Would have been Rudy Fernandez TOP 5 pick this draft?

[Apollo64]

Generally i don't like to hype euro prospects, but i think Rudy has a strong chance (like 70%) of having a meaningful career in the NBA. The only problem i see is that he is not going to play many minutes in Portland in the first few years being Roy's backup, unless they implement a small ball scheme with Rudy as SF. I wouldn't rule out an offseason trade for him, Portland might actually trade his valuable rights to a team that really needs an SG in exchange for a point or SF.

[Milkdud]

It remains to b see but realistically there should be PT if Rudy shows he is worthy of them. Roy has shown himself capable of playing the PG/SF at time this season. Also there is a possibility that Jones will use is Player Option and make himself a FA. Also there are rumbling that Jack plus others might be trade fodder. The blazers GM is currently going though quick a bit of effort to get Rudy over, I doubt he would do that if he didn't plan on atleast attempting to make Rudy a piece in the blazers future.

[jebdrbhjb]

Extremely hard to say if he should have gone top 5, considering we haven't seen him in the NBA yet.

Unless I'm mistaken, that's the case with everyone entering the NBA Draft. Then again, I'm from Oregon so I could be wrong.

[swatsurfer]

Comparing JJ Redick with Rudy Fernandez is ridiculous, Rudy is far more athletic.
Honestly, if McMillan doesn't act like a moron he is going to be the steal of the 2007 draft, ESPN redactor said that he should have been the 8th pick of that year.
And that's probably true, he is special, he is clutch, he is an scorer, has a superquick release and is a workaholic.
If he receives less than 22-23 minutes per game in Portland I would be very, very disapointed with McMillan, he has the tools to become a Manu Ginobili V.2.0 type of player (and in my opinion, and I don't care about stats, Manu is the third bets SG in the league).

[GoBobcats]

Top 10 for sure

[ReasonablySober]

Watching that youtube clip reminded me of the Chapelle Show clip showing everything in slow motion and how it always looks better.

I'd probably take a flier on him in 2nd round.

[Village Idiot]

Fernandez definitely doesn't touch the top 5 this year. I live in Europe, and I know how Americans can underrate Euro players, but the level of athleticism in Euro leagues is miles below that of the NBA. No comparison.
Fernandez is closer to a JJ Reddick-type shooter than to a create-his-own-shot guy like Arenas. He runs around and tries to find little openings to get his shots off, and he's extremely good at getting off shots in close quarters. But those openings are so much harder to get to in the NBA with its athletes at every position and its far superior help defense. Rip Hamilton makes a great living off of a quick release and incredible mid-range shooting, but he's also faster, quicker, and more athletic than Fernandez, and everyone knows how hard he can work for those little curl-flip jumpers.
And Kevin Martin is taller, longer, has a quicker and higher release, and is also more athletic than Fernandez. He has quick hands, very quick reflexes, and plays at a very high speed. (Rip and KMArt are really underrated as athletes. Check it out next time you're watching their teams.)

I'm wondering why people are considering even Fernandez as a potential top 5 pick; is there any reason to think him a better prospect than Deflino (a better pentetrator, although not always the smartest player) or a shooter-type like Rashad McCants (a much better athlete, if again sometimes a bonehead)?

Your assumption that Rudy isn't athletic is strongly refuted by facts.

Rudy participated in the pre-draft measurements and workouts in 2005. If you go to DraftExpress you can see the numbers for yourself.

In summary.

Rudy's max vertical is the same 35" as Dwayne Wade. It's better than Iguodala, Granger, Durant, Hinrich, Carmelo, Deng and Monta Ellis among a lot of others. His lane agility is the fourth highest on record so he's not only fast but quick as well.

Regarding his game. The spacing in the NBA is completely different than in Europe due to the much further three point line and the fact that NBA teams rarely play zone defence. Rudy's ability to play off the ball will help him stand out even more among his peers in the NBA. With the ball he looks to have a complete repertoire of jab-steps and change of speed to get past his man or drop back for a jumper. Add to that his fantastic court awareness and passing and he should be an offensive monster. That fact that he's making nearly 50% of his field-goals on a high number of attempts indicates both an excellent shot selection and an ability to create for himself. His 4.2 apg shows he can create for others as well. Rudy's comined FT% this year is 92%. That would place him 2nd in the NBA!

The big adaptation for Rudy in the NBA will be defensively. In Europe his athleticism is much better than his oponents and I think he has some bad habits like gambling for steals that he'll have to unlearn. Given his above average athleticism and basketball IQ it shouldn't take too long until he's at least an average defender.

On the court Rudy has done about everything anyone could expect of him. His statistics are outstanding and he's shown he can perform in the clutch. He's also shown he's a team player.

Personally I'd rank him #4 this draft after only Rose, Mayo and Beasley. He's about at the same level in my mind as Bayless and Gordon, maybe slightly better.

The only negative for Rudy is that he's already 23. On the other hand he's already highly experienced and should have a very small learning curve in adapting to the NBA.

[NBAMAN2006]

Even though I am a Blazer fan, I would be astonished if he was better than Navarro next year. He is a late lotto pick in my mind. Too overall slow to be a super high pick but too young and too much of a sure offensive talent to fall too far. I really do think he is the best European player since Ginobli, but I never see him as as god a defender (Flopper?!?) as Manu.

Kid is amazingly fun to watch, but laterally is going to be abused for 1-2 years.

I see 11-13ppg in 25-28mpg next year while being very frustrating defensively. But, proving to be a top 6th man candidate when Portland contends (Not in the same all around talent as Manu., but more like a poor mans Rip Hamilton)

[Apollo64]

Even though I am a Blazer fan, I would be astonished if he was better than Navarro next year. He is a late lotto pick in my mind. Too overall slow to be a super high pick but too young and too much of a sure offensive talent to fall too far. I really do think he is the best European player since Ginobli, but I never see him as as god a defender (Flopper?!?) as Manu.

I think his speed is well above the average one of an NBA shooting guard and one of the reasons he might succeed in the league. One of the advantages he has over Navarro is that he is not undersized like him.

[SpyderRyder1]

Even though I am a Blazer fan, I would be astonished if he was better than Navarro next year. He is a late lotto pick in my mind. Too overall slow to be a super high pick but too young and too much of a sure offensive talent to fall too far. I really do think he is the best European player since Ginobli, but I never see him as as god a defender (Flopper?!?) as Manu.

Kid is amazingly fun to watch, but laterally is going to be abused for 1-2 years.

I see 11-13ppg in 25-28mpg next year while being very frustrating defensively. But, proving to be a top 6th man candidate when Portland contends (Not in the same all around talent as Manu., but more like a poor mans Rip Hamilton)

The Navarro comparison is way off. Looking back at the statistacally Rudy blows JCN away, in PER, Eff and WS. Take a look

Rudy 06-07
PER: 23.8
Eff: 16.5
Eff40: 23.6
WS40: 10.4

JCN 06-07
PER: 22.2
Eff: 14.5
Eff40: 19.3
WS40: 6.5

All of that when JCN was 27 and Rudy was 22
here are his current stats

Rudy 07-08
PER: 33.8
Eff: 22.0
Eff40: 31.5
WS40: 14.3

So as you can see Rudy is head and shoulders above JCN in fact here are comparisons to the top 5 pick possibilities:

Beasley
PER: 39.3
Eff: 29.7
Eff40: 37.7
WS40:19.5

Rose
PER: 24.1
Eff: 15.9
Eff40: 21.8
WS40: 8.5

Mayo
PER: 22.3
Eff: 17.0
Eff40: 18.5
WS40: 5.8

Bayless
PER: 23.7
Eff: 16.6
Eff40: 18.5
WS40: 5.7

Lopez
PER: 30.3
Eff: 20.1
Eff40: 26.1
WS40: 10.8

Gallinari
PER: 19.6
Eff: 13.7
Eff40: 17.4
WS40: 6.7

Also note that big men tend to do well in all of these calculations as rebounds are weighed heavily also this is assuming that the leagues NCAA, ACB and Euroleague are vrey similar in competition.

Statistacally speaking, Rudy in the top 5, and while stats are not everything, he passes the "youtube" test as well.

If Galinari is ranked in the top 10 Rudy should be about 3-4 spots ahead of him.

[Toxicity]

Gallinari is 6-10 and three years younger... he's arguably a better prospect than Fernandez. Scouts generally tend to consider the age and the potential left of the picks...

BTW Rudy is not the greatest talent i've seen lately. He's a little bit mechanical... i doubt he can create his own shot on consistent basis in the NBA. He has the athletic abilities but he's not much of a ball-handler (he's NO Ginobili by any mean) so his slashing abilities are limited and his strenght too... that being said, his season and his consistency is impressive and for sure he would deserve to be in the Top 10. But, as 23 y-o international, he also wouldn't be eligible for this draft...

[Leiro]

The only thing Gallinari is better than Rudy is his age, Rudy is the better SG in Europe and still 23 yo. Danilo of course is a great prospect, but Rudy is a great player right now and improving too.

[Toxicity]

The only thing Gallinari is better than Rudy is his age, Rudy is the better SG in Europe and still 23 yo. Danilo of course is a great prospect, but Rudy is a great player right now and improving too.

Danilo is the best player in Italy right now despite the age (he leads the competition in efficiency per game). The Italian league isn't at Spanish one level but it's tough for youngsters. He also played very good in Euroleague. So he's not just a prospect, he's a baller with great potential left.

Rudy is good but i don't see all that much potential left... and the better SG in Europe is still Langdon.

[cdcastellon1]

Rudy has all the offensive tools to suceed in the NBA, he averaged this season an abusive 21,2 PPG in only 28 MPG with incredible Field goald 50 % and 43% 3FG, adding 4,2 APG in Europe is very hard in Europe. The numbers speaks themselfs.

Deffensively he will have to adjust to NBA yes, the SGs are way more athletic than in ACB, but here Rudy is not a girl, he has a great work ethic and yesterday ended ACB season as number 1 leader in steals per game. His defense will be decent imo.

This being said i have no doubts than Rudy will produce since day 1 in the NBA, he won

[sabi]

[b]-= original quote snipped =-



Unless I'm mistaken, that's the case with everyone entering the NBA Draft. Then again, I'm from Oregon so I could be wrong.

I was also like WTF. Seriously, some of the reasons some people give are thought half-way all the time.

[sabi]

I'm sure if Rudy's nationality was Italian then Toxicity would be drooling over him right now. All the time you spent last season hyping up Bargnani was for nothing so I wouldn't listen to you when it come to evaluating talent. You might be one of the most biased posters in here.

[Spykes]

I'm sure if Rudy's nationality was Italian then Toxicity would be drooling over him right now. All the time you spent last season hyping up Bargnani was for nothing so I wouldn't listen to you when it come to evaluating talent. You might be one of the most biased posters in here.

QFT.

Nothing against you personally Tox, but you have a painfully obvious biased towards Italian players.

[Toxicity]

Yeah... in fact NBA GMs followed my biased tips when they selected Bargnani 1st pick overall and Belinelli 17th pick (before Fernandez BTW)...

[ISB]

Yeah... in fact NBA GMs followed my biased tips when they selected Bargnani 1st pick overall and Belinelli 17th pick (before Fernandez BTW)...

both of those have really worked out.

LOL

[Toxicity]

-= original quote snipped =-



both of those have really worked out.

LOL

It's not relevant and anyway it's just about Bargnani (well, Bargnani in his 2nd season) since Belinelli didn't play much despite doing pretty well in limited minutes... do you think a player like Fernandez would have played much more minutes than Marco in GS with Nelson as coach? I highly doubt...