Finally, a consistent head coach
With four coaches in the last six seasons, the 27-year-old hasn’t had the continuity required to get the best out of him. The rotation of Rick Adelman, Flip Saunders, Sam Mitchell and Tom Thibodeau wasn’t able to produce the Rubio many expected when the Timberwolves selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Battling injuries and a steady turnover of mentors, Rubio is healthy and playing for a head coach in Quin Snyder who won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
His quotes throughout the Utah Jazz Media Day suggests the relationship between player and coach is already developing. With a decent understanding of each other before training camp starts on Sept. 26, the pair is ready to hit the ground running.
Rubio: "I've only been here two months but I've already talked to Quin more than any other coach."
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) September 25, 2017
Lindsey was confident when the trade was made that Snyder, along with Rubio’s defensive capabilities, was a good fit for the Jazz, telling the Salt Lake Tribune:
"“We felt like the year before last, Ricky had the best defensive year of any point guard in the league. This year it was around 5th, 6th, 7th. As you guys know, Quin [Snyder] trains and builds great habits. Ricky’s a big kid. And so again, it’s not just the pure point aspect that he’s going to add to the group.”"
Being able to learn a scheme and develop his skills around it might be the only thing Rubio needs to make the leap. The chopping and changing of his head coaches as they were recycled throughout his career in Minnesota can’t have made it easy. Snyder will provide Rubio with a stable environment and an opportunity to thrive; now it’s up to him to grasp it.