The Minnesota Vikings are at a crucial crossing point in their franchise. They have not made the postseason since 2003-04 and have not finished above .500 since 2004-05. Now they are bringing on Flip Saunders as their new head coach and he is immediately tasked with the uncertain future of Kevin Love. As the team's star forward looks to exit the Timberwolves sooner rather than later, could other players follow?
Love will not be a member of the Timberwolves a year from now. However, whether he remains on the roster for the upcoming season remains to be seen. It has been reported by just about everyone that Love has no intension of signing a contract extension come free agency in 2015 and will test the market in search of a winning team. That leaves the Timberwolves to determine whether a trade is the best move going forward. If Love is gone, does point guard Ricky Rubio request out as well?
Upon his introduction as coach, Saunders told media that he receives calls all the time regarding the availability of Rubio in a trade. The Timberwolves have never made a move. However, if Love is gone then the Timberwolves enter a rebuilding phase. In an interview with Spanish site Marca.com, Rubio notes that he wants to win and if that is not with the Timberwolves then he wasnts to play somewhere else.
"The most important thing for me is to win," Rubio said in a rough translation."If it was my preference would be a free agent a team that had a project with me involved. If that occurs when free agent and I'm still on a project to fight for the ring and win ... I'd say I'd be in a team winner "
Rubio notes that he plans on trying to convince Love to re-sign with the team in order to create a better winning roster in Minnesota. He plans on traveling back to Los Angeles so the two can train together and Rubio can give his best recruiting pitch.
"I don't want to convince him if he doesn't want to stay. But I want him to stay and I'm going to tell him what I think, which is we've been improving every year and he's a great player, he helps us a lot," Rubio said, via NBA.com. "I think we need to make the next step."
If Rubio were to become available, plenty of teams would be interested in a deal. The Los Angeles Lakers need a new point guard with the uncertainty round Steve Nash. His 9.5 points and 8.6 assists would be welcomed in Los Angeles. The New York Knicks would be very interested in acquiring him as they chase after Kyle Lowry and Eric Bledsoe. The Houston Rockets could be a solid option as they aim to find an upgrade from Jeremy Lin. If Love leaves, Rubio will find trade interest around start to grow.