The Minnesota Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio are working on a contract extension and while the two sides are talking, there is a chance a trade could go down if there is not an agreement and teams like the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Lakers could be potential destinations for Rubio, especially after the Wolves made an offer to the Suns for Eric Bledsoe and drafted Zach LaVine this summer.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio's reps have been talking about a contract extension and the two sides are talking ahead of the October 31 deadline for a deal. The report says that the Wolves are looking at a four year deal worth around $40 million, while Rubio is pushing for more since he likely can get a bigger deal on the open market. Darren Wolfson reports that the Lakers and Knicks would be in the mix for Rubio on the open market, as they will have enough cap space to make a deal next summer.
Rubio is coming into things with a number of circumstances making it tough to get a deal, as the Timberwolves have a young star now in Andrew Wiggins, a young point guard prospect in Zach LaVine and he has not been a lights out player so far in his career. Rubio is clearly talented, but he will be heading out on the market with a number of young guards, including Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe (potentially), Jeremy Lin, Patrick Beverley and Kemba Walker and that may make it tougher for him to get a major deal from the Wolves.
Rubio is an above average defender and while he averaged over eight assists last season and played in 82 games, he scored just 9.5 points per game and needs to work on his overall shooting. Rubio is very talented and he will be chased by the Knicks and Lakers, especially if names like Bledsoe or Rondo end up off of the market before next summer. Rubio now is the main star on the team after Kevin Love was traded and while Wiggins likely will take that over, Rubio has been in Minnesota for three years now and he has the chance to cash in with his next deal.
Earlier in the offseason there were reports that Rubio wanted a max deal and that likely wasn't going to happen with the Timberwolves, especially after they added Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Rubio has been a very solid player for the team, but he has not been an All-Star and he has not developed into an elite player like Kevin Love did. Rubio still has plenty of potential, but right now the Wolves do not want to break the bank and then blow it up for him.
The Lakers and Knicks will make strong pushes for Rubio and there were reports from last year in the NY Post that he could be a potential trade target for New York. While Rubio has not come up much in trade talks yet, there is always a chance that Minnesota could pull the trigger down the line if a deal doesn't get done.
