NBA Trade Rumors: How Ricky Rubio's Injury Affects Market
In some devastating news for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Spanish National Basketball team and the entire NBA, it has been confirmed rookie point guard Ricky Rubio has torn his ACL. He is done for the season.
Rubio injured his left anterior cruciate ligament with only 16.2 seconds remaining in Minnesota's 105-102 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
For the T'Wolves, the news couldn't come at a worse time. In the middle of the playoff hunt in the Western Conference, Minnesota sits at 21-20, a half-game behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final seed.
Rubio has been integral to the rebuild-to-contending story Minnesota has created this season. His unselfishness and basketball IQ has helped Kevin Love join the MVP conversation, and he's also helped teammates like Nikola Pekovic and Derrick Williams show true promise as role players.
The 21-year-old Spaniard will end his rookie campaign averaging 10.2 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 34 minutes per contest, and will also probably still finish in the top three in rookie of the year voting at the end of the season.
His injury will not only affect the way Minnesota approaches the upcoming NBA trade deadline and playoff push, but also will shake up the entire market as March 15 approaches.
Luke Ridnour will now likely finish the season with the 'Wolves. He has been the subject of much discussion, including a Jamal Crawford swap with the Portland Trail Blazers, but that would leave Minnesota extremely thin with distributors, since Crawford and J.J. Barea are not considered true point guards.
This also probably ends Minnesota's pursuit of Rubio's Spanish teammate, Pau Gasol. It has been well documented that Minnesota wants to pair the Olympic teammates with Love to become true contenders in the West.
Since the Lakers wanted Rubio in any deal for Gasol, it's unlikely the two sides would have been able to come to any kind of agreement before Thursday's deadline. But this announcement should officially end those conversations.
I don't condone, nor believe, Minnesota giving up on this season is the right move. The strides they have made in Rubio's first season in the States can't be ignored, however, and without him, they are basically the same team that only won 17 games in the 2010-11 season. GM David Kahn could look to be a seller over the next week, shedding some cap for the upcoming summer.
Why, you say, 'Wolves fans? The future is set with Rubio and Love as the cornerstones of this team. Rather than give up something valuable (first-round pick, role player) to be a seven- or eight-seed and lose to a top-tier team in the first round, they can be patient and allow this team another year of growth with Rubio at the helm.
However, the 'Wolves should be smart and move Michael Beasley. Linked to teams ranging from the Lakers to the Boston Celtics, now might be the time to get a draft pick and some cap space for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Beasley, Anthony Tolliver and Wayne Ellington could all be guys on the move for a contender looking for something specific, or a middle-of-the-pack team looking to add some talent.
No one likes to see an injury in the NBA, especially not people in Minnesota, who have waited since 1997 to see a rookie player like Rubio capture the city the way he has. As unfortunate as the situation is, 'Wolves brass won't be aggressive in adding pieces to this team—as they shouldn't.
Rubio will be back next year. Another year to mesh with teammates should make Minnesota an early favorite to make the playoffs in 2013.
As for this year's trade deadline, Minnesota shouldn't do anything special, just set themselves up to play hard without Rubio the rest of the way.
