Why Rubio is Petrie's guy

by coachtheus on Jun 23, 2009 12:40 AM PDT Comment 5 comments

(I posted this in a thread but figured it was long enough to stand on its own.)

On why this is a giant, and hopefully masterful misdirection play on Petrie's part...

- GP usually NEVER leaks this amount of information (not only their opinions on the workouts but opening up clips of workouts to the public and mainstream media)
- there has been a TREMENDOUS amount of misdirection about who we’re taking, even if we assume that they actually do not really like Rubio
- we gain a large deal of leverage over Memphis and OKC if we do not exhibit interest in Rubio. Each team really likes a couple of guys and it is no guarantee that they will have a guy on their list at the trade down spot if they go to #6 or lower. Therefore their safest best bet is getting the Kings to move up a couple of spots and get a guy they would have taken at #2 anyways, plus a pick and/or an expiring.
- Rubio is typically Petrie’s type of guy. Amazing passer, fundamentally sound, not extremely athletic (which Petrie often has overlooked in the past), very high hoops IQ. I think we tend to forget this. Rubio is almost like what Petrie would make if he could craft a point guard from scratch.
- Concerning Jonny Flynn – since when has Petrie been sold on leadership as a determining factor for a draft pick? (See Williams, Jason…leadership ain’t exactly getting kicked off your college team for smoking the reefer). And also, since Flynn by all accounts got severely outplayed in his workout by Jennings, why would our interest in him go up higher once we saw him? Intangible factors and the like. Fantastic intangibles, sound like someone else we know?

Bottom line, if Rubio’s there at four, no way we don’t take him. If he’s not, who knows. I have no idea at all. I think it’s a three dog race between Flynn/Evans/Curry if we’re looking for either a pure PG, the best player available, or the biggest upside, respectively. (Yes, I think Curry has the biggest upside…if he learns how to play point guard at the NBA level, he will be unlike just about every other point guard in NBA history in that he would be an elite scorer along with being a good distributor and all. It’s iffy, but I think he can pull it off.)

(This is a FanPost from a member of the Sactown Royalty community. The views expressed come from the member, and not Sactown Royalty staff.)

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Memphis supposedly has interest in Evans too

It makes sense that info is getting linked that the Kings now like Evans because that might prevent the Grizzlies from trading down. I think the Kings believe neither OKC or Memphis wants Rubio so they’re putting a lot of misinformation out there to keep them confused. Most teams won’t trade out of their spot unless they think their guy will still be there later.

by abasketballfan on Jun 23, 2009 2:00 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

agree with everything except for the flynn leadership dynamic.

your statement about petrie and his lack of a desire for leadership is off base. the reason why leadership is such a big factor for the kings in 2009 is because we do not have any vlade’s, christie’s, or webber’s on the team. sometimes you need a dawg on your team. if flynn has the type of mentality that will get in someone’s face, lead, and bring some toughness to the kings, i’m all for it.

by kingsbruins02 on Jun 23, 2009 9:50 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree on a few points..

… I think all the media access and video clips are a by-product of having the worst team in the league the previous year. The Kings are trying to generate interest and sell tickets. A major push of their season ticket sales campaign has been about adding a high draft pick. I doubt this is part of some Petrie/Kings slight of hand to fool other front offices. I also think the Petrie is too much of a straight shooting, old-school type of GM to get into all the cloak and dagger misdirection people want to believe. It has never been his MO in his long tenure here. People might be using this thinking to rationalize why the Kings may not have the same infatuation with Rubio. The various quotes attributed to anonymous Kings front office sources probably accurately reflect the real opinion of that person(s) and are not smoke. I would bet the opinions, as reported, within the scouting department are all over the place on Rubio

Also, it is a fallacy from my point of view to try to peg Petrie as having a certain type of player he drafts for. His picks have been all over the place from raw athletic talents like Oliver St Jean and Gerald Wallace, to tough scrappers like Brian Grant and Anthony Johnson, and of course shooters like Peja and Quincy Douby. The patten I see is that he grabs who he feels is the best player regardless of position or skill set. If it is Rubio that’s who the Kings go with. Petrie will keep everything as close to the vest as possible but not with all the smoke and mirrors…

Damn you Robert Horry!!!

by chupacabara on Jun 23, 2009 10:43 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

so other than griffin, who is the best?

rubio is unathetic, flynn is short, evans isn’t a point, holliday isn’t mentally ready, jennings has a big mouth, lawson has reached his peack, mills is a back up. maybe we should avoid a point guard altogether and get DeRozan or Williams or Clark.

by Ice_9ine on Jun 23, 2009 11:26 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You're throwing out a lot of generalities out there ice..

… I wouldn’t call Rubio unathletic. Sure he isn’t a physical freak like Vince Carter but he is no stiff either. WIth his length and quickness I don’t think he should have any problems matching up physically with most point guards in the league. He should only get thicker and stronger as he ages. Flynn is short but that was the same knock on Chris Paul. I don’t know how you can say Lawson has peaked or Mills is a backup. Lawson might be the next Rumeal Robinson but that remains to be seen and who knows what the ceiling is on Mills.

Damn you Robert Horry!!!

by chupacabara on Jun 23, 2009 12:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs