Minnesota Sports Forum

lipoli390 wrote:The Rubio-Dunn debate is ridiculous and boring. Rubio is a good starting NBA PG. Dunn is a college PG who aspires to be a good NBA PG. I like Dunn's potential, but neither his college stats nor anything I've seen from him on the court blow me away. Ideally both Ricky and Dunn will get a lot of minutes and contribute positively to a 40+ win season and playoff birth. If we believe draft night reports, Thibs was apparently anxious to trade both Rick and Dunn for Butler. Makes you wonder about how much Thibs values either one. But I like both of them and look forward to seeing both on the court together and separately.

Lip, you forgot to finish with how your done commenting on the Ricky/Dunn debate. Lol.
Just messing with ya.

I'm just tired of every time someone pumps up Dunn either pre-draft or now, in comes the "Ricky's better" people to the point people are actually comparing their scoring abilities like Ricky is a scorer in any capacity. He scored 27+ points once last year and Dunn did it in his first summer league game against an NBA backcourt in Mudiay/Murray/Harris. Meanwhile Ricky only managed 13 points against inferior versions of the same Mudiay and Harris twice last year. It is only one game, but I'm tired of every positive Dunn comment being met with heavy skepticism. That was an NBA backcourt we played last night, not just some D League backcourt. When we start against Denver, that is their starting backcourt and our backup combo guard outplayed them in his first professional action. But instead of being happy and/or thrilled our guy looks like a player we get met with, "well he's no Ricky" and "it's one game it doesn't mean anything."

lipoli390 wrote:The Rubio-Dunn debate is ridiculous and boring. Rubio is a good starting NBA PG. Dunn is a college PG who aspires to be a good NBA PG. I like Dunn's potential, but neither his college stats nor anything I've seen from him on the court blow me away. Ideally both Ricky and Dunn will get a lot of minutes and contribute positively to a 40+ win season and playoff birth. If we believe draft night reports, Thibs was apparently anxious to trade both Rick and Dunn for Butler. Makes you wonder about how much Thibs values either one. But I like both of them and look forward to seeing both on the court together and separately.

I tend to believe the reports that Thibs offered that package before Dunn fell to 5. I am assuming that a deal was near and when Dunn fell to 5, Thibs tried to change course and make a deal happen with another piece, likely LaVine, and the Bulls said no. Or maybe the Bulls were good with LaVine but Thibs offered Gorgui or Bazz instead. Either way I think trading Dunn was a deal breaker for the Wolves.

I agree totally Kahns, it's unfortunate. I get the Rubio fans are sick of me and others ripping on his game. But if Dunn's performance was had by Wes, DWill, Flynn or anyone else in their SL first game this board would be blowing up with enthusiasm. I wish the rest of the NBA felt like most do about Rubio's game but they don't or he would be traded.

khans2k5 wrote:I'm just tired of every time someone pumps up Dunn either pre-draft or now, in comes the "Ricky's better" people to the point people are actually comparing their scoring abilities like Ricky is a scorer in any capacity. He scored 27+ points once last year and Dunn did it in his first summer league game against an NBA backcourt in Mudiay/Murray/Harris. Meanwhile Ricky only managed 13 points against inferior versions of the same Mudiay and Harris twice last year. It is only one game, but I'm tired of every positive Dunn comment being met with heavy skepticism. That was an NBA backcourt we played last night, not just some D League backcourt. When we start against Denver, that is their starting backcourt and our backup combo guard outplayed them in his first professional action. But instead of being happy and/or thrilled our guy looks like a player we get met with, "well he's no Ricky" and "it's one game it doesn't mean anything."

Oh spare us all the drama, Kahns. And yes, it doesn't mean anything.

Duke13 wrote:I agree totally Kahns, it's unfortunate. I get the Rubio fans are sick of me and others ripping on his game. But if Dunn's performance was had by Wes, DWill, Flynn or anyone else in their SL first game this board would be blowing up with enthusiasm. I wish the rest of the NBA felt like most do about Rubio's game but they don't or he would be traded.

Boy, seems like there was plenty of enthusiasm for Dunn's performance. But it's summer league and we've seen the likes of Randy Foye win summer league MVP, so yeah, there is cautious optimism.

I think what us Rubio fans are sick of are folks like you, Pork, and Khans flat out ignoring facts about how Rubio impacts games in positive ways simply because he doesn't fit a template of what you think an NBA PG should play like.

Now if Dunn ultimately outplays Rubio, anyone that is a fan of this team would consider that a high-class problem to have.

Duke13 wrote:I agree totally Kahns, it's unfortunate. I get the Rubio fans are sick of me and others ripping on his game. But if Dunn's performance was had by Wes, DWill, Flynn or anyone else in their SL first game this board would be blowing up with enthusiasm. I wish the rest of the NBA felt like most do about Rubio's game but they don't or he would be traded.

You don't think this board is blowing up with enthusiasm, Duke? Man, go back and reread the thread...the kid played great last night, and it's reflected in most of the comments about him here. I can assure you that if you went back and read the game thread from Game 1 last summer, the comments about KAT would not be nearly as enthusiastic as the ones here about Dunn.

Now, along with the "Dunn was great and has a nice future" posts, there are also several "he's not nearly ready to take over for Rubio". I sense you find these comments inconsistent, but most of us find them both to be true.

Wow, what a crazy game between the Sixers and Lakers. First off, the place was packed, mostly with Laker fans. It is really amazing how the Vegas Summer League is THE event of the summer for NBA fanatics. A few observations:

- For all the hype and crowd anticipation going into the game, the first quarter was a comedy of errors. Just horrifically sloppy play, clanked shots, and turnovers all over the place. That's summer league for you.

- Simmons damn near put up a triple double. He will be one of the best passers in the NBA day one. He has the type of floor vision we saw from Rubio as a rookie. He also has the same propensity to pass up shots when he really should be looking to score, which led to quite a few turnovers. He has zero confidence in his outside shot.

- Despite the promise Simmons shows, I think the Sixers will still be a total disaster. They have such a cluster f@#k situation along their front line with literally no legit floor spacers. Simmons just adds to the problem since he is unwilling/can't shoot and needs the paint opened up for his drives and dishes.

- Ingram struggled, but he had just played last night and probably wasn't quite ready to play in front of a packed house. The Sixers made a point of guarding him hard. And damn, is he skinny. I don't see how he can guard NBA 3's without getting pushed around.

- Larry Nance made some highlight reel dunks and was all over the floor. It was fun hearing the Lakers faithful chant "Larry! Larry! Larry!" every time he did something good.

- D'Angelo Russell probably shouldn't be playing in this venue. It seems odd to me that the #2 pick that played 2,000+ minutes of action last year would be playing in the summer league. He struggled early, but caught fire late in the game and led the Lakers to a comeback win with a last second 3.

You're shortchanging Simmons, q...he was damn close to a quadruple double with his 7 TOs! Yeah, he's fun to watch and will be a dynamic player someday, but I think his rookie year will be a disaster. Poor shooting and carelessness with the basketball will really hold him back.

ROY is a crap shoot this year, as I think the most NBA-ready of the top 5 picks is our guy Dunn...we could have 3 in a row! Simmons or Ingram may end up with the award, because they are the only 2 of the first 10 picks that I think will get consistent starter's minutes. But Dunn has been by far the most impressive rookie I have seen in the early going.

Agree on Simmons, I really his long term potential but man his reluctance to shoot is more than I thought. He has zero confidence. I agree with Penn when they said he shot isn't broke, mental he has zero confidence. Interesting to see how that progresses, but man can he create and pass though, wow!