Ricky Rubio’s name is the constant source of trade speculation, but that doesn’t mean he and Minnesota Timberwolves coach-president Tom Thibodeau are on bad terms.
At least not according to Thibodeau, as he intimated in a question-and-answer session with MinnPost’s Britt Robinson:
MP: There has been a lot of talk about the fact that you and Rubio haven’t been comfortable with each other from the beginning. Is there any truth to that?
TT: No. My job — and I have told him this from the beginning — is to lay out the plan and tell him the truth as I see it each and every day. And then we are all working together. When you look at what a coach does, it is leadership, it is communication, it is teaching, it is motivation. It really comes down to those four things.
The big thing is, in this league, there are so many things that can get you distracted. And if you get your focus off what is important and what goes into winning, you are going to get lost. I want our players to be disciplined. I try to be as disciplined as I can. I am going to work to try and give us the best plan possible and then we execute it as a group. The challenge when you are new and laying out a plan is, how quickly can you get everyone on to the same page?
Truth told, I’m not really sure what this means. It’s solid coach-speak. But Thibodeau does clearly deny that there is a rift between him and Minnesota’s starting point guard.
Question is: How much longer will Rubio be the Timberwolves’ starting point guard?
Rookie Kris Dunn is waiting behind him, and Minnesota also has Tyus Jones. Rubio’s contract is a cap-friendly deal, but he can’t play off the ball, which poses a problem when the Timberwolves are stacked with so many on-rock talents.
There are no glaring signs of an impending swap, only what we see in the rumor mill, the contents of which have yet to be concrete. And Thibs hasn’t demonstratively cut Rubio’s playing time for more than a few games at a time.
Still, looking at the Timberwolves’ roster, it feels like only a matter of time before Rubio is moved elsewhere, even if said deal doesn’t go down this season.
