Portland listed as one of the teams "most attractive" to Rubio.

"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."-draftexpress

6 months ago Nick Van Excellent 68 comments 0 recs |

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Sactown also did a nice discussion on trade limits on Rubio.

“Now, if a team like Portland (for example) felt that Ricky Rubio was the missing piece for them, they could go to Memphis and offer any combination of Jerryd Bayless, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, and/or their #24 and #32 picks. And if Portland wants to do that, the Kings can’t compete with it, nor should they. The aforementioned Blazer players are 2nd tier for them (this is said with no intended disrespect – Fernandez is very important to Portalnd and is a stud, but he is not as important as Roy/Aldridge/Oden/Pryzbilla). If the trade didn’t pan out, it wouldn’t affect their core. The Kings on the other hand, would suffer massive damage if Rubio didn’t pan out and the cost was a current core player and a pick.”-sactownroyalty

Roy is the best player in the world with the exception of Incarcerated Mike from Queensbridge .

by Nick Van Excellent on May 25, 2009 6:17 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks NVE, you confirmed what my first reaction to this list was....Sacramento doesn't seem to belong on this list IMHO.

Blazer's Edge Ambassador to The Dream Shake Blog
LMA Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I <3 LMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMA - Putting the POWER in POWER FORWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The concussion must have jarred him into "Destroy All Opposition Terminator Mode!" - BlazersOrBust

by LaMarvelous on May 25, 2009 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, they got the #4 pick

So if Memphis either didn’t know/think Rubio was their guy, and they liked someone else who could be got at #4, they could trade the #2 pick to Sactown and get the guy they want at #4 plus some goodies from Sactown.

I think Rubio might be okay with Sacramento because he knows it is in California, but he will realize that cities in California are not all equal.

Morty

by Mortimer on May 25, 2009 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And there's the snag.

I think Rubio might be okay with Sacramento because he knows it is in California, but he will realize that cities in California are not all equal.

by dpnim on May 25, 2009 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

At least it's not LA

for some reason, NBA players don’t see LA as a the drawback I do.

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on May 26, 2009 8:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man I hope Portland sticks to this part

not all those teams may have the assets or the interest level needed

I’d rather have the Blazers trade fro Sasha Vujacic than draft another rookie point guard.

I'm chubby because I'm full of love.

by tominhawaii on May 25, 2009 7:44 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

I know, that's exactly what I was thinking.

Sasha has such a high BBIQ. He’s a high energy guy. Spark plug off the bench. Hard worker. He’s got a real nice European flair. Did I mention he has a high BBIQ? In all seriousness though, I don’t want the Blazers to draft a rookie PG either. Rubio is a project, just like every other 18 year old PG in the world.

Still… the Blazers need to figure something out. I would rather trade Rudy Fernandez than go into next season with Blake as a starter.

Roy is the best player in the world with the exception of Incarcerated Mike from Queensbridge .

by Nick Van Excellent on May 25, 2009 7:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

man, I can't stand Vujacic

for no rational, basketball reason,

"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy

by Honka Playboy on May 25, 2009 8:05 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You don't like machine?

Roy is the best player in the world with the exception of Incarcerated Mike from Queensbridge .

by Nick Van Excellent on May 25, 2009 8:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't like Vujabiatch - Any player that will start crying when things don't go well for them in the game makes me sick!!!

by LaMarvelous on May 25, 2009 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only way View a B**ch gets away with all that whining is he's a Leaker

by LaoTzu on May 26, 2009 5:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

one of my best friends looks just like Vujachic - the long greasy hair

We’ve had on going discussions about him getting a wig and a Laker jersey and going to a Blazer game with me. But he just wont say yes….

by One Team to Rule Them All on May 25, 2009 8:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We should sign Vujacic, Scola, and Fabio

And have the “All-Greasy-Hair” team.

I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

by haildablazer on May 25, 2009 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Greasy hair & fist pumping.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on May 25, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

and flopping.

by Roybot on May 25, 2009 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fabio doesn't flop

Just needs to be pointed out.

by moflow on May 26, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about no Vujacic and no Rookie PG?

www.freeoden.com Coming soon

by 123_G.O._RipCity on May 25, 2009 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wha?

by LaoTzu on May 26, 2009 5:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Machinist

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on May 26, 2009 8:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thats how I feel

I got nothing against Rubio and think he can be a swell guy, just in a couple more years. I don’t want to wait for him.

I'm chubby because I'm full of love.

by tominhawaii on May 25, 2009 9:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What if you don't lose Blake

And if Rubio ain’t ready, you got Blakey right there.

So, it’s Rubio replacing Sergio, and Rubio is GUARANTEED a billion times better than Sergio.

So, we’re still a better team. It all depends on how highly KP and Friends thinks of Rubio, o’ course…

I’d rather not lose Rudy or Batum but if Rubio is gonna be one of the best best PGs… man.

Morty

by Mortimer on May 25, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

At least Rubio can D up!

by LaoTzu on May 26, 2009 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sasha would be a nice change

because the Blazers don’t have anyone on the team with long hair and waxed eyebrows. Maybe those are against Nate’s rules though.

by Roybot on May 25, 2009 10:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Please let's not add any women to the Blazers roster....

by LaMarvelous on May 25, 2009 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions 5 recs

+1

"We really don't reference the rulebook." ~Joe Borgia, NBA VP of referee operations, to Henry Abbot regarding the calling (or lack thereof) of traveling.

by postup on May 25, 2009 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

rec

Roy is the best player in the world with the exception of Incarcerated Mike from Queensbridge .

by Nick Van Excellent on May 25, 2009 4:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mike Miller FTW!

On a side note, I’m glad that Lauren Jackson re-signed with the Seattle Storm. It’s too bad that the Storm don’t have a superstar shooting guard on its roster (e.g., Diana Taurasi), for that’s the one missing piece holding the ballclub back from being a legitimate championship contender.

by AK1984 on May 25, 2009 7:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Even though she's a PG

Sue Bird has proven she can score consistently and has a nice Stockton/Malone partnership with Lauren Jackson. However, there’s no substitute for a really good 2-guard. I’m looking forward to taking my almost-6-year-old daughter to a Storm game this summer.

by DonkeyShins on May 26, 2009 11:35 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

With the defensive-minded Swin Cash at small forward and floor general Sue Bird at ...

point guard, I’m not sure that an inefficient, undersized combo guard like Tanisha Wright is the best fit alongside of them. While Wright is certainly a nice piece coming off of the bench — as well as nice defensively, albeit not to the level of one Iziane Castro Marques — I want someone at shooting guard who’s roughly 6’0" tall, can stick it from downtown at around a 40% clip, and able to play at least average defense against wing players.

To be frank, Wright isn’t too much of an upgrade from Sheryl Swoops — who was definitely an over-the-hill, washed-up has-been last season — and Katie Geralds is strictly a backup at shooting guard. Yet, those are the cards that the Storm have been dealt this season, so that’s that.

by AK1984 on May 26, 2009 11:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Adriana Lima is OK

maybe we can convince her to leave Marco Jaric behind. – Elgin

VENTURA: It's drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning. It is no good, because you -- I'll put it to you this way, you give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

by 22baylor on May 26, 2009 2:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd rather Portland trade for Matt Bonner

Then we’d have two MVP-Candidates, year-in year-out.

by teenagemutantninjabayless on May 26, 2009 12:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd take Rubio

but not for Batum or Rudy.I think Rudy is one of the reasons he’d like to come here.

by We-B-Dunkin on May 25, 2009 8:53 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

Yeah.

Rudy is one of the main reasons I’d like to see Ricky here.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on May 25, 2009 3:25 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

no way i give up rudy or batum

for rubio. Personally, I dont even think he will be that good. Why take a chance when the guys we would be giving up have proven themselves (more or less)

bayless leaves over my dead body
sign mike bibby

by thomasikehara on May 25, 2009 8:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

A kid who turned pro when he was 14, played in the olympics at 17 for the SM team, and is the youngest player in the draft is obviously going to be a bust.

by Zaig on May 26, 2009 9:11 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No to Rubio

please.

by Falcao on May 25, 2009 9:39 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The Blazers HAVE to see that having another rookie point guard

will only slow the progress we’ve made the last 3 years.

"Respect everyone, fear no one." -TP

by Arby on May 25, 2009 10:09 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

We could still

sign or bring in a vet PG to start, worst case scenario Steve Blake right? Who I would hope Rubio would surpass two weeks into the season.

by darkhelmit54 on May 25, 2009 10:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Negative

Trade Sergio/24/32/Cash to NY for 8 pick.
Trade 8/Outlaw/Bayless to Memphis for 2 pick.

Cry for endless hours when Clippers pick Rubio just to annoy us.

by Zaig on May 26, 2009 9:14 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

And yes this means Blake starts

But hopefully we have control of enough games during the regular season to give Rubio a solid 18-20 mpg. Nate could also deviate from his set 6 minutes for backups per half rotation if things are going well with Rubio in.

Rubio comes in with 2 left in 1st Q. Instead of instant pulling him with 8-10 left in second quarter like he did this year, he could leave Rubio in as long as things are going well.

by Zaig on May 26, 2009 9:16 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

probably more realistic to...

Swap Bayless and Sergio to add more value for the Knicks
and we take back Jaric to help the Grizzlies more

by darkhelmit54 on May 26, 2009 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love the idea, but looking at it from Memphis POV

Thabeet is of more value than #8, Bayless and Outlaw (because of Gay). Better for them simply to keep the pick and draft Thabeet

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on May 26, 2009 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Can Marc move to PF?

I’m not familiar enough with his game to know if that’d work for Memphis, although a 7’3 Center and 7’1 PF would be relatively evil.

by Zaig on May 26, 2009 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Definately

I would give up Bayless and either Batum or Outlaw in order to get Rubio. We will have Blake in place until Rubio is ready to take over, and he is a much more natural PG than Bayless. I also assume Sergio will be moved, but if Rubio were to stay in Europe another year, we could keep Sergio as the backup PG without Bayless lookijg over his shoulder.

That package probably not enough to land Rubio, but if so I would jump on it.

by socalblazer on May 25, 2009 10:30 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Also

I would do anything possible to not have to include Rudy in any package for Rubio.

by socalblazer on May 25, 2009 10:31 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Would you bake a cherry pie, blazer boy blazer boy?

by MiledAnimal on May 26, 2009 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The best possible thing that could happen...

Would be if Rubio decided to stay in Europe one more year or something irregardless of who drafted him, or was accepting of a bench role in his first year.

It’d be awesome if we swing some three-way trade like:

Out: Bayless, Outlaw
In: Rubio, Jaric

Mem out: Rubio, Jaric
Mem in: Outlaw, DLee

NY in: Bayless
NY out: Lee

or maybe send Bayless to a team in the 9, 10, 11 range (not sure he’s worth that anymore though), and then we could still sign andre miller and have rubio be a backup to start out, or keep sergio or blake around another year as a backup until he came over.

Miller/Blake/Koponen
Roy/Fernandez
Webster/Batum
Aldridge/(vet)/Freeland
Oden/Pryzbilla

with Rubio, and a couple more second rounders (Beabuois, Claver?) waiting in the wings.

by darkhelmit54 on May 25, 2009 10:44 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

I think that would not be a good deal for New York but otherwise I like a lot of what you posted here.

by LaMarvelous on May 25, 2009 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

what if we added

Sergio and something else (money, picks) to sweeten it up for NY, anything to defer cap space for them to try to sign big Free Agents in 2010 right?

by darkhelmit54 on May 25, 2009 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

MEM actually looks pretty well balanced coming out of that...

Conley/Mayo/Gay/Lee/Gasol
w/ Outlaw as a sparkplug off the bench

by darkhelmit54 on May 25, 2009 10:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm surprised he would want to come here

because of all the drama with Sergio and his lack of playing time. People in Spain hate Nate so they would probably go crazy if Rubio didn’t play enough.

by Roybot on May 25, 2009 10:56 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

If Nate did to Rubio what he did to Sergio I think there would be a lynch mob after him...

by LaMarvelous on May 25, 2009 11:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

at that point

Nate would have no excuses, with the insane hype that Rubio has there’d be all the national american people complaining about Nate too.

by darkhelmit54 on May 25, 2009 11:16 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

There wasn't the same drama with Rudy though

Rubio and Rudy are friends as well. I doubt Rubio even thinks Sergio is that good, since he wasn’t on the national team with him. If I was him, I’d cockily think Sergio’s problems won’t be mine, and I’d be right.

Rudy played a lot, so why wouldn’t I? (says Rubio).

Morty

by Mortimer on May 25, 2009 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Yeah it probably helps that Rudy and Rubio are way more famous that Sergio.

by Roybot on May 25, 2009 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remember Nate at the Olympics

was having a tough time keeping a smile off his face while watching Rudy?

I wonder how impressed he was with Rubio’s game?

by two4larue on May 25, 2009 7:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well said

Rubio’s smart enough to see what’s happening with Sergio, and he’ll talk to people about whether Sergio’s getting a bad deal, or whether he just doesn’t earn the time. Nate’s not xenophobic. That idea’s easily countered by Sergio’s less than stellar play.

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on May 26, 2009 8:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would guess Navarro and Pau (and maybe Marc who keeps a low profile) have told him worse things about Memphis

Hence why the whole thing where he wants to go has even become an issue.

by Norsktroll on May 25, 2009 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting speculation.

by dpnim on May 25, 2009 7:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol, Sergio is terrible... i wouldn't want to come

to a team that DOES play him.

by One Team to Rule Them All on May 25, 2009 1:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rubio is almost certainly not happening. Memphis doesn't need bayless and Trout isn't enough.

Truth never was or can be propagated by fire and sword - Albert Gallatin

Bayless sucks! Trade him; or at least stop the annoying bayless homerism. his best case is gilbert arenas which is something the blazers don't want and don't need. He was a KP mistake.

by Zaron5551 on May 25, 2009 1:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

If I am Memphis:

I am signing Hedo Turkoglu in the offseason to start at the 3 & send Gay out for a PF. Ronny Turiaf + Golden States 1st(DeJuan Blair or Earl Clark)? Bayless would be a perfect compliment to Rubio’s game & would probably push him to be that much better hustle wise. Draft Earl Clark with GS’s pick, to play behind Turkoglu at the 3. If the NBADraft.net mock holds true, grab Terrence Williams with their second first round pick(via Orlando), Pendergraph in the second.

Rubio/Bayless
Mayo/Williams
Turkoglu/Clark
Turiaf/Pendergraph
Gasol/Milicic

That is a mean squad, nice balance of Euro flair & some great young american talent. Clark & Williams would be great together. He is the only one I would want in the draft if we somehow lost Rudy.

Offseason:
Trade For Mike Conley Jr
Sign Antonio McDyess & Othello Hunter
Draft Kevin Seraphin/Rodrigue Beaubois(Eurostash)

by TheGreatDane17 on May 25, 2009 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But one big hole at the 4

and not deep at all at the 5.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

by DaniBCN on May 25, 2009 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not going to happen

Golden State would have Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Rudy Gay at the 3. So your saying that outta their top 10 players 8 will be new to the team. It isnt going to happen though

by quezadaz on May 26, 2009 1:07 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why would Turkoglu not sign with the Magic

and go play for a crappy team with no real chance of success? Why would the Magic let one of their best players walk when they’re in the midst of a championship window?

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on May 26, 2009 8:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Money.

They’re going to have a lot of money tied up in Dwight Howard and already gave a monster contract to Rashard Lewis last year. Odds are Hedo can make quite a bit more money elsewhere.

"Respect everyone, fear no one." -TP

by Arby on May 26, 2009 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs