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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Rubio To New York?



Today's guest post is another submission by Zach Smart. Zach Smart is an award-winning writer whose work has been featured in a number of sources--The New Haven Register, The Rivertowns Enterprise, Hoopsaddict.com, and Big East Basketball Report--to name a few. Mr. Smart is a New York native and currently operates ZSmart's Sports Blog.

With Donnie Walsh promising to reach out to the Point Guard-crazy Minnesota Timberwolves about Ricky Rubio, we suddenly have grand illusions about the Knicks re-writing the script this season and luring in LeBron.

With the Knicks never seizing to disappoint, what else can we be but positive about about this downtrodden, piecemeal team?

I wasn't drinking the cool aid at first, but Rubio's flair for the game and Olympic dominance has suddenly sold me on the paper-slim neophyte.

His name mirrors that of some Latin singer, his game mirrors that of a new generation Pistol Pete in the frame of Dan Dickau on yayo.

Big Sully illustrated a great point via text message when I was steering my beat-to-death Honda through Yonkers.

"I like that we got Darko," said Sully.

So, Larry Brown isn't the only man on the planet pulling for Darko to pan out.

He continued, "We got to get Rubio. We need a good point guard to entice LeBron."

It's hard to imagine a property of 1990 operating offense in the high-stakes, win or get booed, pressure cooking New York City landscape. Still, if he's talented enough to compete he's talented enough to compete.

Plus, D'antoni's speedball, go-go style is one which Rubio is tailor-made for.

The 6-foot-4 cat-quick guard seems to be a step ahead of everyone else on the floor and can create buckets easier than Sunday morning.

I'm not sure why the T-Wolves went on a point guard-mad rampage on draft night.

I know I can't speculate but maybe they were taking Jonny Flynn as the ready-made player to test Rubio and use one of the two as trade bait....still, that's more questionable than Seth Rogan's taking home Meghan Fox on a Tuesday evening.

"If he doesn't want to play in Minnesota than they (Minnesota) gotta trade him. He will play in New York City I imagine," Big Sully said.

I believe dealing Q Brick was a good move, as was acquiring Darko--who has the opportunity to revive his image as the biggest bust since Sam Bowie.

An interior presence is something the Knicks are in dire need of.

Darko and Jordan Hill could start as a stopgap measure in that area.

This would also prove proficient because it would help take some stress off of David Lee. Lee was forced into guarding the other team's best big and defense has never been the double-double machine's calling card.

While this won't give D. Lee a free pass on D, it could help him establish himself as a go-to-scorer.

Lee averaged 16 points and 12 boards last season, albeit had little help inside. Jerome James' behemoth self was a fixture on the bench...

The triumvirate of Lee, Darko, and Jordan Hill would help clog up the lane a bit and allow Lee to roam freely. The blue-collar bastard can board up, hustle, and score buckets with the best of them.

But will Lee--he of the shallow slingshot--be in orange and blue next season? That remains to be seen as both he and energy-bleeding spark plug Nate Robinson have been dominant on the rumor mill. They've generated more rumors than a Perez Hilton blog for crying out loud.

The talking heads are saying the Knicks are probably going to lose Lee.

"Maybe use him in a sign and trade for Rubio," Sully opined.

Still, Big Sully accentuated the positive on the subject of Rubio, the Spanish wunderkind whose been shredding up the professional scene since he was 14. I can only put a few athletes in that early pro category: Michelle Wie, a teenager who has been dominant since 2005.

Sully is tattooed to the belief that Rubio delivers pinpoint passes, is cheetah-quick and virtually a step ahead of everyone else on the floor. These aspects are extremely paramount to success for the Knicks' immediate future.

Sully doesn't believe that Rubio's boyish, toothpick frame will render him guardable.

"That's the kind of point guard Lebron needs," said Sully, who's been envisioning LeBron in Orange-n-Blue for quite some time now.

SULLY's FANTASY KNICKS TEAM:

1 of 2: Rubio, Nate, King James, Wilson Chandler, and Chris Bosh. Darko, Gallinari coming off the knot.

2 of 2: Jordan Hill off the bench. How's that sound?

1 of 2: Rubio, Nate, King James, Wilson Chandler, and Chris Bosh as a starting lineup. Darko, Dano off the bench....

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