Minnesota Sports Forum

Duke13 wrote:I didn't see that monster.

Cool. it was a long post. :)

That take is worth bringing up again becaue think Jim has such a balanced take on that podcast being so real about how they likely should move on and get better at that position. This isn't a new take for him either, but he also expressed a part of him that wants to see Rubio stay here and see if that magical couple months could be a turning point. He was obviously plenty skeptical. Jon said he didn't see just dumping him unless they had a better option which Jim agreed emphatically to.

I also thought it was really interesting how Jim said Rubio was a guy that last year was more of a leader including chewing guys out for not doing their jobs. Jon seemed to agree with everything Jim said and vise-versa. I thought one of the problems in the past is that Rubio hasn't been enough of a leader. I don't think he will ever be THE leader of a team but he has to be more vocal on and off the court to get the most out of all he can bring regardless of whether he is here or at the next stop. I do remembering him getting into guys here and there even the previous year but it sounds like that was more frequent this year my guess is that it was happening more around the 2nd half of the season.

khans2k5 wrote:

TeamRicky wrote:I don't think signing Lowry is a good use of our capspace. Lowry actually blossomed at about the age Ricky is now, so those who think Ricky can't get better should look at Lowry's career stat trajectory. But Lowry's strength is shooting but on this team he'd be the 4th option. And other than his shooting, he really isn't better than Ricky. And Lowry is 31 and Ricky is 26 so the age gap and the pay gap are definitely in Ricky's favor. Further, too many scorers causes team chemistry issues. Ricky and Dieng are good glue guys because they dont worry if they dont get as many shots. Lowry's shots would cost Wiggins and Butler shots and this could create an OKC situation. We need a vastly improved bench more than a change at point guard.

Come on. Lowry was all-NBA in 2016 and Ricky can't even sniff an all-star game. Lowry is a significantly better player than Ricky. You really overvalue how good Ricky is because of one stat.

I never said Lowry wasn't a better point guard than Ricky. Lowry is presently better. However, Ricky is 26 and there are several examples of point guards taking a big step forward at the age that Ricky is now (Lowry, Nash, Kidd). I expect much more improvement from Ricky as a shooter and, if so, he might become as good, if not, better than Lowry, especially as Lowry heads toward his mid 30s. I dont think its crazy to expect Ricky to elevate his shooting percentages to 35% or better on 3s and 41% or better on field goals. If he does that and keeps being an elite passer, excellent rebounder and plus defender, Ricky could be very valuable to have.

Team Ricky, were you a Wolves fan before Rubio became a member of the team? Will you be one after he leaves?

TeamRicky wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

TeamRicky wrote:I don't think signing Lowry is a good use of our capspace. Lowry actually blossomed at about the age Ricky is now, so those who think Ricky can't get better should look at Lowry's career stat trajectory. But Lowry's strength is shooting but on this team he'd be the 4th option. And other than his shooting, he really isn't better than Ricky. And Lowry is 31 and Ricky is 26 so the age gap and the pay gap are definitely in Ricky's favor. Further, too many scorers causes team chemistry issues. Ricky and Dieng are good glue guys because they dont worry if they dont get as many shots. Lowry's shots would cost Wiggins and Butler shots and this could create an OKC situation. We need a vastly improved bench more than a change at point guard.

Come on. Lowry was all-NBA in 2016 and Ricky can't even sniff an all-star game. Lowry is a significantly better player than Ricky. You really overvalue how good Ricky is because of one stat.

I never said Lowry wasn't a better point guard than Ricky. Lowry is presently better. However, Ricky is 26 and there are several examples of point guards taking a big step forward at the age that Ricky is now (Lowry, Nash, Kidd). I expect much more improvement from Ricky as a shooter and, if so, he might become as good, if not, better than Lowry, especially as Lowry heads toward his mid 30s. I dont think its crazy to expect Ricky to elevate his shooting percentages to 35% or better on 3s and 41% or better on field goals. If he does that and keeps being an elite passer, excellent rebounder and plus defender, Ricky could be very valuable to have.

Ricky has been a professional basketball player for 10 years now. His 26 is just not the same as the other guys you mention. He's had years more time to learn to shoot and hasn't done it. Why is this the year he learns how to shoot? We have 2 months versus 9 years and 10 months that say otherwise. And those 2 months came when he was the third option and now he's back down to 4. Also you specifically said outside of shooting, Lowry isn't really better than Ricky. So if the difference between a middle of the pack PG and an all-NBA PG is shooting, then it must be a pretty damn important skill for your primary ball handler to possess.

khans2k5 wrote:

TeamRicky wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

TeamRicky wrote:I don't think signing Lowry is a good use of our capspace. Lowry actually blossomed at about the age Ricky is now, so those who think Ricky can't get better should look at Lowry's career stat trajectory. But Lowry's strength is shooting but on this team he'd be the 4th option. And other than his shooting, he really isn't better than Ricky. And Lowry is 31 and Ricky is 26 so the age gap and the pay gap are definitely in Ricky's favor. Further, too many scorers causes team chemistry issues. Ricky and Dieng are good glue guys because they dont worry if they dont get as many shots. Lowry's shots would cost Wiggins and Butler shots and this could create an OKC situation. We need a vastly improved bench more than a change at point guard.

Come on. Lowry was all-NBA in 2016 and Ricky can't even sniff an all-star game. Lowry is a significantly better player than Ricky. You really overvalue how good Ricky is because of one stat.

I never said Lowry wasn't a better point guard than Ricky. Lowry is presently better. However, Ricky is 26 and there are several examples of point guards taking a big step forward at the age that Ricky is now (Lowry, Nash, Kidd). I expect much more improvement from Ricky as a shooter and, if so, he might become as good, if not, better than Lowry, especially as Lowry heads toward his mid 30s. I dont think its crazy to expect Ricky to elevate his shooting percentages to 35% or better on 3s and 41% or better on field goals. If he does that and keeps being an elite passer, excellent rebounder and plus defender, Ricky could be very valuable to have.

Ricky has been a professional basketball player for 10 years now. His 26 is just not the same as the other guys you mention. He's had years more time to learn to shoot and hasn't done it. Why is this the year he learns how to shoot? We have 2 months versus 9 years and 10 months that say otherwise. And those 2 months came when he was the third option and now he's back down to 4. Also you specifically said outside of shooting, Lowry isn't really better than Ricky. So if the difference between a middle of the pack PG and an all-NBA PG is shooting, then it must be a pretty damn important skill for your primary ball handler to possess.

I said I agree Lowry is better, but I think Lowry gets worse (he's 31) and Ricky continues to improve his shooting (he's 26). I also think Lowry's shooting is sort of redundant with the Big 3 we now have. But the two most important things are that we'd have to pay Lowry a boatload more than Ricky and in my opinion Lowry will only likely be better than Ricky for two more years and during these two years Golden State will still be nearly impossible to beat.

Ricky's age is 26. I actually believe his injuries have stunted his development somewhat and he's had to deal with four different coaches. He's just entering his prime.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Team Ricky, were you a Wolves fan before Rubio became a member of the team? Will you be one after he leaves?

Cool, I was one of the biggest KG fans and I'm one of the biggest KAT fans and I was one of the biggest supporters of trading Love for Wiggins. I think you assume incorrectly because of my moniker that I am only a fan of Ricky.

TeamRicky wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Team Ricky, were you a Wolves fan before Rubio became a member of the team? Will you be one after he leaves?

Cool, I was one of the biggest KG fans and I'm one of the biggest KAT fans and I was one of the biggest supporters of trading Love for Wiggins. I think you assume incorrectly because of my moniker that I am only a fan of Ricky.

I wasn't making an assumption but was curious about your loyalties. Good to know you've been a long time fan.

Uh, we're not getting Lowry, so it's a pointless debate.

As for Ricky, he had a career high in TS% and a career low in turnover %, so he's getting more efficient overall as time goes on. That being said, his 3-point shot is ultimately the key and I have no clue if he can move the needle there or not.

Unless the Wolves get back something significant I don't see how trading Rubio makes the team better. It's going to cost around 20 million give or take in free agency to get a replacement PG. That restricts filling holes throughout the roster. I understand the desire to get a floor spacing shooter at PG, I just think filling the PF and bench positions to be much bigger need. Let's spend the cap space and resources there.

TRKO wrote:Unless the Wolves get back something significant I don't see how trading Rubio makes the team better. It's going to cost around 20 million give or take in free agency to get a replacement PG. That restricts filling holes throughout the roster. I understand the desire to get a floor spacing shooter at PG, I just think filling the PF and bench positions to be much bigger need. Let's spend the cap space and resources there.

Thanks for mentioning this. I've mentioned it several times. We don't have the luxury of spending $24 million per year on a FA PG like Lowry. We have no bench and too many needs to fill with our current $22 million in cap room.