Ricky Rubio.....

[Dime Dropper]

Spain vs USA. No contest. Ricky Rubio - non factor. But then, no one else on the spanish team was a factor either. Good learning experience for Rubio. He found out you don't get up and body a pt guard like Paul. He gambles too much, but thats correctable. All in all, Rubio didn't have that bad a game when compared with everyone else on his team.

Gasol, the one who playes basketball, looked very frustrated, and rightly so. Calderon didn't have one of his best games, and Navarro needs a bigger hoop. Rudy F. looked pretty good again. He's pretty active without the ball and at least looked like he actually wanted to defend someone.

Back to Rubio. His man defense wasn't very good, but to his credit, he wasn't exactly guarding chopped liver. It was a pretty tough assignment for him, and other than playing the passing lanes for a couple of steals, he had no chance of keeping his man in front of him. It wasn't for lack of effort though. If they meet again down the road, hopefully he'll be a little wiser.

Agree with this generally. While USA were very good, Spain made it easy for them. Horrible pass after horrible pass. Just did not play well at all. What was with Fernandez throwing all those alley-oops? They are a very hard pass to make (something Rubio has mastered) particularly when your team-mates aren't very athletic.

Rubio does gamble too much, but he also gets alot of steals thanks to his ability to read passing lanes and his quick hands. But yes, needs to gamble less. I think some of it had to do with being down so much and just wanting to get the ball back.

Rubio was never going to stay on front of Paul (can anyone?), so he did OK for a kid. I'm definitely hoping Spain get another shot at the US, they can't play much worse than that. Rubio is a stat filler (not padder - there's a difference), in only 18 minutes he had 8 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assists, 3 stls. Pretty good stat-line. He could have had another 2-3 assists if his team-mates didn't shoot the ball so poorly.

By the way, can you imagine the amount of assists Rubio could have had if he was playing for the US? His alley-oop passes are almost always the perfect height, speed and timing. I'd love to see him on the same team as Howard or LeBron.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Based on the way the game played out, it seems to me that, because they have so many NBA-level players compared to other countries, that perhaps Spain tried to beat the United States at their own game (iso, man defense, fast break), and that's not going to work for anybody. Our weaknesses are still the same as they've been for a while now: pick and roll defense (unless Bosh is in), and shooting over the zone.

I'll have to re-watch the game when I get home from work to get a better opinion of Rubio, but he didn't look half-bad, I guess.

 

[LoungeLizard]

Agree with this generally. While USA were very good, Spain made it easy for them. Horrible pass after horrible pass. Just did not play well at all. What was with Fernandez throwing all those alley-oops? They are a very hard pass to make (something Rubio has mastered) particularly when your team-mates aren't very athletic.

Rubio does gamble too much, but he also gets alot of steals thanks to his ability to read passing lanes and his quick hands. But yes, needs to gamble less. I think some of it had to do with being down so much and just wanting to get the ball back.

Rubio was never going to stay on front of Paul (can anyone?), so he did OK for a kid. I'm definitely hoping Spain get another shot at the US, they can't play much worse than that. Rubio is a stat filler (not padder - there's a difference), in only 18 minutes he had 8 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assists, 3 stls. Pretty good stat-line. He could have had another 2-3 assists if his team-mates didn't shoot the ball so poorly.

By the way, can you imagine the amount of assists Rubio could have had if he was playing for the US? His alley-oop passes are almost always the perfect height, speed and timing. I'd love to see him on the same team as Howard or LeBron.

I would go the other way and say the USA made it HARD for them. Its obvious that THIS U.S. team is superior to any team they have played thus far, including Spain. Today you saw what happens when they shoot decent from outside. They will beat any team in this tournament by 25+ if they shoot the ball well from the 3.

As far as the horrible passes go, those were probably passes that they were making against the other teams in the tournament up to this point with no consequence. Against the US they are turnovers because of the superior athletes this team has.

If they meet again for the gold I don't believe the result will be much different, espcially if the Spaniards quit at the end of the game like they did today. But that's what usually happens when a team is overmatched, outplayed, and beaten down.

 

[pkballr]

I'd love to see him on the same team as Howard or LeBron.

But I wouldn't mind seeing him on ours...

 

[ElRey]

Just finished watching the game... Not impressed with Rubio. Average athletic ability at best. Didn't even look quick playing a 30-something year Jason Kidd. Had a couple nice pass and steals, showing he does have good court vision and sense. Funny looking set jump shot. European White Chocolate? NO...Jason Williams has more talent and quickness than him, and Jason only became a slightly above average NBA point guard after he settled down. Yes, he's only 17 so he can improve...but athletic ability is only average, so ceiling is limited. I wouldn't waste a top 5 pick on him.


Two players on Spain were much more impressive. Rudy Fernandez and Reyes. Rudy Fernandez is going to be on Portland so the rich just got richer. Reyes was really surprising. He's got game and I wouldn't wind him being on the Kings. Pau Gausol is obviously an NBA star already.

 

[bajaden]

Just finished watching the game... Not impressed with Rubio. Average athletic ability at best. Didn't even look quick playing a 30-something year Jason Kidd. Had a couple nice pass and steals, showing he does have good court vision and sense. Funny looking set jump shot. European White Chocolate? NO...Jason Williams has more talent and quickness than him, and Jason only became a slightly above average NBA point guard after he settled down. Yes, he's only 17 so he can improve...but athletic ability is only average, so ceiling is limited. I wouldn't waste a top 5 pick on him.


Two players on Spain were much more impressive. Rudy Fernandez and Reyes. Rudy Fernandez is going to be on Portland so the rich just got richer. Reyes was really surprising. He's got game and I wouldn't wind him being on the Kings. Pau Gausol is obviously an NBA star already.

I think you're being just a bit too harsh on Rubio. I would love to see him under the instruction of coach K for a month or two. Someone who could take his obvious talent and add disicipline to it. Alley Opps don't particularly excite me when trying to judge a player. Half the players in the NBA can throw an alley opp. What does excite me about him is his court vision and his great, abeit, sometimes sloppy, passing ability.

I agree that I don't think the outcome will be any different if they play again. But I would like to see if Rubio makes any adjustments to his game. There's a certain amount of one upsmanship among pt guards. You have to know that Kidd, Paul and company have heard the exploits of Rubio, and wern't about to go there and get shown up by him. Therefore, I think his challenge was even greater. All in all, for a 17 year old he didn't do that badly.

 

[NME]

I was impressed that at 17 he didn't seem intimidated by playing against NBA superstars, and played his game like he was going up against anybody. He looked like he belonged on the court as much as Calderon, who is currently one of the better NBA PG's.

 

[RIP miyagi]

I was impressed that at 17 he didn't seem intimidated by playing against NBA superstars, and played his game like he was going up against anybody.

Are you serious? I saw the exact opposite. It saw somebody who was tentative to even make a pass because of the swarming defense. They way ive heard him hyped up didn't come through at all in his game. I was really disappointed by what i saw.

 

[AriesMar27]

cool kid but i wasnt impressed at all... he's definitely a 1st round pick but he doesnt look like he'll be a star player.... better than beno but not on the same level as paul or deron... im pretty sure that they could throw alley oops when they were 17 too.... hell i remember garcia thowing martin a alley oop in summer league, doesnt mean that he is steve nash...

he has potential but i doubt that he'd be a starter on a nba team his rookie season.

 

[Warhawk]

better than beno but not on the same level as paul or deron...

OK - I disagree here - I didn't see anywhere in that game where they wouldn't rather have Beno running point than Ricky. I only caught about 2/3 of the game, but 8 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 3 st, 4 to doesn't sound better to me.

For 17, yes he's playing great. He's not better than Beno right now.

 

[AriesMar27]

he isnt better than beno now... he's only 17... but by the time he is 19 and playing in the nba he will moe than likely be better than beno. beno only averaged 4 assists a game last season playing starters minutes... rubio got 3 playing off the bench.... his jump shot is weird and he gambles too much but those things are correctable....

 

[JerN820]

Are you serious? I saw the exact opposite. It saw somebody who was tentative to even make a pass because of the swarming defense. They way ive heard him hyped up didn't come through at all in his game. I was really disappointed by what i saw.

You do realize that at 17 he is the equivilant of a soon to be HIGH SCHOOL senior? Not you mention he is being pitted against all star guards that have at least 4 years of NBA experience. And LOL at the person that expected him to hold his own against J Kidd, just b/c he is mid 30's. J Kidd still holds the experience of going up against the best of the best and mid 30's isnt THAT old, for being one of the best point guards ever to play. Rubio at that age still has much to learn about the game. So yes he does have a high ceiling to get better.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Ricky Rubio is listed at between 6'3 and 6'4 and next to Jason Kidd he was easily as big as that big PG overall at just 17 - repeat just 17. Once the kid "really" grows into his body and maybe gets up to around 6'5 - look out! He has barely touched his ultimate physical and skill level. I don't know if he'll become an NBA superstar or grow up to be just a solid starting PG, but it's clear based on every single scouting report I've read that he's an extremely talented PG distributor/passer that has a lot of NBA teams noticing - hoping. And he'll be even better, more experienced when that day comes since Ricky won't be eligible for the NBA draft until he's 19. He started playing pro against men professionally at age 16 and even at 15 was seen as a very unique European basketball talent. So basically, when he enters the NBA (assuming he's not signed to some gigantic Euro contract) he would have had 5 years of pro experience as a teen playing against men.

 

[ElRey]

You do realize that at 17 he is the equivilant of a soon to be HIGH SCHOOL senior? Not you mention he is being pitted against all star guards that have at least 4 years of NBA experience. And LOL at the person that expected him to hold his own against J Kidd, just b/c he is mid 30's. J Kidd still holds the experience of going up against the best of the best and mid 30's isnt THAT old, for being one of the best point guards ever to play. Rubio at that age still has much to learn about the game. So yes he does have a high ceiling to get better.

When watching this game, I made an emphasis not to watch Rubio's stats, but rather his skills and athletic ability. Let's see...

1. Skills
-Shooting: Not good. Funky looking set shot (yes this can be corrected but old habits are hard to break...at least he's young though). We all know how pt guards that can't shoot do in the NBA...usually not good unless they have amazing athleticism.
- Dribbling: Average handles. Nothing spectacular. (I don't care about his youtube playground moves...most pros can do that stuff)
- Passing: Excellent court vision and seems to look to pass more than shoot. Most impressive part of his game. Does gamble a lot.

2. Athletic ability
- Speed: average at best.
- Quickness: again average. Will have trouble staying in front of many NBA guards on defense. On offense, did not display any explosiveness...ie creating his own shot off the dribble. Will need screens to get open or get his shot off. This what I was talking about with Jason Kidd...I say at this pt in his career, Kidd is about average or slightly above average in the NBA in terms of his speed/quickness (though he makes it up with experience and skill). Based on what I saw he didn't look much quicker than Jason Kidd.
- Jumping ability: hard to judge after one game...but definitely not a jump-out-of-the-gym type of guy.


Yes, judging him against these NBA allstars was not fair when purely looking at results. But throwing away the game results and his stats, and just judging him by his skills and athletic ability I still came away unimpressed, with the exception of his passing and his maturity at 17. He has the potential to be a good quality NBA pt guard, just not a superstar like Steve Nash that many people is projecting him to be. He still has time to grow, like PurpleHaze said above. I'll continue to watch him throughout the Olympics and see how he does...but those were my first impressions.

 

[Dime Dropper]

European White Chocolate? NO...Jason Williams has more talent and quickness than him, and Jason only became a slightly above average NBA point guard after he settled down.

This has to be the most ridiculous post I've seen on KF, and that takes some doing. Congratulations.

Two players on Spain were much more impressive. Rudy Fernandez and Reyes. Rudy Fernandez is going to be on Portland so the rich just got richer. Reyes was really surprising. He's got game and I wouldn't wind him being on the Kings. Pau Gausol is obviously an NBA star already.

Fernandez is 23. Six years older than Rubio. Meanwhile he had almost identical stats to Rubio vs USA (a little worse), while playing a minute more. He made alot of terrible decisions with the ball. Is he more mature and more athletic? Certainly. Is he better all round than Ricky (even at this stage)? Not a chance. I'm sorry but I'm sick of people making uneducated comments about Rubio when they've barely seen him play. His stats weren't amazing (obviously alot more to it than just stats), but 8/3/3/3 in just 18 minutes against a collection of the best players in the World - that's good. Especially for a 17 year old. I don't care what anyone says. He's not perfect, but saying someone like Jason Williams is more talented (when you're clearly basing Rubio off of one game ) is plain stupidity and reeks of arrogance.

People here aren't familiar with the European game - which is fine. I find it hilarious that people are "surprised" that Fernandez and Reyes are good players. They are among the best in Europe and have been for a long while (Reyes anyway), and some here are touting them as better prospects than Rubio simply because they're better right now. Reyes is 28. That's 11 years older than Rubio.

I'll say it again - Rubio is the best prospect Europe has ever produced. He's 17 for Christs sake and one of the best PGs in a League that's far superior to college in USA. All at 17. People are entitled to their opinions, and it's OK to not be hugely impressed with him, but the bottom line is most of you haven't seen him play more than a handful of games.

Rubio is twice the player Fernandez or Reyes were at his age. No NBA team would take any of them over Rubio.

- Dribbling: Average handles. Nothing spectacular. (I don't care about his youtube playground moves...most pros can do that stuff)

Yet another ridiculous comment. Rubio has an excellent handle. NBA scouts know it, anyone that watches him know it. He's already a better ball handler than alot of NBA PGs. Denying it is simply foolish. His turnovers (which he does need to improve on, among other things) come from youth, not lack of skill.

 

[Entity]

honestly 7 pages of this crap on a kid that will never dawn the kings uniform?

 

[Dime Dropper]

honestly 7 pages of this crap on a kid that will never dawn the kings uniform?

TDOS!

 

[PurpleHaze]

TDOS!

Ditto! Lots of NBA fan forums are on to Ricky Rubio. Rockets (Clutchfans.net) has had over 50 posts discussing him. They probably have much less chance of ever landing Rubio than Kings.

 

[ElRey]

This has to be the most ridiculous post I've seen on KF, and that takes some doing. Congratulations.






Fernandez is 23. Six years older than Rubio. Meanwhile he had almost identical stats to Rubio vs USA (a little worse), while playing a minute more. He made alot of terrible decisions with the ball. Is he more mature and more athletic? Certainly. Is he better all round than Ricky (even at this stage)? Not a chance. I'm sorry but I'm sick of people making uneducated comments about Rubio when they've barely seen him play. His stats weren't amazing (obviously alot more to it than just stats), but 8/3/3/3 in just 18 minutes against a collection of the best players in the World - that's good. Especially for a 17 year old. I don't care what anyone says. He's not perfect, but saying someone like Jason Williams is more talented (when you're clearly basing Rubio off of one game ) is plain stupidity and reeks of arrogance.

People here aren't familiar with the European game - which is fine. I find it hilarious that people are "surprised" that Fernandez and Reyes are good players. They are among the best in Europe and have been for a long while (Reyes anyway), and some here are touting them as better prospects than Rubio simply because they're better right now. Reyes is 28. That's 11 years older than Rubio.

I'll say it again - Rubio is the best prospect Europe has ever produced. He's 17 for Christs sake and one of the best PGs in a League that's far superior to college in USA. All at 17. People are entitled to their opinions, and it's OK to not be hugely impressed with him, but the bottom line is most of you haven't seen him play more than a handful of games.

Rubio is twice the player Fernandez or Reyes were at his age. No NBA team would take any of them over Rubio.






Yet another ridiculous comment. Rubio has an excellent handle. NBA scouts know it, anyone that watches him know it. He's already a better ball handler than alot of NBA PGs. Denying it is simply foolish. His turnovers (which he does need to improve on, among other things) come from youth, not lack of skill.

Wow...you're obviously madly in love with Rubio to be so pissed off...alright I'll just stop...I'll let the rest of you guys talk about him. Be warned though that you might be treated as if you just insulted their mother or something!

 

[FakeInjury]

It is simple. Rubio is a serviceable basketball player. If women and money and fame don't derail his development, he has the potential to be a starter. After a year of starting (without injuries), then he might start looking like a a stud. Today, at 18, he's frail, and b/c i am the same as rubio, i understand how difficult it can be playing ball, and being underweight. He has defensive knack. And a predisposition to pass the ball before looking to score. Sounds like Doug Christie to me. And I'm going to stick to that NBA comparison until he statistically surpasses Doug. Don't get me wrong, Doug was earning 7 million a year at one point, and so should Rubio, at some point. But today, he looks more like a kid than a real baller. I know he has flash and flare and ability, but, for all those things going for him he has things going against him. 1st, he didn't grow up in the united states(don't tell me that doesn't matter). 2nd, he never went to a Div.1 college and played against his PEER GROUP. 3rd, he looks like a twig. All three of those issues would be addressed if he were US born. Americans like our DIV. 1 schools and they like lifting weights. He has four more years to gain the pounds, so lets assume he is that good and that strong, and now a rookie, playing 30 minutes a night. potentially, he might have the chops, I wouldn't draft him higher than 7.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Wow...you're obviously madly in love with Rubio to be so pissed off...alright I'll just stop...I'll let the rest of you guys talk about him. Be warned though that you might be treated as if you just insulted their mother or something!

and then I just noticed this at the bottom of your post "Last edited by Warhawk; Today at 08:18 AM. Reason: Removing race-based comments" Wow...

Firstly, I'm not "in love" with Rubio. It's a debate (pretty much opinions), and I said in the above you're entitled to your view. Sorry if I came across agressive, not my intentions. You don't have to stop, as I've said you're completely entitled to have an opinion. I'm just saying don't jump to conclusions after seeing him play once or twice against the best competition in the world.

As far as the "Removing race-based comments", I made a reply to your comment on Rubios athleticism. I basically said that their aren't many freak white athletes, so it's no surprise that Rubio isn't a beast athletically. Have you been around here long? If you were you'd know I'm certainly not racist and would never make any racist comments. I realise that the edit at the bottom of my post might insinuate that, though.

It is simple. Rubio is a serviceable basketball player. If women and money and fame don't derail his development, he has the potential to be a starter. After a year of starting (without injuries), then he might start looking like a a stud. Today, at 18, he's frail, and b/c i am the same as rubio, i understand how difficult it can be playing ball, and being underweight. He has defensive knack. And a predisposition to pass the ball before looking to score. Sounds like Doug Christie to me. And I'm going to stick to that NBA comparison until he statistically surpasses Doug. Don't get me wrong, Doug was earning 7 million a year at one point, and so should Rubio, at some point. But today, he looks more like a kid than a real baller. I know he has flash and flare and ability, but, for all those things going for him he has things going against him. 1st, he didn't grow up in the united states(don't tell me that doesn't matter). 2nd, he never went to a Div.1 college and played against his PEER GROUP. 3rd, he looks like a twig. All three of those issues would be addressed if he were US born. Americans like our DIV. 1 schools and they like lifting weights. He has four more years to gain the pounds, so lets assume he is that good and that strong, and now a rookie, playing 30 minutes a night. potentially, he might have the chops, I wouldn't draft him higher than 7.

Rubio is 17.
Anyway, I disagree that him never going to a div.1 college will hurt him. He's playing at a higher level proffesionally against men. It's tougher than any college competition would be. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.
Anywho, you could be right about him, or I could be right about him. Right now we can't tell the future so we just don't know. We'll just have to form our own opinions. This can be re-visited in five years time.

 

[ElRey]

Firstly, I'm not "in love" with Rubio. It's a debate (pretty much opinions), and I said in the above you're entitled to your view. Sorry if I came across agressive, not my intentions. You don't have to stop, as I've said you're completely entitled to have an opinion. I'm just saying don't jump to conclusions after seeing him play once or twice against the best competition in the world.

As far as the "Removing race-based comments", I made a reply to your comment on Rubios athleticism. I basically said that their aren't many freak white athletes, so it's no surprise that Rubio isn't a beast athletically. Have you been around here long? If you were you'd know I'm certainly not racist and would never make any racist comments. I realise that the edit at the bottom of my post might insinuate that, though.

Warhawk clarified that your post wasn't racist or anything... so sorry for accusing you of that... It just certainly looked that way from the edit comment...

 

[bajaden]

Firstly, I'm not "in love" with Rubio. It's a debate (pretty much opinions), and I said in the above you're entitled to your view. Sorry if I came across agressive, not my intentions. You don't have to stop, as I've said you're completely entitled to have an opinion. I'm just saying don't jump to conclusions after seeing him play once or twice against the best competition in the world.

As far as the "Removing race-based comments", I made a reply to your comment on Rubios athleticism. I basically said that their aren't many freak white athletes, so it's no surprise that Rubio isn't a beast athletically. Have you been around here long? If you were you'd know I'm certainly not racist and would never make any racist comments. I realise that the edit at the bottom of my post might insinuate that, though.





Rubio is 17.
Anyway, I disagree that him never going to a div.1 college will hurt him. He's playing at a higher level proffesionally against men. It's tougher than any college competition would be. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.
Anywho, you could be right about him, or I could be right about him. Right now we can't tell the future so we just don't know. We'll just have to form our own opinions. This can be re-visited in five years time.

I don't quite agree with the college thing. I think from an intellectual point of view, your right, and it shouldn't hurt him. But from a preceptional point of view, I think it can hurt him. A lot of the european players are fleeing back across the pond. Some for more money, others because of lack of playing time or just not living up to expectations.

I believe that a lot of teams are going to take a harder look, before spending a high pick on a european player. To be honest, the failure rate on the top picks has been pretty high. It may be one of the reasons that Batum dropped, when most people projected him higher. There were only 4 european players taken in the first round this year and three of those were at the bottom of the round. Anyway, just a thought.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Ricky Rubio is not a "twig" as someone put it, he's not a typical skinny 17-year-old kid, and he is still only 17. He won't turn 18 for another two months. The fact that he could grow physically some more is astounding. He's lanky, but definitely not frail, with sturdy-sized bone structure. Standing next to Jason Kidd he was comparable in height and stature. Simply put, he has an acceptable NBA body RIGHT NOW at a very young 17 - which says a lot.

And to repeat what I said earlier; the fact that he will have 5 years of playing tough professional basketball against men before he ever plays a second in the NBA makes this teenager much more of a finished product than some typical NCAA entry playing one or two years of college ball. That's all I want to say about him until the 2010 NBA draft when Rubio will finally be eligible and everyone can see where he's at.

 

[RIP miyagi]

You do realize that at 17 he is the equivilant of a soon to be HIGH SCHOOL senior?

He's actually the equivalent of a college freshman because his birthday is in october, but nevertheless, the way that articles and websites have talked about him, its as if he is going to come in and revolutionize the game. I just didn't see that. No doubt hes a solid player, but number 1 overall pick? i don't agree with that.

 

[FakeInjury]

He is turnover prone. And 18 and 17 are practically the same thing. I could be right, and everyone could be right, is practically conceding the argument. I am right about his non impressive muscles, and about his turnover prone game. I believe he will be as good as the people around him. If he gets drafted by a team with good point guard who might teach him the ways of becoming an NBA level PG, then he should be fine. But I don't project him as a leader, considering English is his 2nd language, and do you guys think he will be respected by officials/players, until he proves to be valuable to the NBA. Lebron gets every call because if he goes down, so does the television ratings for all the games he misses. That also goes for Yao and Kobe, and a few others. Rubio has practically negative draw. His hands are weak, in a battle for a loose ball, he will not have a physical advantage. Where is his advantage? His PR-ability and his hair. END O' STORY

 

[PurpleHaze]

But I don't project him as a leader, considering English is his 2nd language, and do you guys think he will be respected by officials/players, until he proves to be valuable to the NBA. END O' STORY

That's rather absurd. Do you think Beno Udrih can't be a leader because English is his second language? Coach Theus doesn't think so and implies he may have more leadership skills than many other current Kings including Kevin Martin. There are countless examples of pro athletes who do not speak perfect English who are great leaders, well respected on their teams, plus some managers as well. Is Gov. Arnold Swartzenegger unable to lead in this state because English is his second language? Rubio may or may not get to great heights in the NBA, but language won't be any problem and he can earn respect just like tons of other international athletes playing in the USA.

 

[Dime Dropper]

He is turnover prone. And 18 and 17 are practically the same thing. I could be right, and everyone could be right, is practically conceding the argument. I am right about his non impressive muscles, and about his turnover prone game. I believe he will be as good as the people around him. If he gets drafted by a team with good point guard who might teach him the ways of becoming an NBA level PG, then he should be fine. But I don't project him as a leader, considering English is his 2nd language, and do you guys think he will be respected by officials/players, until he proves to be valuable to the NBA. Lebron gets every call because if he goes down, so does the television ratings for all the games he misses. That also goes for Yao and Kobe, and a few others. Rubio has practically negative draw. His hands are weak, in a battle for a loose ball, he will not have a physical advantage. Where is his advantage? His PR-ability and his hair. END O' STORY

I don't believe anyone has said he will be on the level of Kobe or LeBron. You're being ridiculous (becoming a trend, even out of this thread).

Their is no argument since we don't know how he will be in the NBA. At this point it's all speculations and opinions.

The fact that you think his advantage is his hair and his PR ability shows all you know about him. I'm sure the reason all us Euros like him so much (as well as NBA scouts) is because his hair and PR ability. Well done on that one.

"END O' STORY".

 

[Dime Dropper]

That's rather absurd. Do you think Beno Udrih can't be a leader because English is his second language? Coach Theus doesn't think so and implies he may have more leadership skills than many other current Kings including Kevin Martin. There are countless examples of pro athletes who do not speak perfect English who are great leaders, well respected on their teams, plus some managers as well. Is Gov. Arnold Swartzenegger unable to lead in this state because English is his second language? Rubio may or may not get to great heights in the NBA, but language won't be any problem and he can earn respect just like tons of other international athletes playing in the USA.

I think at this stage it's not even about Rubio for him. It's more about winning an argument. As suggested by his silly reasoning.