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@Kyle

that’s why I was asking if “anyone wanted him”. I don’t see Presti enamored with anyone that unrefined – at least Thabeet actually did something in college . . .

Rubio > > Love

Love is untouchable by his team. The only way you pull away an untouchable from a team is to over-give.

I think you are missing a big point posted by other guys… When building a team, you take best available if its that much better than the rest. If Rubio really is that much better then you have to take him and go from there. You want your team as strong as possible, first and 2nd team. Think about how much stronger we would be down the road if we had the privelage of having westbrook be a 6th man? That’s what championship teams do. We can’t cause we don’t have enough talent yet. San Antonio? They have Manu as 6th man because they can. Our overall talent would be greater, and we would put pressure on a team with 1st or 2nd team in.

And we don’t need to fix our C position RIGHT NOW if its not there. We can’t force the issue like our old GM (Swift, Petro, Sene) they kept drafting centers trying to fix a problem instead of realizing none of them would fix the problem and did’nt stockpile talent, thus they sucked…

There is a pretty strong center class potentially in next years draft. We could easily have our pick from a few with 2 draft picks in the 1st round and get a good one to build with a very strong roster.

there is a rumor that we are trading the #25 and next year’s #1 from Phoenix to get the #14 this year . . .

this makes no sense . . .

Phoenix might be trading two of their three key pieces, Amare and Shaq, for cap reasons. They have a good shot at being in the mid to high lottery next year. We are going to move up to #14 to take Mullens?? He’s a benchwarmer for three years – minimum . . .

I still don’t like Rubio in OKC…

“Thanks for trying Russ but we want Rubio to drive our franchise for the next 10 years”

Moving Westbrook to SG will hurt his confidence and his potential. There’s no doubt he can be a terrific defender against PGs, can we say the same thing against SGs ? And no one wants a backcourt unable to hit a jumper efficiently, and right now Rubio and Westbrook can’t shoot efficiently.

Maybe OKC is just trying to send a message to the NBA : you want Rubio ? Let’s talk trade…

As far as I’m concerned Harden is the pick.

it’s not about Westbrook – it’s about the team. Anyone that has seen Rubio for more than five minutes knows he’s a better poing guard. Period. It’s not even a debate. I like what Kyle said, maybe down the road when we are a contending, RW is a 5th man – nothing wrong with that. You can’t be worried about someone’s confidence . . .

@Kev
My bad kev, thought since it was after my post you were asking me…Respect your thoughts and opinions here cause you know your stuff like i do and i appreciate that haha

Mullens is actually an athletic freak. He was #1 overall in the rivals class last year due to his feet, hands and athleticism. His motor is what they question (something I don’t like to hear)

I agree with you on the trade, that’s what I had in my last post. Why give up a potential high lottery pick. Worst case Phoenix won’t do better than 20th, so we only lose a couple spots, but they COULD do horrible.

There is a strong Center class next year that I would love to have a pick for and also have another 1st round to get another fabulous player that we could come off the bench…

HERE THAT?!?! After all these drafts and aqcuisitions, we could be drafting top talent for our bench because we could be so stacked!! Oh the potential!! haha I’m getting giddy with our future.

And to make myself clear, I like Harden as much as Rubio. I know Rubio has more potential, but Harden is just hand in hand Brandon Roy… Same game, same demeanor, and right before the draft he just wasn’t that hot. Roy dropped to 6, Harden is looking at 5 or 6. I don’t want to see Brandon Roy just wave on by as we pass him up when he could fit well with this team.

But as I said, we are REBUILDING. I want to add as much talent to this roster as possible no matter what position.

these next 48 hours or so are unbearable . . .

there seems to be ALOT more trade talk and actual trades . . .

Kyle :And to make myself clear, I like Harden as much as Rubio. I know Rubio has more potential, but Harden is just hand in hand Brandon Roy… Same game, same demeanor, and right before the draft he just wasn’t that hot. Roy dropped to 6, Harden is looking at 5 or 6. I don’t want to see Brandon Roy just wave on by as we pass him up when he could fit well with this team.
But as I said, we are REBUILDING. I want to add as much talent to this roster as possible no matter what position.

agreed . . . just keep adding good players (no Thabeet) . . .

Kev :
it’s not about Westbrook – it’s about the team. Anyone that has seen Rubio for more than five minutes knows he’s a better poing guard. Period. It’s not even a debate. I like what Kyle said, maybe down the road when we are a contending, RW is a 5th man – nothing wrong with that. You can’t be worried about someone’s confidence . . .

I’ve seen Rubio and I’m not convinced.

He was supposed to be the man with Badalona this year with Fernandez leaving and he had an off year. Injuries can explain a few things but he was really far from being dominant.

IMO a Westbrook-Harden backcourt just kills Rubio-Westbrook. If you want Rubio just trade Westbrook for a better fit.

@Jules
Russ was one of the only rookies in NBA history to average 15-5-5. He was the only rookie with a triple-double, iirc.

Sure he has a lot to learn, but players of his age tend to make the biggest leap between their first and second seasons.

And I absolutely think Westbrook and Rubio could play together. Defensively, it works like a dream, because Russ/Rubio/Thabo would be able to guard virtually any guard combination in the league. Offensively, I’m sure Brooks can find some creative ways to find Russ cutting to the basket, and we’re also assuming Russ’s shooting doesn’t improve in the offseason.

Drafting Rubio would immediately make OKC one of the most talented and versatile young teams in the league.

@Bob

Why is everybody freaking out?! This is the best thing that could happen. It will be truly special to watch Durant and Rubio grow together. It’s a rare thing to have two prodigees. A 21st century Stockton and Malone — much more speed…

There is no reason to ‘break up’ the band. Westbrook is a combo guard, period. Whether he plays point, or two guard, he’s going to have to improve on his shooting; if he weren’t capable of that, he wouldn’t be in the NBA. He’s a professional. He will get over being moved to two when he realizes what they have. Moreover, he has the size and athleticisms to lock down other two guards. He’s also active with steals and rebounds to get the break started…

Rubio is 6’4” which means they have plenty of size between them. He’s only 18! Why are people so concerned about shooting? He shot 37% from international 3 pt. line (longer than NCAA) while playing with wrist injuries against grown men. Harden shot 36% in the NCAA, so unless they take Curry, this is irrelavant field of comparison.

Finally, Rubio will feed Durant, Green, and Westbrook with incredible precision, and make them significantly better. Everybody likes to play with someone like that. With Durant’s range there will be plenty of spacing.

Nice blog friend. Really awesome. I just read the postings. I found this interesting.