NBA Trade Rumors: Timberwolves pulled out of Ricky Rubio-Derrick Rose deal
A Ricky Rubio for Derrick Rose swap between the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks appeared imminent at one point, but the former pulled out
As often tends to be the case, there was plenty of shouting about blockbusters leading up to the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline. But as 3:00 p.m. ET passed and with the deadline gone, there truly weren’t any to speak of. One of the biggest questions about deals not made, though, centered around the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks regarding a swap of point guards Ricky Rubio and Derrick Rose.
The Knicks and Timberwolves appeared to have mutual interest in the deal leading up to Thursday’s deadline. For New York, they wanted a pass-first floor general to help facilitate for Kristaps Porzingis. Meanwhile, the Wolves and Tom Thibodeau wanted to run with Rose for the rest of this season while also having an enticing expiring contract.
However, no trade happened on Thursday. At first, it had to be assumed that the Knicks were asking for pieces in return in addition to Rubio, which would then make it reasonable as to why Minnesota never got the deal done. Instead, ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that the Knicks broke down to the point of trading Rose for Rubio straight-up, but the Timberwolves walked away:
At the finish line, league sources say, New York was prepared to trade Derrick Rose for Ricky Rubio straight up. But the Wolves balked.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2017
Frankly, this is the best course of action for the Timberwolves at this moment. Even if the front office and Thibodeau don’t believe that Rubio is the point guard of the future, there’s still the potential to deal him this offseason with two years left on his deal. And, as stated, Rose will be a free agent if they were truly interested in bringing him in.
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As for the Knicks, this will be a blip on the radar as another blow in a season full of them. They now have just under two months left of watching Rose not pass to their future (Porzingis) before the point guard can depart for another of the 29 teams.