Some New News VIA DraftExpress
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Scott Cacciola of the Memphis Commercial Appeal pens an excellent introductory piece about potential Grizzlies target Ricky Rubio, with quotes from the likes of Tony Barone Sr, Pau Gasol, Fran Fraschilla, Chris Collins, Lang Whitaker and yours truly.
”General manager Chris Wallace and coach Lionel Hollins spent Saturday in Spain to scout Rubio again, a trip clouded by an Internet report that indicated Rubio may not want to sign with Memphis. Jonathan Givony, president and director of scouting for DraftExpress.com, cited an anonymous source last week who said Dan Fegan, Rubio's agent, wants Rubio in Los Angeles, where the Clippers hold the first overall pick.
Whether this is mere posturing on Fegan's part is unclear. But if there are obvious obstacles -- including a reported $6 million buyout from Rubio's contract with DKV Joventut – many scouts and coaches familiar with Rubio think the Grizzlies would be wise to surmount them.
"He is by far the smartest player in the draft," Givony said. "His knowledge of the game, his overall feel –it’s amazing. Wherever he goes, those fans are going to fall in love with him. He's such a fun player to watch, so unpredictable, so creative. To me, it's a no-brainer for a franchise like Memphis."
This weekend we were able to learn quite a bit more about the Rubio situation, after speaking with one of the best possible sources on this matter. Unfortunately this source would rather not be named, for obvious reasons. Regardless, this is information that almost anyone interested in the NBA draft would like to read, though, so we decided to run it.
From what we can gather, Rubio is most certainly going to want to have a large say in the team that drafts him, and if he’s not satisfied with where he lands, he may just decide not to ever come over, which would obviously be a huge embarrassment for the team that picks him. He is in a great situation with his hometown team outside of Barcelona, and it wouldn’t make sense to leave there for anything less than the perfect spot from his standpoint.
“The bottom line here is that Ricky has a large buyout—5.75 million Euros, both for this year and the year after. Depending on the team that selects him, he’s going to make a decision on whether he comes over or not. If he’s not satisfied, there is a very real possibility that he doesn’t come. His buyout is going to cost him a lot of money, and if it doesn’t make sense for him, he won’t do it. He is going to have to pay for the privilege of playing in the NBA”
According to the source, Rubio’s decision is going to come down to two things: winning and the role he’ll play for the team that picks him. The size of the market of the team that drafts him is apparently irrelevant, since his appeal will be on a global scale, reaching far past his team’s city limits.
With that in mind, it appears that the Memphis Grizzlies will have to make a very strong sales pitch to Rubio for him to move off his initial stance of not wanting to play for them. Rubio’s concerns stem from a number of factors, ranging from the potential poor fit of playing alongside a very ball-dominant guard in O.J. Mayo, to the negative experiences conveyed to him by the likes of Juan Carlos Navarro and Pau Gasol.
Oklahoma is a more attractive situation, but there are concerns there about how he fits with Russell Westbrook and whether the two can play together. For now they are not being ruled out.
The question now is how Memphis will respond. Can Chris Wallace and company convince Rubio that his concerns are unfounded? The Grizzlies have not made it a secret that they consider O.J. Mayo to be their point guard of the future, and it may be in their best interest to “maximize the asset” in the words of our source, by trading the pick. This is not going to be a hostile situation, though, so don’t expect any fireworks in the media. Behind the scenes, efforts will be made to steer him the direction of the teams that appear to be most attractive, mainly Sacramento, Dallas, Indiana, Portland and New York, although not all those teams may have the assets or the interest level needed to get a deal done with Memphis. At this stage, Rubio appears unlikely to pull out of the draft.
What’s interesting is that Memphis’ scouting mission to Spain this weekend may not have gone quite as well as planned, as Rubio’s team was beaten handily by Real Madrid in game three of the playoffs, behind a very average showing by the Spanish prodigy. Rubio posted 6 points, 3 assists, 5 turnovers and 3 steals on 2/6 shooting in 26 minutes of action. Both Memphis GM Chris Wallace and head coach Lionel Hollins were in attendance.
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