The New York Knicks still have eyes for Ricky Rubio.
From ESPN.com’s Ian Begley:
Some members of the organization would again like to try to pursue Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio in a trade this offseason, sources said. The Knicks were close to completing a deal shortly before the trade deadline centered around Derrick Rose and Rubio. Talks continued until shortly before the deadline.
Per league sources with knowledge of the situation, some Knicks decision-makers see trading for Rubio as a viable option this offseason. Incumbent starter Rose also is an option at point guard. But the Timberwolves, coincidentally, see Rose as a point guard option in free agency, as ESPN reported last month. So even if the Knicks prefer to re-sign Rose, they likely will have competition.
It’s unclear at this point whom the Knicks would consider moving in a trade for Rubio or if New York and Minnesota would attempt a sign-and-trade.
If New York renounced its rights to Rose after July 1, it could open up enough cap space to absorb Rubio’s 2017-18 salary ($14 million).
There’s a lot to talk about here.
First, the Knicks’ interest in Rubio at all is weird. He has a reasonable two years and $29.1 million left on his deal, and he might have made sense before the team went full-blown triangle after last year’s trade deadline. But he doesn’t do enough off the ball on offense to profile as a good fit. He needs the freedom to attack and push the pace and basically dominate the rock at all times.
Second, and most importantly, the price of Rubio is a big mystery. Are the Minnesota Timberwolves looking for an actual return on his services? If they are, who are the Knicks giving? Courtney Lee needs to be off limits in any deal. If the Timberwolves aren’t looking to get value in exchange for Rubio, well, then, what the hell are they thinking? Opening up more minutes for Kris Dunn is fine, but trading Rubio into New York’s cap space, when you yourself have a ton of cap space, makes zero sense. It completely ignores how team-friendly his contract is.
And if a Rubio trade ends with Rose in Minnesota, either via sign-and-trade after the Timberwolves use cap space on other free agents or through free agency straight out, shame on Tom Thibodeau. Rose isn’t the answer in any way, shape or form for his Timberwolves—not unless he’s coming off the bench.
The Knicks’ interest here makes more sense than the Timberwolves’ involvement. New York needs any quality point guard, triangle-ready or not, and doesn’t have the optical cachet to make a splash in free agency. Minnesota, though, has no incentive to deal Rubio for nothing, or even for the chance to add a point guard it doesn’t need.
