Around the NBA (Part Three)

[frankenwolf]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2025/08/06/rick-pitino-point-guard-there-are-none/85548484007/?tbref=hp

Who needs a point guard? Not Pitino.

[Wolveswin]

On GB, thread about which all time duo would one select for team building. I chose Curry and Giannis because of how close Wolves got to this duo actually happening - just one pick away from each respectively. So it got me thinking how close Wolves came to this lineup for 2011/12 season:

Cousins (should have been drafted #4 in 2010)
Love (2008 draft day trade)
Klay Thompson or Kawhi (obvious 2011 pick/need)
Curry (#6 in 2009)
Rubio (#5 in 2009)
B: Beasley (6th man), Ridnour, Pek

2009 draft is where it unraveled. The way I remember it, Kahn drafted Rubio #5 as he slid due to rumors Rubio 100% playing overseas for 2x years (good thing actually for a tanking/rebuilding team) and scare tactics he may never come over the pond. Rubio was a great pick for Kahn having the luxury of back-to-back picks. Then #6 happened…

The way I remember it Kahn passed on the threats of Curry not playing for Wolves and the glass ankles worry. But we all know Curry was the right pick. The two PG being drafted thing wasn’t a concern obviously with Flynn the actual pick.

2010 draft Wolves got #4 overall despite the 2nd worst record in NBA that season with 10 wins separating their record from 3rd worst team (Kings). Rookie Curry would have delivered more wins than rookie Flynn, but not 10. Wolves 100% picking top 5 and still in position to grab Cousins as the correct pick. The way I remember it Wolves passed on Cousins because of attitude concerns and Milicic on roster (why again did a crappy team trade for Darko at trade deadline when Darko was threatening to leave NBA and proceeded to extend him that summer???) and recent 2nd round pick Pekovic on roster.

2011 draft Wolves would have one glaring hole (assuming Cousins drafted in 2010) at SF (I mean they drafted Johnson in 2010 as a reach to fill said SF hole). Beasley was a nice player but not part of Wolves long term rebuilding plan. Wolves finished 2010/11 season with league’s worst record. That would have played out different with sophomore Curry and rookie Cousins. But how much different? Let’s go crazy and say Wolves land #9 in draft order with 32wins vs 17wins (ouch).

At #9 in 2011 draft two SF’s were realistic viable options for Wolves: Thompson (who went 11th) and Kawhi (who fell to 15th). I wonder who Wolves would have preferred, I think Kawhi with Curry/Love shooting already on roster and lack of overall defense on roster.

2011/12 season Rubio comes over the pond and the Wolves have their future dynasty team complete.

[frankenwolf]

On GB, thread about which all time duo would one select for team building. I chose Curry and Giannis because of how close Wolves got to this duo actually happening - just one pick away from each respectively. So it got me thinking how close Wolves came to this lineup for 2011/12 season:

Cousins (should have been drafted #4 in 2010)
Love (2008 draft day trade)
Klay Thompson or Kawhi (obvious 2011 pick/need)
Curry (#6 in 2009)
Rubio (#5 in 2009)
B: Beasley (6th man), Ridnour, Pek

2009 draft is where it unraveled. The way I remember it, Kahn drafted Rubio #5 as he slid due to rumors Rubio 100% playing overseas for 2x years (good thing actually for a tanking/rebuilding team) and scare tactics he may never come over the pond. Rubio was a great pick for Kahn having the luxury of back-to-back picks. Then #6 happened…

The way I remember it Kahn passed on the threats of Curry not playing for Wolves and the glass ankles worry. But we all know Curry was the right pick. The two PG being drafted thing wasn’t a concern obviously with Flynn the actual pick.

2010 draft Wolves got #4 overall despite the 2nd worst record in NBA that season with 10 wins separating their record from 3rd worst team (Kings). Rookie Curry would have delivered more wins than rookie Flynn, but not 10. Wolves 100% picking top 5 and still in position to grab Cousins as the correct pick. The way I remember it Wolves passed on Cousins because of attitude concerns and Milicic on roster (why again did a crappy team trade for Darko at trade deadline when Darko was threatening to leave NBA and proceeded to extend him that summer???) and recent 2nd round pick Pekovic on roster.

2011 draft Wolves would have one glaring hole (assuming Cousins drafted in 2010) at SF (I mean they drafted Johnson in 2010 as a reach to fill said SF hole). Beasley was a nice player but not part of Wolves long term rebuilding plan. Wolves finished 2010/11 season with league’s worst record. That would have played out different with sophomore Curry and rookie Cousins. But how much different? Let’s go crazy and say Wolves land #9 in draft order with 32wins vs 17wins (ouch).

At #9 in 2011 draft two SF’s were realistic viable options for Wolves: Thompson (who went 11th) and Kawhi (who fell to 15th). I wonder who Wolves would have preferred, I think Kawhi with Curry/Love shooting already on roster and lack of overall defense on roster.

2011/12 season Rubio comes over the pond and the Wolves have their future dynasty team complete.

A great dream of what if. Wouldn't it have been nice to have that set up? I do remember watching the 09 draft and got excited when they drafted Rubio and thought that it was all lining up for the Wolves. Curry was the obvious pick and then screaming out loud when they picked Flynn ( Never thought of him at all). Who the heck was this guy?

Oh well, might as well dream about our championship from 2003-04. That was a good team, even if it didn't have much of a bench.

[Guest84]

2009 should've been Steph and DeMar. I remember watching it and being excited that Curry was there at pick 5, then 6, and then...

[KGdaBom]

On GB, thread about which all time duo would one select for team building. I chose Curry and Giannis because of how close Wolves got to this duo actually happening - just one pick away from each respectively. So it got me thinking how close Wolves came to this lineup for 2011/12 season:

Cousins (should have been drafted #4 in 2010)
Love (2008 draft day trade)
Klay Thompson or Kawhi (obvious 2011 pick/need)
Curry (#6 in 2009)
Rubio (#5 in 2009)
B: Beasley (6th man), Ridnour, Pek

2009 draft is where it unraveled. The way I remember it, Kahn drafted Rubio #5 as he slid due to rumors Rubio 100% playing overseas for 2x years (good thing actually for a tanking/rebuilding team) and scare tactics he may never come over the pond. Rubio was a great pick for Kahn having the luxury of back-to-back picks. Then #6 happened…

The way I remember it Kahn passed on the threats of Curry not playing for Wolves and the glass ankles worry. But we all know Curry was the right pick. The two PG being drafted thing wasn’t a concern obviously with Flynn the actual pick.

2010 draft Wolves got #4 overall despite the 2nd worst record in NBA that season with 10 wins separating their record from 3rd worst team (Kings). Rookie Curry would have delivered more wins than rookie Flynn, but not 10. Wolves 100% picking top 5 and still in position to grab Cousins as the correct pick. The way I remember it Wolves passed on Cousins because of attitude concerns and Milicic on roster (why again did a crappy team trade for Darko at trade deadline when Darko was threatening to leave NBA and proceeded to extend him that summer???) and recent 2nd round pick Pekovic on roster.

2011 draft Wolves would have one glaring hole (assuming Cousins drafted in 2010) at SF (I mean they drafted Johnson in 2010 as a reach to fill said SF hole). Beasley was a nice player but not part of Wolves long term rebuilding plan. Wolves finished 2010/11 season with league’s worst record. That would have played out different with sophomore Curry and rookie Cousins. But how much different? Let’s go crazy and say Wolves land #9 in draft order with 32wins vs 17wins (ouch).

At #9 in 2011 draft two SF’s were realistic viable options for Wolves: Thompson (who went 11th) and Kawhi (who fell to 15th). I wonder who Wolves would have preferred, I think Kawhi with Curry/Love shooting already on roster and lack of overall defense on roster.

2011/12 season Rubio comes over the pond and the Wolves have their future dynasty team complete.

A great dream of what if. Wouldn't it have been nice to have that set up? I do remember watching the 09 draft and got excited when they drafted Rubio and thought that it was all lining up for the Wolves. Curry was the obvious pick and then screaming out loud when they picked Flynn ( Never thought of him at all). Who the heck was this guy?

Oh well, might as well dream about our championship from 2003-04. That was a good team, even if it didn't have much of a bench.

If Cassell doesn't get injured we win the title that year. No doubt in my mind about it.

[KGdaBom]

2009 should've been Steph and DeMar. I remember watching it and being excited that Curry was there at pick 5, then 6, and then...

I wanted Rubio probably more than Curry to be honest, but I would have drafted Curry or DeRozan at 6 for sure.

[Guest84]

2009 should've been Steph and DeMar. I remember watching it and being excited that Curry was there at pick 5, then 6, and then...

I wanted Rubio probably more than Curry to be honest, but I would have drafted Curry or DeRozan at 6 for sure.

I was ok w/ Rubio at the time even though I didn't know much about him. That was prob the last time I actually watched college ball so I was fresh off watching Curry's performance in the tournament. He had that "it" factor to me and was hoping the wolves took him.

[KGdaBom]

2009 should've been Steph and DeMar. I remember watching it and being excited that Curry was there at pick 5, then 6, and then...

I wanted Rubio probably more than Curry to be honest, but I would have drafted Curry or DeRozan at 6 for sure.

I was ok w/ Rubio at the time even though I didn't know much about him. That was prob the last time I actually watched college ball so I was fresh off watching Curry's performance in the tournament. He had that "it" factor to me and was hoping the wolves took him.

Rubio was amongst the greatest young phenoms in the history of Basketball. Playing pro leagues at 14 years of age IIRC. If he had developed his shot as should have been expected he could have been an all time great I think.

[Guest84]

I wanted Rubio probably more than Curry to be honest, but I would have drafted Curry or DeRozan at 6 for sure.

I was ok w/ Rubio at the time even though I didn't know much about him. That was prob the last time I actually watched college ball so I was fresh off watching Curry's performance in the tournament. He had that "it" factor to me and was hoping the wolves took him.

Rubio was amongst the greatest young phenoms in the history of Basketball. Playing pro leagues at 14 years of age IIRC. If he had developed his shot as should have been expected he could have been an all time great I think.

I think the ACL injury set him back a ton and it sucked.

[Battletrigger]

I wanted Rubio probably more than Curry to be honest, but I would have drafted Curry or DeRozan at 6 for sure.

I was ok w/ Rubio at the time even though I didn't know much about him. That was prob the last time I actually watched college ball so I was fresh off watching Curry's performance in the tournament. He had that "it" factor to me and was hoping the wolves took him.

Rubio was amongst the greatest young phenoms in the history of Basketball. Playing pro leagues at 14 years of age IIRC. If he had developed his shot as should have been expected he could have been an all time great I think.

Rubio came to Minnesota after a bad season in Barcelona in which he was benched several times. Never a fan of him, I ended up hating that pick.

[Domejandro]

I was ok w/ Rubio at the time even though I didn't know much about him. That was prob the last time I actually watched college ball so I was fresh off watching Curry's performance in the tournament. He had that "it" factor to me and was hoping the wolves took him.

Rubio was amongst the greatest young phenoms in the history of Basketball. Playing pro leagues at 14 years of age IIRC. If he had developed his shot as should have been expected he could have been an all time great I think.

I think the ACL injury set him back a ton and it sucked.

This was a big deal, people forget how terrific he was at using his body laterally, especially defensively. The ACL tear into the brutal ankle injury (which was arguably even more debilitating) pretty much nuked his shiftiness and wasted a substantial amount of his developmental time. The early death of his mother from lung cancer in 2016 also badly impacted his mental health; having to play in the United States as she was deteriorating was extraordinarily difficult for him.

I have Ricky Rubio as one of the more underappreciated "What if?" stories. His body just couldn't hold up after the ACL tear, and a lot of tragic off-the-court factors didn't help. I still wish that Minnesota wouldn't have traded him so they could sign Jeff Teague. I think that they would have been much better off leaning into the defensive identity, but him and Tom Thibodeau did not get along, and Thibs had his vision of the team.

Ricky Rubio / Tyus Jones / Aaron Brooks
Andrew Wiggins / Jamal Crawford / Derrick Rose
Jimmy Butler / Shabazz Muhammad / Marcus Georges-Hunt
Taj Gibson / Nemanja Bjelica
Karl-Anthony Towns / Gorgui Dieng / Cole Aldrich

Note: The real "oops" was not trading Andrew Wiggins for Kyrie Irving, but that's an entirely different conversation.

[Wolveswin]

I was ok w/ Rubio at the time even though I didn't know much about him. That was prob the last time I actually watched college ball so I was fresh off watching Curry's performance in the tournament. He had that "it" factor to me and was hoping the wolves took him.

Rubio was amongst the greatest young phenoms in the history of Basketball. Playing pro leagues at 14 years of age IIRC. If he had developed his shot as should have been expected he could have been an all time great I think.

Rubio came to Minnesota after a bad season in Barcelona in which he was benched several times. Never a fan of him, I ended up hating that pick.

That was a perfect pick at the time. Not only was it value with Rubio dropping to #5 (after being hyped much earlier than 5), Rubio came with the bonus all tanking/rebuilding teams want. Rubio not even playing on roster for 2x seasons. Allowing for even more tanking. Flynn was the terrible pick.

[minimus]

Loved Rubio's game before injury. He was the reason why I follow MIN and NBA in general, because I was more fan of European basketball

[Guidus88]

Rubio was the reason I stuck with the Wolves during that dark decade. We were literally garbage, and he was the only reason to keep watching

Ricki ❤️

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Rubio was huge with Spain. Kick French a.... so many times with the Gasol Bro and Fernandez. I'm glad this era ended

[moretins]

Rubio was huge with Spain. Kick French a.... so many times with the Gasol Bro and Fernandez. I'm glad this era ended

I miss that era

[KGdaBom]

Rubio was huge with Spain. Kick French a.... so many times with the Gasol Bro and Fernandez. I'm glad this era ended

I miss that era

That was one hell of an international team. Both Gasols, Rubio and Fernandez.

[TimberKat]

Now that Dallas traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, I bet Dallas wins the NFL lottery or Packers are going to end up with the worst record Yes, this is the off season of the NBA off season but NFL is back.

[KGdaBom]

Now that Dallas traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, I bet Dallas wins the NFL lottery or Packers are going to end up with the worst record Yes, this is the off season of the NBA off season but NFL is back.

NFL doesn't have a lottery.

[TimberKat]

Now that Dallas traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, I bet Dallas wins the NFL lottery or Packers are going to end up with the worst record Yes, this is the off season of the NBA off season but NFL is back.

NFL doesn't have a lottery.

I know but NFL will make an exception for Dallas. After all, it's America's team