Ricky Rubio Trade Reportedly Discussed Internally by Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks front office has internally discussed trading for Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio this summer.

Mike Fisher of Scout.com reported the news, noting the team is also considering taking French point guard Frank Ntilikina with the ninth overall pick.

Rubio, 26, has been the subject of near-constant trade speculation since the Timberwolves selected Kris Dunn with the fifth pick last June. He responded with the best season of his NBA career, setting highs in points (11.1) and assists (9.1) while shooting at a 40-percent clip for the first time.

The numbers were All-Star worthy after the break, with Rubio averaging 16.0 points and 10.5 assists a night while continuing to play stellar defense on the other end. His March surge was enough to make a seemingly inevitable Rubio trade seem not so.

“We’re professionals, but we’re human beings, too,” Rubio said of the trade rumors around the deadline, per Jace Frederick of the Pioneer Press. “So we have feelings. But I know this is a business, so it has to be like that.”

The Mavericks have been on a search for their long-term point guard seemingly since the minute Steve Nash left more than a decade ago. They've shuffled through short-term veteran stopgaps, failed to develop young draftees and whiffed on their attempts to bring a big name in via free agency.

Dallas posted its first losing season since 1999-2000 last year and does not have much of a promising core. Harrison Barnes performed better than expected with his new max deal but isn't a foundational player. Dirk Nowitzki is turning 39 Monday and is starting to show his age.

While Rubio is still relatively young, he's mid-prime at the moment. Going to a Dallas team that's much closer to a full-scale rebuild than a return to the playoffs would probably be a bad bet for both sides.