The Minnesota Timberwolves roster looks a lot different now than it did during last offseason as they have brought in a nice mix of young talent and veteran leaders in an effort to rebuild. Ricky Rubio has been the starting point guard in Minnesota for four years now and has yet to impress as much as the Timberwolves had hoped when they brought him over to the NBA. There have been a lot of trade rumors involving Rubio, but it doesn't seem like the Timberwolves want to trade him and for his part Rubio doesn't want to be traded, according to Jamie Goodwin of the Gulf News.
Rubio was Minnesota's first round pick (5th overall) in the 2009 NBA Draft and came over in 2011 with a lot of fan fair. In his four-year career, Rubio has struggled to stay healthy and hasn't improved his shooting like the Timberwolves hoped he would. Rubio is still just 24 years old and is a tremendous passer so he has value, but he is ignoring the rumors.
"I have confidence that the team wants me but you know in this league anybody can get traded, you don't listen to the rumors. You just live day-by-day and that's it," said Rubio.
When asked point blank if he wants to remain a Timberwolf, Rubio straight up said yes and all signs point to that being the case. Rubio is not an efficient scorer, but the good news for Minnesota is that they likely don't need his scoring as their roster is much improved and his passing will be a valuable asset. With reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins and other talented scorers, having Rubio, who is one of the best passers in the NBA, will only help these young players develop and score more.
Rubio would definitely have value in a trade, but the Spain native is likely more valuable to the Timberwolves than anything they would get in a trade for him. Behind Rubio on the depth chart at point guard in Minnesota is rookie Tyus Jones and 39-year-old Andre Miller, so the Wolves need Rubio in order to be successful this upcoming season.
For his career, Rubio has averages of 10.2 points, 8.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game but has only made 37 percent of his field goal attempts in his career and 31 percent of his three pointers. If Rubio can score more efficiently and stay healthy next season, the T'Wolves likely won't regret hanging on to the young point guard.
