Ricky Rubio didn’t speak to Kevin Love before Cavs trade
Despite being close to superstar Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves point guard, revealed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that he never talked to Love about his future with the franchise prior to the Cleveland Cavaliers mega-trade.
"Before Love had his agent push the Wolves for a trade in April, Rubio never did have a heart-to-heart with him about a future together. On a trip to Los Angeles after the T’wolves season ended, Rubio considered talking to Love there, but never bothered.What was the point anymore?“If he wanted to leave, there’s no reason to talk to him about it,” Rubio told Yahoo. “I really liked playing with him, but I’ll play with the players who want to be there. Kevin wants to win. That’s normal. He’s been there six years without the playoffs. I understand. If I was in the same situation – being one of the best players in the league – and not being able to be in the playoffs, I’d have a lot of frustration, too."
Rubio is right–if Love wanted to leave (and he wanted to), there was nothing the point guard could do to convince him otherwise. Even if the two spoke, there wasn’t anything Rubio could change about the Wolves situation that made the team unappealing to the star power forward.
Fortunately for Ricky Rubio, Love’s departure from Minnesota has allowed the T’Wolves to stumble upon some new players for Rubio to play alongside. From Cleveland, the Wolves received Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, the NBA’s last two number one overall picks, and from Philadelphia, the Wolves received Thaddeus Young, an athletic combo forward.
Combine those three with Timberwolves lottery pick Zach LaVine and Rubio–if he signs an extension with the Wolves–will be surrounding be a fun cast for years to come.