Minnesota Timberwolves: Ranking Anthony Edwards and the rest of their offseason moves
By Ethan Becker
No. 2: Bring back Ricky Rubio
In a draft-day move that was completely unexpected until just a few hours beforehand, the Minnesota Timberwolves brought back Ricky Rubio in a deal that saw them lose James Johnson and four draft picks.
The Timberwolves picked Rubio fifth overall in the 2009 draft, ahead of All-Stars like Steph Curry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jeff Teague. Still, in spite of the production from those drafted ahead of him, Rubio quickly proved to be a valuable asset for the Timberwolves, and he soon became a fan favorite next to Kevin Love.
Over the next six seasons, Rubio averaged 10.3 points, 8.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game while starring in a young Timberwolves squad. Then, just a few days after the 2017 draft, the Timberwolves traded Rubio away for just a 2018 first-round draft pick. The Timberwolves would later select Josh Okogie with the pick.
Over the next few years, Rubio went from the Jazz to the Suns, and maintained his defensive prowess and his ability to move the ball. Then, shortly before the 2020 draft, the Suns traded Rubio to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that saw Chris Paul move to the Suns.
Chris Hines of the Star Tribune reported that Rubio didn’t want to go through another rebuilding process, and when moved to OKC Rubio asked his agent to find him another destination. Then, on the night of the draft, Rubio was quickly moved to Minnesota.
Rubio doesn’t believe he’s in for another rebuild in Minnesota, telling Hines:
"“I don’t feel like we’re in a rebuilding process…We’re a couple steps ahead. We’re already making things happen. With [D’Angelo Russell] and [Karl-Anthony Towns] hitting their five years in the league, they still have a lot of room to improve, but I feel like they learned a lot. It’s not like a young corps where they don’t know how this league goes.”"
The move to bring in Rubio was a smart one for the Minnesota front office, as he’s veteran presence is going to be a welcomed benefit to the team, and he brings some much needed defensive ability to the Timberwolves perimeter.
With just two years left on his contract, it’s likely the Minnesota Timberwolves will need to see major improvements in a short period of time in order to keep Rubio, but with the promising rotation that Minnesota is building, and the hope of the D-Lo and Kat tandem working as well as fans think it will, those prospects look bright.