This is about more than the Timberwolves drafting and keeping Kris Dunn with the No. 5 pick on Thursday night. I like Dunn’s game, but he’s a rookie and not ready to run the point on a playoff team. Maybe he can be the point guard of the future in Minnesota — he certainly defends like a Thibodeau guy — but like all rookies there is a steep learning curve coming.
That doesn’t mean the Timberwolves are keeping Ricky Rubio around. From Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
Minnesota has been shopping Ricky Rubio throughout the week. His future in Minnesota is likely coming to an end.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2016
There’s a lot of Rubio backlash out there because he didn’t live up to the hype of the 16-year-old version of himself, but he’s still a quality starting point guard in the NBA. He’s still a gifted passer. He is one of the best defensive ones in the league. He lacks a jump shot of any note, but he was healthy last season and averaged 10.1 points, 8.7 assists, 2.1 steals just 2.5 turnovers a game (not bad considering how much the ball was in his hands).
Here’s the thing: The Timberwolves may want to consider moving Rubio, but they should be in no rush. Wait until they get a quality offer back. What’s the worst thing that happens, you play them together? Here’s Thibodeau on that, via the Associated Press’ Jon Krawczynski.
We’ll see. There is zero reason for Minnesota to make a quick decision here. Maybe seeing Dunn play an actual NBA game or two first would be a wise idea. The Timberwolves have options and if they want to test the market for Rubio they can do it on their terms, dealing from a position of strength.
