The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly ramped up their efforts to trade point guard Ricky Rubio, as talks with the Knicks have intensified on the morning of the NBA trade deadline.
Minnesota's Ricky Rubio remains a significant target for the Knicks today, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 23, 2017
1/ The Wolves are operating w/priority of pushing for playoffs. So that is coloring any trade talks they have.
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) February 23, 2017
The T-Wolves have continued to shop Ricky Rubio to non-Knicks teams too, even as they've continued to talk with NY about a Derrick Rose deal
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 23, 2017
That last tweet from USA Today’s Sam Amick is important, as it could indicate the Wolves are using the Knicks to establish a market for Rubio, instead of looking to move him straight-up. ESPN reports, however, that it’s the Knicks who want something else in a deal.
The Knicks, sources say, are pushing for an additional piece from Minnesota in the Rubio/DRose talks and that's been the holdup this week.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 23, 2017
Rose obviously played his best basketball under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago, and Thibodeau has been linked to trade talks for most of the players from that team, including Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, and Joakim Noah. If New York is able to pry Ricky Rubio away from Minnesota for Rose, considering Rose’s upcoming free agency, it would be a massive win for the Knicks -- something they haven’t had in a long time.
Rubio’s jump shot remains the basketball equivalent of a pile of junk falling down a very long staircase, but he’s a good-to-great defender, a brilliant passer, and comes with far less baggage than Rose, without the free agency concerns. He’d fit well next to Kristaps Porzingis and give Knicks fans someone lovable to cheer for, even if he’ll never be the phenom he was hyped as coming out of Spain.
The Wolves, meanwhile, would take on a ball-dominant superstar with plans for a max contract this summer, who doesn’t help their defense one bit. This would be a loss for the Wolves even before an additional trade piece, and if they were to re-sign Rose with Kris Dunn and Tyus Jones behind him, it would be somewhat of a disaster. This is a crucial moment in Tom Thibodeau’s early tenure as head of the Wolves, who look to make their first playoff appearance in over a decade.
Rose, 28, is averaging 17.7 points and 4.5 assists for the Knicks while shooting 24 percent from 3-point range. Rubio, 26, is averaging 8.9 points and 8.4 assists for the Wolves, shooting a similarly-eye-gouging 28 percent from deep.
