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Indiana Pacers: Could Ricky Rubio Be A Fit?

By Colby Giacubeno

Feb 19, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) dribbles past Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) at Target Center. The Timberwolves defeated the Pacers 104-91. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 19, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) dribbles past Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) at Target Center. The Timberwolves defeated the Pacers 104-91. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 11, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) looks to pass around Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) looks to pass around Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Around this time last year, Chris Ryan of Grantland wrote a piece on the idea of Ricky Rubio being traded to the Indiana Pacers. Fast forwarding to this season, the other team who is still interested in the four-year man out of Spain besides the Pacers is the New York Knicks. Both teams could use a point guard with Rubio’s skill set, but does it really make sense for Indiana?

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Dunking with Wolves, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ page on FanSided, recently released an article about a trade that may benefit both teams. The trade would include Indiana sending George Hill and Rakeem Christmas to Minnesota in exchange for Rubio. On a young, up and coming Wolves roster, Hill would serve as a veteran leader along with Andre Miller and Kevin Garnett. Hill can provide a better scoring option at point guard than Miller, however.

Would this trade make sense for Indiana? If you really dissect the deal, it could actually be a great fit. Hill has been known to shy away when playing next to other stars. With Paul George returning and the addition of Monta Ellis, much of the scoring will be expected to be done by the two. It would be a lot more difficult for Hill to have as many scoring opportunities as last season when he was the leading scorer at 16.1 points per game.

On the other hand, Rubio could create more scoring opportunities than Hill in regards of getting Ellis and George open shots. Putting Rubio in pick-and-roll situations could also create easy buckets for rookie big man Myles Turner. That would be huge for Turner’s confidence in his first year in the league. His aggressiveness on defense (2.3 steals per game for his career) fits with the Pacers’ defense-first philosophy that Larry Bird and head coach Frank Vogel assert.

One thing the Pacers would have to take caution in with Rubio is being sure that he would be able to stay healthy. Throughout his four seasons, Rubio has played 202 out of a possible 328 games. That’s just 61.5 percent. It would be difficult to trade Hill, who is a very good point guard when he has confidence, for Rubio hoping that he wouldn’t sustain an injury.

This trade is interesting and if Rubio is 100 percent going into this season, it could even be a perfect fit for what the Pacers need. They have scorers in George, Ellis, and Rodney Stuckey. If they just had an elite passer, which Rubio is, it could take the team to another level.

Just think about it, Pacer Nation.

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