Rubio doesn't want Memphis

LJ4ptplay

Starter
Rubio's Camp Unhappy With Lottery

For those of you who love drama and were disappointed by the Los Angeles Clippers coming out and saying that Blake Griffin is going to be the top pick, there's no need to worry. With Griffin ending up in a Clipper uniform a certainty there's still the compelling situation with Spain's Ricky Rubio, who did not like how the draft panned out to say the least.

Rubio's Agent, Dan Fegan, wants Ricky to land either in Los Angeles or Sacramento. Memphis and Oklahoma City, his two most likely destinations after the lottery, are not attractive options to Rubio's camp and if nothing changes in the draft order he could end up waiting till 2010.

"He'll pull out if he doesn't like what he's hearing," an NBA source told Jonathan Givony of Draftexpress.com. "Or he can stay in and force the Grizzlies to call his bluff?would they really take him knowing that he may never come over? That's one way to get him to fall to three."

This isn't the first time that a Dan Fegan client has tried to position themselves to land where they feel best. If you remember back in 2007 Yi Jianlian's representatives made it very clear that they had no interest in Yi playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, but they drafted him anyway. Yi however didn't have the options that Rubio currently does.

A move to the NBA is going to be an expensive one for Rubio unless there are some drastic changes with DKV Joventut over the next four weeks. He currently has a buyout of $7.7 million and they don't appear to be willing to accept anything less than the full amount right now.

"Rubio doesn't want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so," said another scout to Draftexpress.com. "Fegan [Rubio's agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can't have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City."

For Rubio there really is no downside in waiting until 2010. In 2010 his buyout goes down just over $1 million, which whatever NBA team that drafted him could play nearly half of. He'd also have a chance to go number one overall, which isn't going to happen this year despite the reports of the Clippers having a quiet interest in him.

At 18-years-old Rubio has all the time in the world. Although a lot of his countrymen have come over and been very successful in the NBA, Juan Carlos Navarro taught him how important it is to land in the right situation. If his camp isn't comfortable with where he's likely going to end up this year there's no reason not to put his NBA career on hold for another year.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12714

Interesting.
 

New New York

Quiet Storm
Assuming Memphis takes Thabeet w/ 2nd pick and if OK drafts Rubio, his camp will force a trade, we offer them whoever we draft, lets just say its Curry, and then we send OKC Curry and Lee for Rubio and Darko Millic when the FA market opens.

Curry (or whoever)
Westbrook
Durant
Lee
Kristic

Young team w/ some promise and a good coach in Scott Brooks. Maybe we send our 2012 pick to them to sweetin the deal.


Rubio's camp obviously embraces a move to NY, and we get an expiring contract and shot blocker for Lee. We improve our cap situation while making our team a bit more desirable for FA's all in the same trade.
 

portega1968

El Cacique
I dont see the knicks mentioned in the article.

Given the huge buyout he would have to cough up from his own money, Im willing to bet he waits until 2010.
 

LJ4ptplay

Starter
more interesting news...

• As I first reported Tuesday night, the Grizzlies are strongly leaning toward selecting Hasheem Thabeet at No. 2.

The reason?

Several sources told me that owner Michael Heisley loves Thabeet. He wants the team to be tougher defensively and thinks Thabeet would give it the shot-blocking and size it desperately needs.

I'm told that the rest of the Grizzlies' front office is partial to Rubio, but as we've seen the past few years, Heisley runs the show in Memphis.

• Look for the Thunder to be pretty active in trade discussions with the No. 3 pick. They like Rubio, but if they draft him, they'll have to move Russell Westbrook to the 2-guard position. I talked to Thunder head coach Scott Brooks on Tuesday, and he said that although he believes that Westbrook can play the 2, Westbrook wants to be a 1.

I think the challenge is that Westbrook is most effective when he has the ball in his hands and struggles more when forced to play off the ball. With Rubio and Kevin Durant likely to have the ball a lot in that offense, Westbrook would have to make an adjustment. When you factor in that neither Rubio nor Westbrook is an accomplished shooter yet, there is an issue.

That's why a couple of teams think the Thunder might be willing to trade down in the draft. Two league sources said the Wizards and Thunder already had discussions about a swap of the No. 3 pick for the No. 5 pick and the Wizards' 2008 first-rounder, JaVale McGee.

The Wizards want Rubio but would settle for Thabeet if he's the one who falls. The Thunder would get a long, lanky shot-blocker in McGee and then could get another guy they like, Arizona State's James Harden, at No. 5.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draf...ry?columnist=ford_chad&page=DraftWatch-090521

With Memphis showing interest in Thabeet and OKC willing to trade down (plus Rubio saying he doesn't want to go to Memphis or OKC) this leaves an open possibility of the Knicks trading up to get Rubio.

Does anybody know if we have a 2nd round pick this year? Maybe trading the 8th pick + our 2nd round pick could be enough to move us to the 3rd pick and get Rubio.

Although Rubio's agent didn't mention New York as his preferred destination, you have to think he would prefer New York over Sacramento or even the Clippers. D'Antoni's style is better suited for his game. Apparently the most important issue for Rubio is to go to a system that he will thrive in.
 
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