Rui Hachimura

[Shoe]

Well this is escalating quickly .. Rui’s brand/marketability is already going through the roof and he’s only played a handful of games. If he actually develops into a bigtime NBA player , the hype + branding around him could surpass Ichiro levels !

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The more commercials Rui gets, the more free throws he gets. Silver sees a lot of yen to be made in the Japan market and gives the wink and nudge to the NBRA.

[DCZards]

Doesn't seem a surprise at all that Rui would rack up all these $$$ brand deals, does it? He's a unicorn. One of a kind marketability.

So it's not exactly something "This man... did." More like it's who he is. Very cool all the same!

Not surprised to hear about these deals either. What did surprise me though was to see so many fans at Cap One Arena already wearing Rui's #8 jersey.

[WallToWall]

0/5 shooting is not something I expected. This makes 2 bad games in a row.
However, it was good to see him grab 8 rbs. Thats good for his average.

[payitforward]

Doesn't seem a surprise at all that Rui would rack up all these $$$ brand deals, does it? He's a unicorn. One of a kind marketability.

So it's not exactly something "This man... did." More like it's who he is. Very cool all the same!

Not surprised to hear about these deals either. What did surprise me though was to see so many fans at Cap One Arena already wearing Rui's #8 jersey.

Fans are looking for a savior. Someone who will pull the team out of the Ernie era at a gallop. Not going to happen.

[payitforward]

0/5 shooting is not something I expected. This makes 2 bad games in a row.
However, it was good to see him grab 7 rbs. Thats good for his average.

Rui has been neutralized. That's what happens to athletically gifted rookies with relatively primitive skills. Now let's see how quickly he develops past this problem.

Gogo Bitadze, who just turned 20, is a better player than Rui Hachimura, who is 1.5 years older. He's much more experienced, obviously, having played pro ball some years. Does Rui have a higher ceiling than Bitadze? I hope so, but I don't know so. Do you know so?

[DCZards]

Doesn't seem a surprise at all that Rui would rack up all these $$$ brand deals, does it? He's a unicorn. One of a kind marketability.

So it's not exactly something "This man... did." More like it's who he is. Very cool all the same!

Not surprised to hear about these deals either. What did surprise me though was to see so many fans at Cap One Arena already wearing Rui's #8 jersey.

Fans are looking for a savior. Someone who will pull the team out of the Ernie era at a gallop. Not going to happen.

Nah...I don't think it has anything to do with the Ernie era or Rui as some kind of on court savior. It has more to do with the fact that he's a good-looking kid with a likeable personality.

[Ruzious]

0/5 shooting is not something I expected. This makes 2 bad games in a row.
However, it was good to see him grab 7 rbs. Thats good for his average.

Rui has been neutralized. That's what happens to athletically gifted rookies with relatively primitive skills. Now let's see how quickly he develops past this problem.

Gogo Bitadze, who just turned 20, is a better player than Rui Hachimura, who is 1.5 years older. He's much more experienced, obviously, having played pro ball some years. Does Rui have a higher ceiling than Bitadze? I hope so, but I don't know so. Do you know so?

I don't think Rui is all that athletically gifted, tbh. What I liked about him in college was his offensive aggression - which helped make him a good scorer. And he could bully most college players inside. He's gotten his shot blocked several times in the NBA, and it seems to have affected the aggression that he previously had. What he needs to do now is get back that aggression and show he can hit 3's - which he had done at some point in the summer international games - but has failed miserably to do in the NBA, so far.

[payitforward]

Not surprised to hear about these deals either. What did surprise me though was to see so many fans at Cap One Arena already wearing Rui's #8 jersey.

Fans are looking for a savior. Someone who will pull the team out of the Ernie era at a gallop. Not going to happen.

Nah...I don't think it has anything to do with the Ernie era or Rui as some kind of on court savior. It has more to do with the fact that he's a good-looking kid with a likeable personality.

For sure -- & those are great qualities for a guy you want to put a superman cape on.

Plus, it's not just fans: Tommy has said that they were "all in" on Rui from very early on. Forgive me for plain-speaking, but that is a colossally stupid way to approach an NBA draft.

[tontoz]

Tommy has said that they were "all in" on Rui from very early on. Forgive me for plain-speaking, but that is a colossally stupid way to approach an NBA draft.

True, and it sounds familiar.

That is the same mindset that led to Jan Vesely being picked at 6..... offering a 2 yr guaranteed deal to Eric Maynor on the first day of free agency....etc.

Captain Obvious says that you should do your due diligence on all the prospects with as little bias as possible, then make the decision based on the information gathered.

'falling in love' with a guy is the worst thing you can do as a GM. A classic example of this was when Chicago traded up to take Mitch Trubisky when Watson and Mahomes were available, screwing the Bears indefinitely.

[DCZards]

C'mon, folks. If the Zards had drafted DeAndre Hunter, Coby White, Garland, etc. they would have been saying the same "all in" stuff. It's PR speak. It's also good for the ego of the guy you drafted.

[tontoz]

C'mon, folks. If the Zards had drafted DeAndre Hunter, Coby White, Garland, etc. they would have been saying the same "all in" stuff. It's PR speak. It's also good for the ego of the guy you drafted.

I would rather hear them say that they spent a lot of time evaluating all the prospects and then decided Rui was their guy. That seems like better PR to me and also good for the ego of the player, knowing that they did their DD on everyone and then picked him.

[DCZards]

C'mon, folks. If the Zards had drafted DeAndre Hunter, Coby White, Garland, etc. they would have been saying the same "all in" stuff. It's PR speak. It's also good for the ego of the guy you drafted.

I would rather hear them say that they spent a lot of time evaluating all the prospects and then decided Rui was their guy. That seems like better PR to me and also good for the ego of the player, knowing that they did their DD on everyone and then picked him.

Do you really think that Shepherd and his team didn’t evaluate all the prospects? Let’s give them a little more credit than that.

[tontoz]

Do you really think that Shepherd and his team didn’t evaluate all the prospects? Let’s give them a little more credit than that.

If he said he was all in on Rui from early on that is definitely worrisome to me. Sounds like an EG move.

[prime1time]

0/5 shooting is not something I expected. This makes 2 bad games in a row.
However, it was good to see him grab 8 rbs. Thats good for his average.

What are you talking about? The game in between he went 5-7...

[prime1time]

0/5 shooting is not something I expected. This makes 2 bad games in a row.
However, it was good to see him grab 7 rbs. Thats good for his average.

Rui has been neutralized. That's what happens to athletically gifted rookies with relatively primitive skills. Now let's see how quickly he develops past this problem.

Gogo Bitadze, who just turned 20, is a better player than Rui Hachimura, who is 1.5 years older. He's much more experienced, obviously, having played pro ball some years. Does Rui have a higher ceiling than Bitadze? I hope so, but I don't know so. Do you know so?

LOL, Rui has been neutralized? Please tell us how defenses have managed to neutralize him. Also, when he has a good game soon, and it will happen. What will you say then?

[prime1time]

Players will have bad games. Just the way it is. But it's kind of bizarre to come into this thread and read about Rui's demise after one game. Rui will be fine. There's a lot of basketball left to play and he has a lot of growing to do. Unlike some posters in this thread I am not convinced that teams have "figured him out."

On the other hand, however, there are some very concerning trends. I think the FT attempts will increase as time goes on and he builds confidence. But the lack of steals and blocks is alarming. It's still early in the season, but it's something to keep an eye on.

[pcbothwel]

Do you really think that Shepherd and his team didn’t evaluate all the prospects? Let’s give them a little more credit than that.

If he said he was all in on Rui from early on that is definitely worrisome to me. Sounds like an EG move.

Lets step back for a second... We all know that the NBA and NFL are different sports. In football, you can keep adding a bunch of good players on top of each other and all of sudden...good team.

In the NBA, you really need top end talent to have a shot. If Rui jumped off the screen and screamed "Star", then I dont blame him.
I do believe it is company talk a bit, but I do understand finding a star and locking in.

[tontoz]

Do you really think that Shepherd and his team didn’t evaluate all the prospects? Let’s give them a little more credit than that.

If he said he was all in on Rui from early on that is definitely worrisome to me. Sounds like an EG move.

Lets step back for a second... We all know that the NBA and NFL are different sports. In football, you can keep adding a bunch of good players on top of each other and all of sudden...good team.

In the NBA, you really need top end talent to have a shot. If Rui jumped off the screen and screamed "Star", then I dont blame him.
I do believe it is company talk a bit, but I do understand finding a star and locking in.

That mindset screams "amateur". I don't want my GM looking for guys who "jump off the screen". I want them to be analytical, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of everyone.

Part of Rui's 'star power' is because he is from Japan. Did they draft him based in part because of his marketability in Japan? That would be the kind of thing that would make them 'lock in'.

I am not worried about bad shooting games here and there. I am worried about his matador tendencies.

[nate33]

If he said he was all in on Rui from early on that is definitely worrisome to me. Sounds like an EG move.

Lets step back for a second... We all know that the NBA and NFL are different sports. In football, you can keep adding a bunch of good players on top of each other and all of sudden...good team.

In the NBA, you really need top end talent to have a shot. If Rui jumped off the screen and screamed "Star", then I dont blame him.
I do believe it is company talk a bit, but I do understand finding a star and locking in.

That mindset screams "amateur". I don't want my GM looking for guys who "jump off the screen". I want them to be analytical, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of everyone.

Part of Rui's 'star power' is because he is from Japan. Did they draft him based in part because of his marketability in Japan? That would be the kind of thing that would make them 'lock in'.

I am not worried about bad shooting games here and there. I am worried about his matador tendencies.

I think you're making a huge deal out of nothing, tontoz. I seriously doubt that the team stopped scouting people after seeing Rui.

[tontoz]

I think you're making a huge deal out of nothing, tontoz. I seriously doubt that the team stopped scouting people after seeing Rui.

If they come out and publicly say that they locked in on Rui early on, that is a problem. That is not something I want to hear from management unless they are talking about a top 3 pick where the best guy is obvious.

Of course they scouted other guys because they didn't know if Rui would be there at 9.