Rondo trade

[Porckchop]

Its been pointed out that Ricky is better served playing with athletes, guys that can catch on the move. Pek is better recieving the ball while stationary and using his strength to get position. Love is better coming off screens or backing his guy down to gain position. Neither one of those guys can maximize Rickys ability. Can any coach make those two more athletic?
If Rickys best supporting cast is those two he may never realize his potential as a playmaker. Let alone putting all his energy into learning to shoot.

[Lipoli390]

I sure would love to have Rondo's 48% career shooting mark from the field while keeping practically everything else about Rubio... It's night and day those two players in terms of finishing around the rim.

Never mind Rondo's horrible 62% free throw percentage and equally horrible three-point percentage. Never mind his untested knee. Never mind his attitude issues. Yeas, he finishes well on dribble penetration, which accounts for his 48% FG accuracy. And you know I put a huge premium on that particular skill. But you have to look at the total picture when considering swapping the 23 year old Ricky for Rondo. And you'd have to consider trading Pekovic if we add another guy without a perimeter shot to spread the floor. I can think of worse deals than Ricky for Rondo. But the deal would not necessarily be a great deal for the Wolves when looking at all the factors.

[Porckchop]

So no one is concerned with Rickys past injury? Since Rondos seems to be a bit of a deal breaker. Injuries happen. Id be more concerned if we were talking about 7fters hauling around 275lbs.

[Papalrep]

I think we tend to fixate on the weaknesses of our key players, then overvalue another player that has that attribute as a strength. That's how Asik suddenly becomes better than Pek to some fans

Well played sir

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Its been pointed out that Ricky is better served playing with athletes, guys that can catch on the move. Pek is better recieving the ball while stationary and using his strength to get position. Love is better coming off screens or backing his guy down to gain position. Neither one of those guys can maximize Rickys ability. Can any coach make those two more athletic?

OK, now we're getting into pure mythology. So Ricky is paired with probably the most potent frontcourt PF/C tandem in the NBA offensively, yet this is somehow a disadvantage to Ricky because neither can jump high? Ricky is constantly getting these guys the ball where they like it. I guess we could bring Ryan Hollins back for Pek and Derrick Williams for Love!

The fact remains that the #1 thing holding Ricky back is Ricky himself. He has one major hole in his game - shots off the dribble. Having better athletes around him will do nothing to fix this.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I don't think Pek/Asik and Rubio/Rondo are relative comparions. Reason being that Pek and Asik aren't the same mold of players. Rubio's potential is that of a Rajon Rondo, or slightly higher. Those two play the game pretty similarly whereas Pekovic and Asik are polar opposites. We can go back and forth about Pek's scoring and Asik's defense, but where's the major difference in how Rubio and Rondo play? I don't see it. Think Rondo does what Rubio does better, though he's not as good a 3P shooter or FT shooter as Rubio. At the end of the day, I think we're a better team/core with Rondo than Rubio.

[Porckchop]

Its been pointed out that Ricky is better served playing with athletes, guys that can catch on the move. Pek is better recieving the ball while stationary and using his strength to get position. Love is better coming off screens or backing his guy down to gain position. Neither one of those guys can maximize Rickys ability. Can any coach make those two more athletic?

OK, now we're getting into pure mythology. So Ricky is paired with probably the most potent frontcourt PF/C tandem in the NBA offensively, yet this is somehow a disadvantage to Ricky because neither can jump high? Ricky is constantly getting these guys the ball where they like it. I guess we could bring Ryan Hollins back for Pek and Derrick Williams for Love!

The fact remains that the #1 thing holding Ricky back is Ricky himself. He has one major hole in his game - shots off the dribble. Having better athletes around him will do nothing to fix this.

Oh I agree, I think most on here would confirm I think Ricky is Rickys biggest problem. My point was that its not coaching. Adelman cant let Ricky dribble around and do what he does best cuz he doesnt have the athletic players around him to do that with. Is there a coach in the league that can maximize Rickys ability as a playmaker with Love and Pek as his best scorers!

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Its been pointed out that Ricky is better served playing with athletes, guys that can catch on the move. Pek is better recieving the ball while stationary and using his strength to get position. Love is better coming off screens or backing his guy down to gain position. Neither one of those guys can maximize Rickys ability. Can any coach make those two more athletic?

OK, now we're getting into pure mythology. So Ricky is paired with probably the most potent frontcourt PF/C tandem in the NBA offensively, yet this is somehow a disadvantage to Ricky because neither can jump high? Ricky is constantly getting these guys the ball where they like it. I guess we could bring Ryan Hollins back for Pek and Derrick Williams for Love!

The fact remains that the #1 thing holding Ricky back is Ricky himself. He has one major hole in his game - shots off the dribble. Having better athletes around him will do nothing to fix this.

Oh I agree, I think most on here would confirm I think Ricky is Rickys biggest problem. My point was that its not coaching. Adelman cant let Ricky dribble around and do what he does best cuz he doesnt have the athletic players around him to do that with. Is there a coach in the league that can maximize Rickys ability as a playmaker with Love and Pek as his best scorers!

I wouldn't put anything past Popovich. :D

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Cam, While I agree that Rondo is currently the better player than Rubio, there are some mitigating factors here. First, he's older and has reached his ceiling for all intents and purposes. And while Rubio isn't exactly a spring chicken anymore, I still think there is some runway for improvement. Second, Rondo is owed another $13M in salary next season. I don't think he's worth that much. And lastly, probably what this team needs more than better finishers are better long-range shooters. Rondo does nothing to help us in this area whereas Rubio has at least shown some potential as a set shooter. We can build off of that. I just don't see Rondo's current level of play outweighing these other factors.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Its been pointed out that Ricky is better served playing with athletes, guys that can catch on the move. Pek is better recieving the ball while stationary and using his strength to get position. Love is better coming off screens or backing his guy down to gain position. Neither one of those guys can maximize Rickys ability. Can any coach make those two more athletic?

OK, now we're getting into pure mythology. So Ricky is paired with probably the most potent frontcourt PF/C tandem in the NBA offensively, yet this is somehow a disadvantage to Ricky because neither can jump high? Ricky is constantly getting these guys the ball where they like it. I guess we could bring Ryan Hollins back for Pek and Derrick Williams for Love!

The fact remains that the #1 thing holding Ricky back is Ricky himself. He has one major hole in his game - shots off the dribble. Having better athletes around him will do nothing to fix this.

Oh I agree, I think most on here would confirm I think Ricky is Rickys biggest problem. My point was that its not coaching. Adelman cant let Ricky dribble around and do what he does best cuz he doesnt have the athletic players around him to do that with. Is there a coach in the league that can maximize Rickys ability as a playmaker with Love and Pek as his best scorers!

Got it. But I think you over-value athleticism and undervalue the ability to actually make shots. PGs need guys that can make their shots. How often over the past few seasons have we seen Ricky kick the ball out to the corner, only to see the recipient clank it off the rim? Great passers benefit just as much from great shooters as they do from elite athletes that can throw down their passes for dunks. And I'm not sure who you are watching, but not even many of the athletic Centers can exhibit the timing and footwork of Pek on the pick and roll. That guy has gotten tons of points off Ricky dump offs in the pick and roll while on the move. If Budinger ever gets his shot to start falling again, I think putting him, Martin, Pek, and Love out there with Ricky would make for a very difficult offense to stop. Defense on the other hand.....