After unloading Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a block buster trade, the Minnesota Timbewolves can finally move on from all the drama and controversy that surrounded them this offseason. The team, though, has to deal with the expiring contract of their budding point guard Ricky Rubio before they can wrap things up for training camp.
Rubio's agent Dan Fegan and the Timberwolves front office are still negotiating on an extension and while the Wolves remain "optimistic", both sides are reportedly nowhere close to a deal. Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com in Minny spoke with Minnesota's General Manager Milt Newton and revealed that "Newton says he's optimistic on the Rubio extension front. But admitted they don't see eye-to-eye with Fegan on the $$."
Rumor has it that the Wolves are willing to offer somewhere along the lines of four years, $43 million, but Rubio's camp think that he is worth a max contract. Minnesota can only offer a five year contract extension on one of its player and now that Wiggins is on board, they might be hesitant on giving it to Rubio. Wiggins might end up becoming a superstar and the best way for the Wolves to lock him for the forseeable future when his rookie contract expires is if they extend him to a five year max contract.
There are also concern's on whether Rubio is really worth a max contract given his not so stellar offensive game per Fan Sided:
Last season, Ricky Rubio averaged a career-low 9.5 points, a career-high 8.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game. Those are decent numbers for a pass-first point guard, but Rubio's ability to score the ball has drawn concerns when attempting to figure out his value. He shot 38 percent from the field, 33 percent from three, and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
Rubio is the Wolves starting point guard and if his camp wants the team to grant him a max contract then he needs to show them that he can still improve his offensive numbers. Rubio is a gifted passer with an out of this world court vision. He can also play decent defense and has reportedly been strengthening his upper body so he can hold his ground against the bigger guards in the NBA. But if he is unable to improve his offensive game, he will never be able to live up to the expectations placed upon him - especially if he is granted the max contract that his agent has been demanding.
Join the Conversation