to in the NBA. As far as Rubio, well ya never can tell how these Euro players will do when they come over. As with any draft pick, there is no sure thing. That said, rather than talk about the things he can't do let's hear from someone who has played not only in the NBA, but against Rubio as well. http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/mickeal/2009/05/27/rubio-the-real-deal/
I like your effort, but there are quite a few PG's in the league that have similar numbers to him. The difference between some is that he can pass the ball extremly well. You put him on an up-tempo style offense and let him find his teammates, i'll take it. As to the poster that said he could turn out like jason kidd, i think that is close minus rebounding like J-Kidd. Oh and Kidd is like 4th in the league in 3pt mades. Besides, rubio is so young, he has all the time in the world to mold his shot. Again, good effort, but i want to see him in the NBA before i'd EVER make the claim he's ranked second to last on his euro team .
I think y'all are being way to harsh on A Kar. Assuming he isn't lying and a complete hater, as far as I can tell, he's one of the few people actually qualified to have an opinion on this. Very few of the rest of the board regularly, if ever, sees non American basketball. A Kar has at least done so, and has provided his in depth analysis and certain statistical support for his position. The best most of us get is the world game type events where, frankly, Rubio hasn't done anything enormously impressive. He hasn't been horrible, of course, but he hasn't been awesome, either. So we're stuck with the views of certain scouts and purported views of certain teams and GMs. Scouts and GM's whom are often as wrong as they are right on players where talent level isn't obvious. Obviously the hype and ceiling potential for Rubio was pretty high a few years ago, hence his high lotto pick selection. I'd venture to guess, completely unsubstantiated, that many have jumped off this train, or are getting close. There are likely still many who view his skill-set as perfect for NBA stardom - but it has to be a much much smaller group than it once was. Impossible to say what Morey thinks of him today. My personal views is that he will be an average point guard in the NBA - starting quality at times, but not much better. Should his skill-set fit into the NBA better? Of course....and??? I think you guys are just overlooking how good the PG position has become and how many talented NBA points there are out there, and there's still more coming in the pipeline. If you could trade relatively little for him, then it's worth a chance, but otherwise better off forgetting about him. A Kar, you did post in the wrong forum. But your effort on point of view is appreciated, at least on my part.
Pete Mickeal never played in the NBA in an official game. He is Rubio's teammate. Do you expect him to say anything bad about his teammate? Why would Morey think Llull could come to the NBA and suddenly start playing point guard when he has been a shooting guard his entire life? If that's the case, then Morey is incompetent.
@A Kar--- Do u have any idea how much time Morey spent in Europe last year? He was there for like a third of the Rockets season at the very least. I guarantee he knows more about Euro players than you give him credit for. That being said, I agree with you on most of what you say about Rubio. I think he's drastically overrated, and frankly, I don't even think he'd be as good as Jose Calderon. He can't shoot, he's MASSIVELY undersized, and he turns the ball over a ton. Rubio's got bust written all over him, that's why he hasn't come to the NBA. The longer he puts it off, the longer it will be until he's officially labeled as a bust.
Llull has been a PG his entire life, until he came to the national team and Scariolo liked him as backup SG. He plays at both positions nowadays, but has been a PG since he was a child.
Hmmm....interesting post (although very long). The statistics certainly seem to support what you say. What would you think would be a best case/worst case scenario for him if he comes to the NBA? Does Best case: Rondo Worst case: Spanoulis sound about right?
He is very overrated....the guy has not played one NBA game and half these clowns on here are crowning him the next steve nash... The guy is not a franchise player (atleast not at this point of his career) ,so get off his jock and lets direct our attention to somebody who actually plays in the NBA....Thank you!! IT IS WRITTEN.
Hey!now we're talking!!That kids a stud!!! Rubio couldnt hold a candle to some of the young guards coming up as of late....K.Walker (uconn) is another guy to keep your eye on.........IT IS WRITTEN.
Llull has been a shooting guard since he came to Real Madrid and actually began playing at a professional level of basketball. He played point at the end of the 2008-09 season for the last 10-15 games of the year as an experiment to see if he could play that position. He proved he cannot. If his team has injuries he might play there but that is it. He is a shooting guard on Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. The point guards on his team are Sergio Rodriguez and Pablo Prigioni. Llull is the team's shooting guard. His head coach even said before this season that the team would no longer experiment with trying to turn him into a point guard because he cannot play the position and that he would be used at his natural position which is shooting guard. Llull can play point guard in the minor leagues in Spain, but he cannot do it with any consistent effectiveness at the ACB and especially the Euroleague level .
If there is a lockout he will be in Spain next year. If his team loses the ACB again this year, he will be in Spain next year even if there is not an NBA lockout. Also, I am sure you will bump this thread when Rubio plays in the NBA and has his first good game. Like I said, he has one good game and then 5-6 terrible ones and then the cycle repeats. It is clear that you have never seen him play in the Euroleague if you believe that he will be a "complete stud".
