The Minnesota Timberwolves and point guard Ricky Rubio appear to be headed for an inevitable divorce.
Spanish reporter Antonio Martin Guirado caught up with Rubio Thursday on the campus of UCLA, where the Wolves were practicing ahead of their game against the Los Angeles Clippers that night. In their chat, Rubio didn’t shy away from the recent trade rumors surrounding him and seemed to fully support a move out of Minnesota.
“We are not where we want to be and some changes would be good,” declared Rubio, as translated by HoopsHype.
The Timberwolves were said to be “actively shopping” Rubio in trade talks earlier this week, something that it feels like they’ve been doing for the last few years now. Rubio, who has never made the playoffs in his six seasons with Minnesota, also expressed frustration a couple months ago with the team’s struggles and what he saw as their inability to learn.
At an ugly 14-28 on the year, the postseason is once again looking like a pipe dream for the Timberwolves. It doesn’t help either that they drafted Rubio’s presumed replacement in Kris Dunn at No. 5 overall last June.
But Rubio himself has looked great in the month of January with averages of 9.8 points, 10.6 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. And though he has some glaring warts on the offensive end, particularly when it comes to shooting and finishing, there are plenty of teams that would love to have the passing skill and the defensive activity that he can provide. Combine that with the timing of these latest comments from Rubio, and a trade out of Minnesota may be happening sooner rather than later.
