It seems like just yesterday that the Minnesota Timberwolves and point guard Ricky Rubio agreed on a big, long-term deal. Even so, the T’Wolves are seemingly done with their would-be franchise point guard and, per reports, are looking for a way to get rid of him.
Minnesota doesn’t want to give a quality 24-year old point guard away for nothing, but they don’t want his fat salary anymore and he’s impeding the development of other talent they clearly are higher on going forward. Rubio certainly lacks a shooting touch and isn’t an all world defender, but he has value and a considerable amount of potential. Someone will want him, and eventually someone will pay up to get him. But who? We consider the top five options:
Brooklyn Nets
Jarrett Jack is the lead guard in Brooklyn right now. Yeah. Statistically, Jack has been a fine starting point guard in the past and did look good in stretches last year. But he’s not consistent enough to be a starting point guard and can be prone to really bad mental lapses where he plays awful defense and turns the ball over. He’s a terrific backup, though, and a trade for Rubio would put him back in the spot he belongs. Brooklyn has some other nice pieces and seems to want to stay in the playoff picture, while adding Rubio would let them both compete for the playoffs and continue to build toward a brighter future.
New York Knicks
New York has begun starting over and it’s possible rookie Jerian Grant is the guy they envision leading their offense for the future. He’s probably better suited to play off the ball, though, while Rubio is an excellent pass-first PG that could be perfect for the Triangle offense. If Phil Jackson agrees, he could swing a deal and suddenly one of the worst teams in the league a year ago would be a rising playoff contender.
Boston Celtics
Boston was supposedly shopping Marcus Smart all summer, so why not swing a deal for Rubio? Rubio is a much more traditional point guard and trading from him could either get rid of Smart, or slide him to shooting guard, where he arguably would be a more natural fit. Smart still has the potential to be a franchise point guard, but Boston’s desire to include him in trade talks suggests they either aren’t sold on him or are still looking for something bigger and better. Rubio could be that for them.
Utah Jazz
Dante Exum is done for the year with a torn ACL and Utah has soured on Trey Burke, so suddenly a fringe playoff team needs a legit presence at point guard. Rubio makes sense from all angles, as he’s a massive upgrade right now and also is still a nice long-term bet over Exum for the future. Burke can come off the bench and score, which is all he can do anyways, while Rubio facilitates and let’s Utah’s other players shoulder much of the scoring load.
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas is probably the least likely considering they just brought in Deron Williams and held onto both Devin Harris and J.J. Barea, but you can’t deny a Mark Cuban splash when it presents itself. He whiffed on DeAndre Jordan and would probably love to land one more huge name to both help sell tickets and also keep the Mavs in playoff contention. More importantly, Rubio still has franchise point guard ability and at just 24, would make for a great building block. The kid just needs to learn to shoot. That would likely involve giving up on Williams before he even plays a minute in Big D, but it might be worth it.
Got another NBA team that would be a perfect fit for Rubio? Tell us in the comments below!
