Ricky Rubio: We NEED him

[Gold Chain]

...then we get Lebron!

[Canucklehead]

Bargnani + DeRozan + Raps 1st rounder for Rubio. Get er done BC!

We'll build our core with Rubio, Amir, and Weems.

f&^k off

[Wo1verine]

**** all that... rubio sucks..i wouldnt trade weems for him

id rather suck this year and get Kyrie Irving


KYRIE OR DIE TRYING... **** rubio

This is pretty much my thoughts as well
I hope the next Rubio thread gets locked so sick of reading/ writing about this plug! He's the most over talked/hyped player in REALGM forum history

[Tofubeque]

Rubio is already more qualified than Bargs to be an NBA-quality defensive player.

[OneTime86]

Rubio+Marc Gasol+DeMar+Davis= Nice Young Core

or die tryin

[RedX]

No. We. Don't.

[Ogopogo]

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyXxh1lQ ... r_embedded

His defense is lethal. Lightning quick, superior ball-handling, developing jumpshot, bb iq, so YES WE NEED HIM.

[wanker]

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyXxh1lQ ... r_embedded

His defense is lethal. Lightning quick, superior ball-handling, developing jumpshot, bb iq, so YES WE NEED HIM.

Wow! He is really tearing up those Lithuanians. That must make him the next NBA superstar.

[FTW]

Wow, must say, love the courtside camera angle in small doses!

[Double Helix]

Not sure if this was discussed in here (probably was) but even if he's only 75-80 percent as good as he's been hyped to be in the NBA he'd still be a major coup for this franchise for a couple important reasons:

1) We've built up this franchise and this city to be International-friendly and If he likes it here he might not want to leave. Hey, stop laughing. I know that sounds obvious but the allure of the US market won't seem as great to him once he sees what it's like here. It won't be like going home to him so if he's found success here, why wouldn't he want to stay? In other words, a kid like his has the potential to be this franchise's first long-term (perhaps decade-long if we were lucky) franchise face capable of selling jerseys, proudly repping our city for the next generation. Bargnani, also appears loyal, so for the first time in our franchise history we might not have to worry about teams head huting our stars and we can instead bring in talents to gel with these guys. That might sound like "settling" or I don't know... a weak reason to try and get him but I think it's more a case of realizing our strengths and finding the perfect player to sell those strengths to. Franchise-loyal stars are becoming increasingly rare but it's a special treat for a city to have a player like that start and spend the majority of their career playing in one city.

2) The kid has star power for off the court reasons too. He seems to have a look/personality that will help him stand out in the NBA; even though he's Spanish he looks more like the kind of kid you might see in a Bollywood high school musical rather than out on an NBA court running fast breaks. That's going to help him stand out in a league that likes to market personalities. He has a huge following internationally. He has hype coming into the league. He'll be coming in at an older age and more ready to take advantage of the spotlight. He'll sell jerseys. He'll sell products. He'll stay out of trouble. He'll rep Toronto positively.

So aside from what he would bring this franchise on the court (flare, excitement, talent) he also has the possibility of being a very strong advertising personality and a guy that might be more loyal to this city than other big name prospects have in the past. These last couple things are extremely important in pro sports. Even if he's not as good as advertised on the court, if he's loyal, personable, and moves products... he'd still be a major coup for this franchise and a great way to further develop the Raptors brand across Canada.

He should arguably be Colangelo's top target for a variety of reasons, not all of them on the court.

[ghuytro]

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyXxh1lQ ... r_embedded

His defense is lethal. Lightning quick, superior ball-handling, developing jumpshot, bb iq, so YES WE NEED HIM.

Wow! He is really tearing up those Lithuanians. That must make him the next NBA superstar.

Yeah but all the things that he's supposed to be really good at are on full display in that video - man defense, lightning fast with the ball on the break, ability to finish at the rim, crazy court vision.

[RonaldArtest]

He's solid, but why give up assets through a trade for our future PG? 2011 draft folks, we'll likely have a great chance at landing a stud PG.

[FTW]

Bottom line is, all everybody wants to do is to kidnap Rubio and force him to play against NA players, lol.

That's it. That's the question. "Will he look as good in the NBA system?"

I remember some disparaging comments made by some NA players during last year's draft workouts and whatnot. No idea if they were based on any sort of reality, but they were worrisome to say the least.

[DG88]

Nope we need Kyrie Irving
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dljQNULPCqU[/youtube]

[Truthrising]

Not sure if this was discussed in here (probably was) but even if he's only 75-80 percent as good as he's been hyped to be in the NBA he'd still be a major coup for this franchise for a couple important reasons:

1) We've built up this franchise and this city to be International-friendly and If he likes it here he might not want to leave. Hey, stop laughing. I know that sounds obvious but the allure of the US market won't seem as great to him once he sees what it's like here. It won't be like going home to him so if he's found success here, why wouldn't he want to stay? In other words, a kid like his has the potential to be this franchise's first long-term (perhaps decade-long if we were lucky) franchise face capable of selling jerseys, proudly repping our city for the next generation. Bargnani, also appears loyal, so for the first time in our franchise history we might not have to worry about teams head huting our stars and we can instead bring in talents to gel with these guys. That might sound like "settling" or I don't know... a weak reason to try and get him but I think it's more a case of realizing our strengths and finding the perfect player to sell those strengths to. Franchise-loyal stars are becoming increasingly rare but it's a special treat for a city to have a player like that start and spend the majority of their career playing in one city.

2) The kid has star power for off the court reasons too. He seems to have a look/personality that will help him stand out in the NBA; even though he's Spanish he looks more like the kind of kid you might see in a Bollywood high school musical rather than out on an NBA court running fast breaks. That's going to help him stand out in a league that likes to market personalities. He has a huge following internationally. He has hype coming into the league. He'll be coming in at an older age and more ready to take advantage of the spotlight. He'll sell jerseys. He'll sell products. He'll stay out of trouble. He'll rep Toronto positively.

So aside from what he would bring this franchise on the court (flare, excitement, talent) he also has the possibility of being a very strong advertising personality and a guy that might be more loyal to this city than other big name prospects have in the past. These last couple things are extremely important in pro sports. Even if he's not as good as advertised on the court, if he's loyal, personable, and moves products... he'd still be a major coup for this franchise and a great way to further develop the Raptors brand across Canada.

He should arguably be Colangelo's top target for a variety of reasons, not all of them on the court.

my thoughts exactly, it would be easier to retain him after his rookie contract is up compared to an american stud pg. This would easily bring in the exposure back in Toronto with his flare and excitement - he's probably the closes Nash-clone coming into the NBA and would fit pretty good w/ Derozan-weems-davis. In all honesty I think a Bargnani for Rubio would make sense, I believe the PG position would make a greater difference in bringing in wins than Bargnani - think of how Nash has made players around him a lot better. I can also Rubio staying in Toronto perhaps his whole career since it does have the international feel as well.

[MLSE]

lol, I love how in Raptorland we NEED a talented point guard who hasn't set foot in the NBA yet. WE NEED POTENTIAL!! PLEASE!!

We need a lot more then Rubio.

[Anatomize]

Aside from many things pointed out about his game, I think many of you missed a crucial point which is needed for most of the top PGs in the league. Rondo, Curry, Nash, Paul all possess this particular skill, it's called - deception.

Watch any of the highlights or games of Rubio and you'll notice his change of speeds - in the latest vid posted versus Lithuania he comes around the pick the defender comes up to help and he changes gears and blows by him for a layup as soon as the big is out of position. Aside from his ability to change speeds, he also makes the defense shift simply by presenting angles and hand movements with the ball and then quickly finding an open man on a cut/under the basket/alley oop; you can see in all his videos how often he throws the defense off simply by looking at various options and making the defense believe he will make the simple play but instead choosing to find a cutter or an open man. This kind of passing skill set is going to make him one of the best passers of all time, it is up there with Nash/Paul in terms of making the right play. Another area which is often overlooked is how he sets up his teammates coming up court and handing it off, and then setting a screen to block the defender, this results in open shots.

One area where he reminds me of a young Jason Kidd is on the defensive end, he's very active with his hands and he moves well laterally but size may play an issue for him especially versus a stronger guard like Deron Williams. Kidd was (and still is -- albeit a step slower) notorious for bodying the PG coming up court, bothering his vision, and then intercepting passes in the lanes or deflecting them to teammates or out of bounds.

As others have said, he needs to work on that jumpshot. His lower half mechanics look suspect, he doesn't have improper form with his hands but his feet need to be a bit further apart and he has to lessen his movement with his feet going forward and try to keep his body straight instead of leaning back (a problem Belinelli has which has caused him great inconsistency).

[torsport]

Rubio may be an interesting prospect, but really he's done nothing in the NBA. He's an unknown commodity.

I remember the same hype with youtube clips accompanied Sergio Rodriguez:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JKiz-xs5YM

There were other clips too, but couldn't find them. We know where Rodriguez is now. Same could be said for Fernandez, Belli and the infamous Gerald Green.

We don't know what Rubio will be as an NBA player, and anyone who thinks they know is deluding themselves. I'm not saying he'll be bad, but what I am saying is no one here knows.

PG is actually not the greatest need of the team.

If Bargs moves to PF we need a 5 and we still need a 3.

What we do need is an interior all-star calibre defender and an all-star callibre wing player. Maybe Derozan is the latter maybe Davis is the former, but they aren't today and that's what Raps need. A Jack and Calderon PG combo stacks up pretty well against the rest of the league IMO.

Linas Kleiza, Davis, Amir, DD and Weems do not.

[Indeed]

Nope, we don't need Kyrie Irving.
I haven't seen him being a very good passer like Rubio is.

Alley-oop pass on a half court set? I think Rubio did a few no look alley-oop on half court set.

Nope we need Kyrie Irving
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dljQNULPCqU[/youtube]

[Double Helix]

Good post above about Rubio's deceptiveness. That's something I've noticed as well.

I remember reading about how Jason Kidd learned the game by playing with Payton and Payton's dad. Kidd worked so much on dribbling and passing and his shot came later. That seems to be the same path Rubio took as well. He focused primarily on being able to get to where we wants to get on the floor and how to pass with either hand so that he can throw difficult passes that most defenders aren't prepared for. His abilities in both areas, as a result of that and him having the right mind for the position, are outstanding.

A lot of good NBA PGs don't even really react. They rely strictly on their athleticism and their one or two go-to moves to either get to the net or find another teammate. It's why you see so many good PGs throw passes out to people who aren't even there. They're not really reacting. They made up their mind what they wanted to do right before doing it. There are a lot of very good PGs in the NBA who have everything but this ability to react down and they're still very good PGs. It goes to show you how athletic the position is and how difficult it is to defend. Still, the ability to read and react to situations is special and Rubio has that gift.

Rubio seems to have everything that's necessary to be an excellent improviser. He has tremendous vision to see things as they're happening, great dribbling ability to get to where he needs to get to make something happen and terrific passing ability/guts to react to a play and make something happen. This "intangiable" would make him a nice prospect even if his physical measurements/athleticism were considerably below average but thankfully.. they're not.

He has a lot to learn and improve upon but I can see why people are so impressed with his approach to the game. It's very Kidd-like, which is a tremendous compliment for any developing PG.