For The Sake of Equal Treatment

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

So when do we replace Rubio then? Since he can't shoot. We need someone at PG that can shoot. 2015 draft? Got it.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I feel like every third post I point out that Ricky is statistically one of the worst shooters in the league. But he's actually shooting even worse than his career 35%, at barely 29%. What's crazier is HE'S TAKING MORE SHOTS! This is including from 3, where he's shooting just 25%. It's only been a few games. And I understand he needs to shoot sometimes if he's wide open in the flow of the offense. But he's been taking some really dumb shots so far this year. Needs to get it under control a little more.

[slimcalhoun27 [enjin:6640095]]

Rondo is a terrible shooter, but knows what he is good at and not good at. If Rubio can make 15 foot jumpers, then thats all he should be shooting. Attack and attack and create if nothing else. Him, Shved are junk right now in regards to shot.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Man, so many on this board have been proclaiming Rubio as an automatic MAX player for the Wolves ever since we declined Love's 5th year. He is simply nowhere NEAR that type of player, and frankly, I don't think he ever sniffs that arena from a talent level. While he is a solid defender and great passer, his inability to shoot can at times completely negate his playmaking ability. You watch guys like Westbrook and Paul and they are simply in a different stratosphere from a talent and game-impact perspective. A max (or near max) guy has to be able to dominate several areas of the game for you, and Rubio is simply not that type of player. I, like most, have been praying that Rubio's shot would get better. But the sad reality is that this guy has been a professional basketball player for going on 6-7 years now, and has yet to improve that aspect of his game. I think at this point, we have seen what Rubio has to offer as a shooter. I still really like the guy, but he is becoming a complementary piece of this team, and not a star.

[mjs34]

Funny part Hicks, is that he is a better piece than Pek, and he just got 12 mil a year!

[AbeVigodaLive]

1. Pekovic. I've noted it before, everything sort of needs to be ideal for Pekovic to be consistently effective, based on his history in the L. He just doesn't have the length nor athleticism to make up for it when it's not. In the past when he hasn't been 100% healthy, he's struggled mightily. He might be healthy... but that doesn't mean everything is good. Remember, his contract talks dragged on. And it's been noted that his conditioning was off because his agent wisely told him to do anything except get injured during this time. So...

2. Ricky Rubio. Ugh. We all like the kid. (even if some might have claimed Drew and I haven't in the past.) But, the shooting... oh good gawd... the shooting. Nobody in modern NBA history has shot as poorly as he has for as long as he has and been a key player on a team... or even a long-term contributor on a team. So, we're in uncharted waters now. We're looking for an outlier that goes against 50 years of NBA history.

3. Still very early in the season. No reason to get too excited or too upset about anything. BUT... does anybody still hold realistic 2nd Rd. playoff aspirations with this club? Call me an alarmist... or crazy... but if you're arguably the best PF in the league and have animosity toward the ownership of your current club... and don't see how your current team has a chance to be in the top half of the playoff chase... and you have an out (per current NBA philosophies) to join a team that offers more opportunity for long-term success...

Ugh.

Among the longest-tenured Wolves followers, "The Promise of Hope. Version 8.0" is probably too much to bear. And the thought of the first competitive Wolves team in a decade breaking up is terrifying, maddening and fucking horribly sad.

But, MIGHT it be the "best" move for the long-term of the franchise in the end. (still too soon to do... but is it too soon to think about?)

[Phenom]

It's certainly not good that every time Ricky shoots, I'm begging the basketball gods to make it go in. I do have some hope though. Ricky is being asked to be more of a scorer, which is out of his comfort zone. he is forcing the issue a lot and its hurting the team right now but hopefully he will figure it out

as for pek, I am hoping that this is just a case of the league adjusting to his game and being overly physical with him. hopefully he can make adjustments for that

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Is anybody truly surprised by Pek's struggles? It was rumored at the end of last season (brought up by Zach Harper on his podcast recently) that Pek didn't finish the season because he wasn't going to play for us to risk injury going into the offseason without a contract. Then you add that he was holding out on the contract because he didn't want to play for his home country this offseason (hence why his agent was high balling all summer until there was clearly not enough time to join the team and play which just so happened to coincide with him signing very soon after that time frame). The guy wanted to get paid and not play ball. He could have easily got the 12 mil a year deal sooner and played for his country. He is now coming off as lazy and I don't imagine it getting better now that he has been paid. He clearly isn't in shape yet and he didn't have anything to do this offseason except get paid and come to camp in shape. This is the same guy that should have been a first round pick, but somehow managed to drop to the second round where he could sign a rookie deal for 4 million a year instead of the 1 million a year he would be forced to make in the late first round. I wonder how that happened? The guy has been about the money his whole career and has coasted on the fact that he is big to put up decent numbers. Now that he has been paid, I don't see him improving in the ways we need him to after giving him 12 million a year.

You're supposed to get better after you get paid, and right now his shooting percentage is 13% worse than last year on 1 less shot per game and his turnovers are up 1 per game over last year. He didn't show up prepared this year to take the next step and that is what is expected of someone who makes that much money after we took such a big risk on him because of his injury history. His PER last year was 20.26. This year it is 8.38. PER is built for players like PEK that rebound and shoot at higher percentages and he has been flat out bad in that stat this year which is troubling. I just hope he changes my mind.

[Coolbreeze44]

3. Still very early in the season. No reason to get too excited or too upset about anything. BUT... does anybody still hold realistic 2nd Rd. playoff aspirations with this club? Call me an alarmist... or crazy... but if you're arguably the best PF in the league and have animosity toward the ownership of your current club... and don't see how your current team has a chance to be in the top half of the playoff chase... and you have an out (per current NBA philosophies) to join a team that offers more opportunity for long-term success...

Ugh.

Among the longest-tenured Wolves followers, "The Promise of Hope. Version 8.0" is probably too much to bear. And the thought of the first competitive Wolves team in a decade breaking up is terrifying, maddening and fucking horribly sad.

But, MIGHT it be the "best" move for the long-term of the franchise in the end. (still too soon to do... but is it too soon to think about?)

Abe, this team is not of 2nd round playoff quality and I've mentioned that several times before. I've also mentioned that there really isn't much hope for that in the future. At one point it looked like we had a real chance to make a
run to the top, but too many squandered assets later and too little assets going forward have us locked into the NBA's version of no man's land. In this league the last thing you want to be is "decent". That's what we are. Good enough to make a run at the playoffs but not advance, and not bad enough to be able to improve through the draft. We are completely land locked at this point. And I hate to admit it, but you're point about Love maybe having to leave so that things can get better isn't too far fetched. The sad thing is how many of us have the patience to want to go through another rebuilding era so close to the most recent one.

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

LMAO......Did someone mention 2nd round of the playoffs?!?!?!?!?!?!?! You guys are funny. We haven't had a winning team in about 10 years and you guys are talking about the second round of the playoffs. Who is the last team to have 9 losing seasons in a row and then make to make the second round of the playoffs?

Come back to reality people.