Stan Van Gundy denies Reggie Jackson-Ricky Rubio trade rumors
Stan Van Gundy thinks your trade rumors are a bunch of malarkey.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, the Detroit Pistons head coach refuted reports of a supposed Reggie Jackson-Ricky Rubio swap with the Minnesota Timberwolves and said he texted Jackson an assurance that the trade will not be going through, per Jake Chapman of the team’s official website.
SVG said he texted Jax last night, said "this is the crazy season, we're not trading you for Ricky Rubio."
— Jake Chapman (@JakeChapmanNBA) January 21, 2017
Van Gundy’s comments come just one day after Marc Stein and Chris Haynes of ESPN reported that the Pistons and the Timberwolves had engaged in discussions on the aforementioned deal.
Rubio appears to be a dead man walking in Minnesota, and Jackson is the better three-point shooter and close-range finisher of the two, so it’s easy to see where the Timberwolves are coming from on that front. But Jackson’s high-usage style likely wouldn’t mesh well with Minnesota’s core of scorers in Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and Karl-Anthony Towns. He has a bit of a reputation for selfishness as well, which might not be the best presence to have around all those young guys.
The irony here is that what both teams probably need is a better version of the point guard they already have. Rubio’s defense and facilitating skills (both weaknesses of Jackson’s) are enormously valuable to Minnesota, but his difficulties shooting the ball are tough to work around. Meanwhile, Detroit loves Jackson’s ability to score (something that Rubio does not possess), but his effort and efficiency leave a lot to be desired. The proposed swap doesn’t exactly solve the issue at hand for either team and might even open up a whole new set of problems. As such, it’s not surprising to see Van Gundy, who also has control over the Pistons roster as their president of basketball operations in addition to his head coaching duties, refute the rumors.
