Rudy's media day interview supports everything I said about the real provocative reason as to why Rudy wants out. The real provocative reason is a tangible disconnect between our two most talented players, Boogie and Rudy. Anyone with any degree of social intelligence and ability to read between the lines, to read the subtext below the text, will come to similar conclusion.
It is interesting to me how fans have missed this, how the media misses this, not asking the pertinent questions, when it is as obvious as the nose on your face. I am going to embed this video and transcribe the pertinent quotes that point to the obvious disconnect between Rudy and Boogie and let YOU draw your own conclusion.Don't take my word for it, fellow Kings fans, decide for yourself.
I am NOT necessarily saying their differences are irreconcilable. Winning cures a lot of ills, including a fractured relationship and sins of the past. What I am saying is that the primary motivating factor for Rudy wanting to play elsewhere is that he no longer wants Boogie as teammate, it is border-lining on insufferable and untenable proposition in his mind.
Rudy will show up and be a pro but if he had his druthers, he would in a new uniform, in a new city, with a new coach and set of teammates, on opening night, far away from an eye rolling and impetuous act he is seen too often.
Here are
RUDYS' WORDS that support this unequivocal assertion (this transcription is not word-for-word, just the pertinent parts):
Question at 3:30 mark: What is going to take to get the team to turn around?
Rudy: "I don't know, I mean, one thing I do know is it takes teamwork, it takes guys who are here to win, no agendas, just come here are play basketball and be the best team we can possibly be, that's first and foremost.
You can bring in any coach in here or whatever, but you are gonna have to put
a pair of guys together than wanna win together"
My Analysis: First Rudy discounts the value of coaching, implying that it was not a predominant barrier to the success in the past. Second, it is not an accident that Rudy went from talking about the team to a pair of guys. Call it a Freudian slip if you want, but he provided a hint that is starts with him and Boogie as the two best players on the team, and that if there is irreconcilable issues, if there is toxic environment at the top, success will remain elusive.
Question at 4:30 mark: So the bottom line is that you want to win you are tired of losing....?
Rudy, That's part of it, yeah, I'd say that's part of it. I wouldn't say that is the major issue. ....I have been here and I feel like we've had team here that can win.....I do love Sacramento...like I said I opted-put and my next stop is going to be whats best for me"
My Analysis: Holy guacamole, Batman! Losing, not winning, is part of it, why not all of it?!?! Wouldn't winning be the panacea to the failure of the past? Apparently there's more to it. There's another part of it as basis for him wanting out, and per his answer above, it is not about coaching. Earlier in the interview he implied he had an open communication with his GM. He also loves the city. We are systematically excluding potentially problematic factors (coaching, Vlade, city), with one constant remaining.
And that constant is Boogie. Period. Mic drop.
Question at 5:56 mark: You mentioned teams in the past that you thought could win, what prevented you from winning...?
Rudy: What prevented us? It could be a lot of different things. I am not gonna sit here and pinpoint one thing or call one thing out, but we are at a point with this organization where it is do or die, with the team we have, with the pieces we have.
My Analysis: This question and answer is fascinating to me. He repeats the question back to the reporter, buying himself time, hesitant to offer a direct response or reveal his true feelings. When he says he is not going to pinpoint or call one thing out, this means unequivocally in my mind (aka Freudian slip) that there is one thing! And that one thing is a divisive player who has created an divisive atmosphere and sucks any possibility of synergistic energy out of the room and off the court.
Elsewhere, Rudy says he has spoke to Joerger, not about plans on the court but about "other things". That other thing per my analysis was the dysfunction seasons past and the source of the dysfunction. Rudy sounds resigned to give it a try, a do-or-die try, but his level of optimism that things are going to change dramatically sounds dubious at best.
Regardless of all of this, I am optimistic that Boogie is in greatest shape of his life, and in his interview he said he is going to spend a lot of time in the high post.
This is very encouraging to me in contradiction with the other fans who think a Joerger system needs low-post Boogie all of the time. NOPE! Joerger may know that the best way to maximize Boogie's skill set is to put him in pick and roll from the free throw line extended where he can take a power dribble, shoot his feathery jumper from 15 feet, or roll to the basket with force and agility for easy dunk or lay-up. Give him a live dribble in the middle of the floor with a chance to see cutters and spot up shooters .... and your offense can hum more often vs. expecting and semblance of efficiency with a half-hook post move that Boogie does not possess.
In conclusion, this team has more questions than answers, and their second most talented player knows this better than anyone. Blob out.
Rudy's Interview Found Here
