Ricky Rubio’s future with the Minnesota Timberwolves, under new head coach and president Tom Thibodeau, is safe. For now. We think. Sort of.
That was the general message owner Glen Taylor delivered to reporters while in Las Vegas for the NBA’s Summer League festivities, per Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune:
One thing Taylor did say is that he doesn’t believe point guard Ricky Rubio will be traded at this point.
“I don’t see that as a likely possibility,” he said about a Rubio trade. “I just think the coach, everybody, likes Ricky. I think we want him to come in and improve on his shooting. But his other things, he plays defense, he gets assists, he helps the others get better. He has some wonderful qualities.
“I think the coach wants to bring an assistant coach to help Ricky on his shooting and I think that’s where we’re going to start out and go and we’ll see how good Kris Dunn is.”
Rookie point guard Kris Dunn and Rubio don’t seem like a duo that can thrive long term. Dunn is a top-five pick, and if all goes according to plan, he will inevitably play like a starter. And neither he nor Rubio is particularly used to playing off the ball. Their ball dominance, alongside one another, becomes redundant after factoring in the ball dominance of Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins, plus even Karl-Anthony Towns.
Rubio’s trade value is bolstered thanks to a pre-salary-cap-explosion. Any team that is in need of playmaking, but won’t shy away from his unproven jumper, would pounce at the opportunity to acquire him.
But the Timberwolves, this side of Thibodeau’s arrival, are likely thinking about making the playoffs. They have a better chance of doing that with Rubio as the primary floor general. Plus, should Thibodeau favorite Jimmy Butler be made available for the taking by the Chicago Bulls, Dunn has appeal as the focal point of any trade. And the Timberwolves, in that instance, would be able to deal him without worrying about how they’d replace his playmaking.
