Ricky Rubio moving on from the Utah Jazz was always the anticipated outcome this summer, but that was made official when Utah traded for Mike Conley Jr. on draft night.
Most expected Rubio to end up in Indiana, where the Pacers were in desperate need of point guard help with Darren Collison retiring as he entered free agency. However, Indiana swerved and found a way to make a sign-and-trade with the Bucks happen to land Malcolm Brogdon, which left Rubio to find a team elsewhere.
Unsurprisingly, it was the Phoenix Suns, who have a well-known need at point guard, that were quick to scoop him up on a three-year, $51 million deal according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Free agent Ricky Rubio has agreed three-year, $51 million deal with the Phoenix Suns, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2019
Rubio’s shooting struggles are well known, but he seems like a snug fit next to Devin Booker, who can take the majority of the shots and let Rubio focus on facilitating and being a much needed perimeter defensive presence. Many wondered what the Suns would do this summer after clearing out cap space by trading T.J. Warren to the Pacers early on draft night, but with the addition of Dario Saric in a trade and Rubio now in free agency, they clearly had at least a bit of a plan for building their young team out with some helpful veterans.
