Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors: Ricky Rubio may back off max contract demands
By Josh Hill
The Minnesota Timberwolves need to trade an unhappy Kevin Love because they failed to lock him into a five-year max contract when they could have as they earmarked it for a still unproven Ricky Rubio.
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Rubio is still unproven, Love’s contract is up and the Wolves now don’t want to give Rubio the max contract they earmarked for him, which obviously causes problems.
According to NBA scribe Chuck Myron, Ricky Rubio asking for the max isn’t something that should faze the Timberwolves or their fans too much, as the chances he backs off that demand in the future is rather high considering how the same tactic worked for Dan Fegan’s other clients.
"Dan Fegan is a fairly aggressive agent, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s going after the max. I’m not so sure he’ll stick to that demand all the way through, but after negotiating a near-max deal for Chandler Parsons, another of his clients, in restricted free agency this year, there’s plenty of reason for Fegan to pass on anything but a max extension from the Wolves."
Of course, the Wolves are hoping that the Rubio situation turns out a little differently than the Chandler Parsons situation as he ended up signing with the Dallas Mavericks rather than back with the Houston Rockets. Rubio will get considerable attention in restricted free agency so working out a deal before then may be in the Wolves best interest.
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