The Minnesota Timberwolves are reluctant to trade Ricky Rubio, but a trade remains possible. Which teams would benefit most from trading for Rubio?
As it pertains to NBA trade rumors, few players have been referenced more over the past four months than Ricky Rubio. The Minnesota Timberwolves used a Top 5 draft pick to select a player at Rubio’s position, which has inevitably called his future into question.
Though Minnesota has’t yet committed to moving Rubio, it’s hard to imagine him remaining with the Timberwolves for much longer.
A recent report confirmed the belief that Minnesota is hesitant to pull the trigger on a trade, but remains willing to do so in the near future. In other words, it may not be imminent, but a deal is likely on the horizon.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Timberwolves are reluctant to trade Rubio until Kris Dunn proves himself as capable of running the show.
"There is still time until the 2016 NBA draft’s fifth overall selection, Kris Dunn, takes over as the Minnesota Timberwolves’ point guard – which is why the franchise is still resisting trade overtures for Ricky Rubio, league sources told The Vertical. Thibodeau doesn’t anticipate Dunn becoming the starter until approximately 20 games into the regular season, league sources said."
After those 20 games, Rubio being moved to the bench could be the recipe for chemistry disaster.
Through five NBA seasons, Rubio has career averages of 10.1 points, 8.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. He offers a bit of everything, albeit with the harsh reality that he boasts a career slash line of .368/.318/.815.
The question is: which teams should be pushing to trade for Rubio during the 2016-17 NBA regular season?