The Minnesota Timberwolves are a bit overcrowded at the point guard position. They have Ricky Rubio, who has been with the T-Wolves since 2011, penciled in as the presumptive starter. However, the Wolves also drafted Providence star in the Kriss Dunn in 2016, and Summer League MVP Tyus Jones in 2015. That’s not even mentioning Zach LaVine, who started his NBA career as a point guard but has since transitioned into playing mostly at the two.
One would think with Dunn and Jones ready to take the reins for the young T-Wolves, Rubio would be primed for a trade. He is still a talented player with a lot to offer, so the Wolves could probably get some valuable assets in return for him and would also free up much more playing time for their young players.
However, Minnesota owner Glen Taylor doesn’t exactly feel that way. When asked about the potential of trading Rubio while seeing the team’s Summer League squad play in Las Vegas, Taylor said he wants to keep Rubio around to play under Tom Thibodeau. Courtesy of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“I don’t see that as a likely possibility,” he said about a Rubio trade. “I just think the coach, everybody, likes Ricky. I think we want him to come in and improve on his shooting. But his other things, he plays defense, he gets assists, he helps the others get better. He has some wonderful qualities.”
All of that may be true, but Taylor is ignoring the fact that keeping Rubio inevitably stunts the growth of at least one of the Wolves’ young point guards, if not both of them. Perhaps the Wolves want to wait and see if Dunn pans out first before shipping Rubio, but that doesn’t seem particularly fair to either guy.
For now though, Taylor seems insistent on keeping Rubio around, despite the fact that trading him seems like the right move.
