Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio Cashes In
I’ve never been willing to accept the notion that a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves or other small markets of the like are not a “destination” for other players or that they have to spend far more for players than a more glamorous destination. I simply can’t take that as law. When do we hear such a thing in the NFL?
We don’t. The players go where they can win and get paid. I don’t remember the last time a player bolted for Miami in free agency because it was a more hip destination. Or the Jets or Giants in New York for that matter, either.
I’ve heard people say that it’s this way because of the “culture of the NBA.” I’m not sure what that means and I’m certainly not going to speculate on the motives of players or differing demographics in the NBA versus the NFL. All I know is it isn’t an issue in that league but is the NBA, as if it’s all substance there but mostly style here. I can’t quite wrap my mind around that.
So the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are the typical struggling franchise in that small market, need to, by the accepted logic, overpay to keep their guys. Apparently they are sticking to the model, because they just paid Ricky Rubio $56 million over four years. That’s a lot of money for a career 10-point eight-assist guy, even if he is still only 24 years old.
Rubio is obviously excited and is saying all the right things about wanting to be in Minnesota and having to up his game in order to prove himself worthy of the contract. I want to hear all that and I like Rubio, but this is the same per-year salary as the extension that Eric Bledsoe just signed. Bledsoe is hardly perfect, and a reasonable observer could make the case for him being overpaid also, but he has done far more than Rubio and has the type of athletic ceiling which could warrant such a contract.
Rubio also got more than 27 year-old Kyle Lowry, who was inked for $48 million for four years. No one can argue that Lowry is a far superior player to Rubio right now. But I suppose that is how we have to look at the signing. Right now Rubio cannot justify the contract. There is still a ton of room to grow in his shooting and finishing and overall offensive game. The Wolves must have faith in the progression they have seen from him.
I have always said that if Rubio could develop into even an average shooter and clean up some of his finishing in close, he would be a terrific NBA point guard in something of a different sense. He would be viewed in a different way than, say, Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook, but elite nonetheless. While my enthusiasm for Rubio has been tempered somewhat over the past couple of years, I still think he can live up to the contract. It’s obvious how bad he wants to become an adept offensive player.
Through two games, his shot does look better. More confident. More desperate, perhaps?
I don’t want this contract extension to be viewed as some sort of desperation move that three years down the line is handcuffing the franchise. I don’t think it will. But I hope that isn’t just me trying to convince myself that the Wolves indeed have to overpay players to either keep them or lure them. I don’t want to believe that. If that’s so, then how is there any light at the end of the tunnel for these teams?