Im now set, my favorite centers are Chamberlain and Sabonis!!!!!!!!!!
And then my power forwards are Olajuwon and Russell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My shooting forwards are Durant and Nowitzki!!!!!!!!!
Sabonis at center
Nowitzki and Durant at forwards
Pressey and Pippen at guards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Im now set, my favorite centers are Chamberlain and Sabonis!!!!!!!!!!
And then my power forwards are Olajuwon and Russell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My shooting forwards are Durant and Nowitzki!!!!!!!!!
I am going to be ing floored if we don't land Rui. Every single time I rewatch his vids I see a star, tbh.
I think you need to temper expectations some. He really is a poor defender. It’s a big deal how bad he is on that end. There is always hope, but it’s not like his offense is SO good you can just completely overlook the defensive issues and awareness. The more I read, the LESS I feel confident even if I really want him to work.
Was he really considered that bad of a defender in college? I don't really watch college basketball.
I'm basing everything on highlight videos, but he looks like he could easily be an above average defender to me. He has the physical tools, he doesn't seem like a dumb kid, and the Spurs system always helps. I'm having a tough time picturing him being a liability on that end. The full Gonzaga/Duke game is available on YT, will probably watch it before draft day. Hopefully his defense isn't that disappointing.
It’s the sole reason he’s like a tier 4 player on the majority of people’s draft boards. He’s not good on man defense and really bad in team defense settings. Not sure if it’s the language thing or just really bad instincts but it’s a consistent knock on him pretty much no matter who you read.
I still don't think you pass on him though. He already has an NBA body, so you don't have to spend the first year with him just putting on weight and adding strength like you did with Murray. If your biggest goal is to get a forward stopper, then maybe you pass. If the goal is the get the best player for the future, it's really hard to see other players who will be better also around at 19. There are a couple of candidates, and I trust PATFO if they go with one of those, but really you don't pass on him just because he needs work on D.
Depends on who is there..I agree at 19 you don’t automatically pass and he’s on my top 6-7 guys I really want list (that I just posted). I was just making a specific point to FkLA about him seeing a surefire star and what the consensus is right now.
It would be one thing if he had this surefire nba offensive game but the flaws on defense. Even his offense right now is not some bankable thing.
But I’m not drafting Rui over Clarke, Hayes, Sekou or PJ Washington (that one is closer) IMO
I'd add Goga and Claxton to that list... I would debate Kabengele and Bol Bol (each for different reasons of course).
I only have Clarke higher. If Hach had a "surefire offensive game", he'd be a top-five pick. We're not debating him vs Hunter or Barrett here. If PATFO drafted Doumbouya or Hayes or even Bazley over Rui, I would defer to their judgment. They'll be the ones developing 19, at least initially, so their opinions on whom they can improve matter more than just who has the highest ceiling in a vacuum. It's more that you can teach defense. Hachimura has the body for it. If you want a right-away defender, those will be available later in the draft or in free agency.
Sure - but a lot of what I’ve read seems to be a huge question mark on whether or not you can even teach Rui defense. That’s how tough it’s been.
But yeah, I agree mostly, was just saying that there are a lot of people that have Rui much lower as a prospect than fans do.
Rui will be long gone by 19. Unless Spurs move up, it ain't happenin’.
Last edited by BatManu20; 06-17-2019 at 11:24 PM.
Clarke has really grown on me as of late, I probably have him as my #2 (and can see why others would have him as their top guy). Hayes I could also see if it was in a vacuum, but with Poetl in the picture it makes the decision much easier for me. Most of the other guys being mentioned aren't even in his class, imo. That sloth Goga for example, it's mind boggling to me that someone would take him over Rui even if we ignored the fact that Rui plays a bigger position of need.
Got dayum man, how big is that board? It’s 3 days before the draft!
He will be great or a bust. I think it all depends where he is drafted. I hope the Spurs get him.
Airy a guy as talented and athletic and smart as Rui, defense can be taught. The stuff he does athletically with the ball cant.
I think his defensive issues are fixable. The main thing is that he's out of position a lot and that is definitely teachable. The physical tools are there and he has proven himself on the international stage already with the national team. He has also played extremely well against Zion, so I think it's safe to say his strenghts will translate to the NBA. The question is can you fix his weaknesses
He also appears to that guy who all the Spursfans want to draft, he gets drafts before the Spurs pick, turns out to be a scrub, everyone immediately forgets they wanted to draft him.
Haven't rewatched his clips since my first viewing but he reminded me a lot of Gay. He's a 4 in today's NBA and depending on how his 3 ball shakes out, a very good one.
Vecenie at The Athletic is now hypothesizing that it was the Spurs who promised to pick Rui. I think that's a possibility.
1) Rui's favorite team is the Spurs. Wasserman, his agency, has a history of directing players to their preferred destination.
2) The Spurs heavily scouted Gonzaga this season (had scouts embedded in their practices).
3) A former scout for the Spurs and former Argentina national team coach, Julio Lamas, coached Rui on the Japan national team.
3) The promise appears to have been made before the lottery order was determined, so that tells me it was a non-lottery team that made the promise.
4) Fit-wise, Rui makes a whole lot of sense. No matter what he develops into (giant wing, scoring big, hustle big, bench spark), the Spurs don't have any young players blocking the path.
5) Rui has said he's a Pop fan and pointed to San Antonio's successful history with international players.
6) Spurs are one of the few teams that have a history of making promises.
Hmmmmm.........
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