Getty Ricky Rubio is headed to the Utah Jazz.
After years of speculation, Ricky Rubio has finally been traded. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Tony Jones reported the Jazz have acquired Rubio in exchange for a protected 2018 first round pick. The move saves the Timberwolves over $14 million in cap space.
The Jazz lost Gordon Hayward to the Celtics, but still have plenty of talent. Here’s a look at the current Jazz roster with their free agents in italics. The 2017 draft picks are noted in parenthesis as well.
C- Rudy Gobert, Jeff Withey (FA), Tony Bradley (R)
PF- Derrick Favors, Boris Diaw, Joel Bolomboy
SF- Joe Ingles (FA)
SG- Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood, Donovan Mitchell (R), Alec Burks
PG- Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, Shelvin Mack (FA), Raul Nato, Nigel Williams-Goss (R)
While the Jazz lost Hayward, they retained Joe Ingles. Judging by the size of the contract he will sign, the Jazz likely believe Ingles can slide into a starting role.
The acquisition of Rubio made free agent George Hill expendable. Hill is headed to the Kings, but the Jazz have a lot of point guard depth. While Rubio has his struggles shooting the ball, he is a great playmaker. Rubio averaged 11.1 points and 9.1 assists last season with the Timberwolves. Minnesota has now been linked to Jeff Teague as a potential replacement at point guard.
Rubio was constantly linked to other teams in trade rumors throughout his time in Minnesota. It became an annual occurrence to hear about Rubio being dangled as trade bait around the trade deadline.
Now, he heads to a Jazz team that has become one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. Fans have tempered their excitement without Hayward. The Jazz are likely to take a step back with the loss of Hayward, but still have a good chance to make the playoffs.
