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By: Freaknick

After a summer full of rumors, controversy and hearsay, the Spaniard has finally dropped anchor in Malaga.  I am referring, of course, to Guillem Rubio.

This lesser hyped Rubio topped 30 points twice against Euroleague clubs (34 vs. Barcelona, 31 vs. Madrid) and had a near-life experience with the Spanish League Playoffs with Ricoh Manresa.  Bottom line is, the big fella can play.  As a matter of fact, I think I would take Guillem over Ricky.  OK, I just lied.  But let’s say I hadn’t.  Let’s say I’d take big over little, age over beauty, and solid production over boundless potential.  Let’s say I were that guy.  This would be that guy’s three-layered dip of self-defense:

Not only do you get Guillem, but you get to keep a bundle of cash.1. No buyout. Whereas Guillem joins Unicaja with no strings attached, Ricky’s financial puppetry show seems to be endless and without intermission.  The figures are too humongous for some lowly blogger like myself to wrap his mind around-somewhere in the multimillions.  Yikes.  Advantage: Guillem.

2. No locker room resentment.  [Scene: Unicaja Locker room.  Post-game.] Robert Archibald, Giorgos Printezis, and Carlos Jimenez compare bruises and floorburns.  Archibald and the gang then scoffs at the massive huddle of media types in the opposite corner.  The victim of the flashbulbs?  Teenager Ricky Rubio.  That might not play well in the clubhouse.  More jovial alternative: Guillem and Joel Freeland asking Omar Cook whose tattoos are cooler as they exchange fist bumps and giggles.

3. Fortify the interior. There were four relevant names in the previous paragraph: Archibald, Printezis, Jimenez, Freeland. Beasts, all.  Depth? Definitely.  But deep enough?  One would be silly to assume such nonsense.  While other teams stock up on players who play similar roles (Barcelona gets Mickael/N’Dong/Morris to work the paint, Anderson/Bluthenthal/Eidson will make it rain in Tel Aviv), it looks like 2010 may be the year of “The Unit.”  Verdict: Malaga’s Bash Brothers trump a bunch of guards who believe the modern basketball was engineered specifically to fit in their hands.