Ricky Rubio could be 'significantly' better under Flip Saunders

Now that the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to trade star power forward Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a pick, Cavaliers’ rookie swingman Andrew Wiggins, who was the number overall pick of this summer’s draft, and Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Thaddeus Young (with Cavaliers’ forward Anthony Bennett reportedly going to the 76ers), the face of their franchise is point guard Ricky Rubio.

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Rubio is a solid player but isn’t the type of star the Timberwolves need, at least not yet.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors believes Rubio could be “significantly” better than under Saunders.

"Well, I’m not sure if Saunders is necessarily looking for a type, but it’s worth noting that the last point guard Saunders coached, John Wall, overcame some severe outside shooting deficiencies to become proficient from behind the arc this year. Of course, that improvement happened after Saunders left, but it indicates that Rubio may eventually turn out to be significantly better than he is now. But if Saunders were willing to bet on that happening with a max extension, they’d probably already have agreed to terms on that by now."

Rubio averaged 9.5 points, 8.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 38.1% from the floor, 33.1% from beyond the arc and 80.2% from the free throw line last season. In his career, he’s put up 10.1 points, 8.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 36.8% from the floor, 32.3% from three and 80.1% from the charity stripe.

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Ricky Rubio could be ‘significantly’ better under Flip Saunders

By Andrew Melnick | Aug 18, 2014