Daily Links: Bill Simmons vs the Wolves
by Phoenix Stan on Sep 8, 2009 1:24 PM MDT
in Daily Links
8 comments
Bill Simmons - The Sports Guy - Page 2 - ESPN
Simmons and expert Chad Ford spend 15 minutes ripping the Ricky Rubio "debacle" in this podcast. They make three points that are all just silly:
1) The T-Wolves shouldn't have drafted Flynn after picking Rubio. Curry would have been a better fit in the back court with Ricky. While I agree that a Flynn and Rubio back court was iffy at best, the Wolves had to know that there was a big risk that Rubio wouldn't come regardless of picking Flynn. If they had taken Curry and Rubio still chose to stay in Spain then would Ford and Simmons be calling Kahn a fool for not taking the best point guard available? Likely.
2) The Wolves should have traded either Rubio or Flynn. There's a strong case to be made here for a trade but unless Kahn had an agreement signed with Rubio he couldn't shop Flynn or he could have been without a point guard. They might have traded Rubio's rights but Ford and Simmons both admitted that no one was offering anything good. If the Wolves make a bad trade he's criticized for that.
3) Kahn botched the buyout negotiations: This makes no sense. The league allows the T-Wolves only to contribute $500k towards the buyout and Rubio's rookie salary was set in stone. I am not sure what else Kahn could have possibly done.
Simmons and Ford go on to praise Rubio and his agent for making the decision to stay in Europe where he could make more money and continue to develop. They suggest that Rubio could wait three years and sign as a free agent and not be bound by the rookie scale. He would be 21. That all sounds great and completely out of the hands of the T-wolves. In the mean time, Kahn gave up very little to bank the rights to Rubio. There's a reason Rubio dropped to 5th and no one really wanted him despite his potential.
Kahn rolled the dice that he could get him immediately and his fall back position is a pretty good long play as well. One doesn't have to be a "beaten down" Timberwolves fan to see the value in that. The only way this turns out bad for the Wolves is if they can't either get Rubio or trade his rights for a player or players worth more than Foye and Miller. Not a very high bar.
Simmons and Ford also suggest the Kahn was just being stubborn. I certainly agree that GMs can hold a losing hand too long in order to save face. Will these ESPN "experts" be so willing to admit they are wrong if their criticism turn out to be wrong as well?
Other Non-Rubio links
- Downsize This: What Effect (If Any) Have Roster Cuts Had on the WNBA?
Q delves into and all around the issue of the WNBA cutting rosters from 13 to 11 players this season. His conclusion? Inconclusive. - US Open Day 8: Men Follow Script, Women Still Unpredictable - The Daily Forehand
I swore last year that I would go to New York for the US Open. Maybe next year - Blazers Confirm Jeff Pendergraph Injured; Surgery Set For This Week - Blazersedge
Blazers Confirm Former Sun Devil Jeff Pendergraph Injured; Surgery Set For This Week - A Brazilian's view of LB's gold medal performance| Valley of the Suns
Leandro Barbosa dominated the FIBA Americas tournament, leading his Brazilian squad to a gold medal. Here's a Brazilian Suns fan's take on his performance
Facebook | Bright Side of the Sun
Become a fan of our FaceBook page and help spread the Bright Side of the Social Media
0 recs |
8 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
1. Im not sure flynn is the best point guard in the draft…
Also if they did indeed want flynn that bad they could have easily taken curry and then told the knicks or another team to take flynn and then work out a trade that could dumb a bad contract or get a young player, AND flynn’s salary would be less.
2. agreed no need to trade $.50 on the $1.00
3. It seems Kahn could have done a better job of lining up Minnesota Endorsement $ sooner then he tryied.
all in all it was obvious Curry had much more value then Flynn did so they should have taken Curry knowing how bad the Warriors and knicks wanted him.(the 7th and 8th pickers)
by dontTradeAaronNelson! on Sep 8, 2009 2:15 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Kahn had the money lined up, but let’s face it, he (Rubio) wouldn’t be bringing home near the money he will be making in two years because the buyout was so EXCESSIVE. Granted, it’s Spain and they handle these things differently than the US does, but based on compensation given, the buyout would have been thrown out of any US court.
I would have been happy if the Wolves had chosen Curry, but only if Rubio wasn’t there. They had a number of choices, all of which had holes in thier games. IMO, Flynn will be the one of the two best guards that come out of this draft, but that will take time to tell.
Timberwolves - NBA champs 2013!
(used with permission - Wolf in MO)
by frankenhoops on Sep 9, 2009 11:10 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Love the Wolves support
Simmons has an axe to grind with the Wolves and he is grinding it. If the Wolves had immediately traded Rubio for anything less than an all-star, Simmons would be going on and on about how the team wasn’t going to win now anyways so why not wait for Rubio.
I don’t buy the obsession with the Flynn pick causing all this. Kahn said he promised Rubio the starting job. If Ricky is what he is hyped to be is he going to get benched halfway through the year?
by Pants_ on Sep 8, 2009 2:30 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Handling of Rubio
As a Wolves supporter, thanks for pointing out that Simmons has a pretty thin skin when it comes to criticism on this subject. He is being a jerk. The key move in all of this was the team’s trading of both Foye & Miller, their two starting guards. Given Rubio’s contract situation, whether or not Kahn favored Flynn, he had to come out of the draft with a stone lock guard pick who could play this year, and that, for him, was Flynn. It was a PG heavy draft, but there were lot of disagreements as to the rankings of those guards. This includes Curry. To indicate otherwise is just blowing smoke. Kahn showed extreme due diligence towards swaying Rubio to come to Minnesota. To portray it otherwise, as Ford & Simmons do, is flat out misleading. It is a recurrent theme with me, but national bloggers like these two seem to love having an audience, but not having any responsibility. They dish it out with aplomb, but they don’t want any flak back. They are not reporters. And on the internet, the opinions of others often hold as much validity as yours, even if you are backed by the ESPN moniker.
by ogishkemuncie on Sep 8, 2009 3:40 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Maybe that should have passed on Ricky
They took a helluva risk with the 5th pick. To compound it, they will have to pay dearly in 3 years to woo Ricky to the NBA.
And as far as the NBA goes, Ricky will still be a completely unproven talent. Ask Sarunas Jasikevicius how well international success translates to NBA success.
It will be Risky Ricky in the draft and it will be Riskier Ricky 3 years from now..
Stop blamin' Sarver/Kerr/Shaq/Amare/Stern for a bit. It gets old =D
by ZonaFlash on Sep 8, 2009 7:02 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Thank you PHX Stan
As a wolves fan I appreciate the support. I don’t know how ANYONE passed up on the chance to pick one of the highest potential PG’s in this draft (except the Clips, that I kind of understand). How can you pass on someone who might just be the next Nash or Kidd. I understand his shooting isn’t the best and he needs to mature more, but this wouldn’t even be a discussion if the kid was a US citizen because he wouldn’t be eligable for the draft. I have no problem with him staying in Spain another two years, It wil be just like getting a college sophomore, but he has played against better competition.
Thanks again Stan, and I will make this site one of the few I visit on a daily basis.
Timberwolves - NBA champs 2013!
(used with permission - Wolf in MO)
by frankenhoops on Sep 9, 2009 11:04 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs
JUST WAnted to see some
Love/Rubio action this year.
"Awesome! Totally awesome! All right, Hamilton!"
by B-ROYalty on Sep 11, 2009 1:58 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
