Rudy had a bad year last year but I wouln't put him on this stiff-list yet.
So Rudy Fernandez has been for the NBA for 2 years, and one of them was "bad". Just because he's young doesn't mean he'll be the next Manu Ginobili, and we have no time to wait or spent resources to figure out whether he may be.
It's funny how people compare Rudy to Ginobili. Rudy is a more talented player than Ginobili, a better team player than Ginobili, a better passer, less me-first attitude. Manu was 23 when he arrived to Kinder Bologna. Rudy was 23 when he arrived to Portland. Manu won a Euroleague (the year Panathinaikos stayed in the FIBA competition alongside CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Tel-Aviv to name some of the best and they didn't compete against Kinder) in a team that featured Smodiz, David Andersen, Marco Jaric (he was huge for them as a young talent), a 7 footer named Rashard Griffith and the great Antoine Rigaudeau (incredible shooter). Virtus was the best Italian team with Messina as their head coach. Rudy played for Joventut, a team known for growing young talents (next one will likely be Josep Franch), who are destined to play in richer teams (like Ricky Rubio). NO comparison available.
When playing in Europe, Ginobili was successful only playing for a rich team like Kinder, with Ettore Messina. Rudy in Joventut was a warrior, an underdog but very talented leader for a young squad. Rudy's career in Europe could have been more successful than Manu's had he joined FC Barcelona like Ricky Rubio. But instead, he went to Portland. McMillan is an american coach with little knowledge of the FIBA game, he freaked out like the guys in ESPN when Rudy dunked on Superman in the Olympics, and he would have looked like a moron (like Kahn) had Rudy stayed one more year in Europe. That's why they rushed Rudy to join a young talented squad where the main ballhandler is ballhogging instead of trying to make his teammates better. Ricky Rubio, at 17 years old, was a better playmaker than Roy today, and he has a higher BBIQ as well.
While Rudy struggled to adapt to his new environment, Manu got to play under the best coach in the NBA (according to Steve Nash) who is, by thousands of miles, smarter than McMillan. On the other hand, he also found in the locker room young some unknown kids like Tim Duncan (maybe the best PF in the last 20 years) and Tony Parker, a non shooting guard who creates game for his teammates. Still, if you check basketball reference, Rudy's stats for his two years in the NBA are fairly similar to Manu's two first years in the NBA.
I don't believe many of us did know a lot about Ginobili when he played in Bologna, and I'm pretty sure virtually nobody here knew him at all when he was playing for Reggio Calabria. Rudy should have stayed in Europe and play for a big team here, and he could have won one or two Euroleague titles in the last two years. But he went to the NBA because he was a big part of the Spanish Team who won the WC in Japan, and the Silver Medal team in Beijing. He created bigger expectations, but again, like other European players, was unlucky to play for the Blazers. Drazen Petrovic had to be traded to the Nets to start having quality minutes, and he was a ****g genius.
Rudy needs a new team to start drawing comparisons with Manu. A team that features a fast, pass-first PG, with veteran teammates who can help him to find his place in the League, and a good coach. The Blazers can't offer him any of these things. The Celtics have all. Rudy is a great player, and he'll play great in the WC, as the leader of Spanish team.
I hope the Celtics can trade the 2011 first round pick plus Gaffney and Lafayette for him. After the WC, Portland may ask for more.
By the way, before you ask, Rudy is my favorite non-Celtic player, and I want him in green again
Peace
Topic: Is Rudy Fernandez worth a #1? (Read 35244 times)