After years of hearing his name in trade rumors, Ricky Rubio was dealt from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Utah Jazz this summer. Rubio feels that it was time to move on, he said in an interview in Spain. From Ryan McDonald of The Deseret News:
To get traded, it’s not fun, but I was really excited to go to an organization that really believed in me,” he said. “It’s a great basketball organization with a good tradition. It was a little weird. I was six years in Minnesota. My name was in the papers with rumors and all that stuff for the last couple years, but never traded. This summer, I guess it was time. I have no regrets. I had a great time in Minnesota, but I think it was time for the both of us to move on. I think it was that time of our relationship that it didn’t work out the way we wanted, and we move on.”
Rubio enters an organization that has already put rather high expectations on him, as Utah general manager Dennis Lindsey said in early July that the Jazz’s new floor general compares favorably to Jason Kidd.
For his part, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Rubio shied away from that comparison Wednesday but appreciates Lindsey’s belief in him.
“Having the GM talk that good about me, it’s great,” he said. “The confidence that they showed in me from the beginning, it’s awesome, and now I have to answer that confidence with good games. I have confidence in me, and I’ve worked hard this summer. I think I can bring a lot to that team.”
Rubio as an overall basketball player is probably a downgrade from George Hill, who ran point for the Jazz last season. With Gordon Hayward gone, however, A ball-dominant point guard like Rubio is the more logical fit, for the most part (spacing is going to be an issue if the rotation stays as is).
