Rubio changing agents...

[thedoper]

The reality is pretty obvious I believe. You don't get a new agent unless your previous one couldn't accomplish something you wanted accomplished. I think this pretty well seals that Ricky's camp has been pushing for a trade for some time, and that he felt his previous agent didn't push hard enough. I can't see how you read it any other way. The guy took 2 extra years, coming from Barcelona to Minneapolis, one of the great cities in the world to a really nice place to raise a family. He has never made the NBA a priority in the offseason, and has regularly made overtures of wanting to leave in Spanish print. It may finally be time he gets what he wants.

[BloopOracle]

Rubio is a moron is he pushes for a trade now, where he's going to go that is a better situation? There are too many quality starting PG's now, the only places he could be "the man" at are much worse off than us with likely more media to attack his shooting woes.

[Lipoli390]

The reality is pretty obvious I believe. You don't get a new agent unless your previous one couldn't accomplish something you wanted accomplished. I think this pretty well seals that Ricky's camp has been pushing for a trade for some time, and that he felt his previous agent didn't push hard enough. I can't see how you read it any other way. The guy took 2 extra years, coming from Barcelona to Minneapolis, one of the great cities in the world to a really nice place to raise a family. He has never made the NBA a priority in the offseason, and has regularly made overtures of wanting to leave in Spanish print. It may finally be time he gets what he wants.

He hasn't "regularly made overtures" to anyone about "wanting to leave. Where did you get that? Signing for 4 years here on a team-friendly contract was hardly indicative of someone wanting to leave.

[thedoper]

The reality is pretty obvious I believe. You don't get a new agent unless your previous one couldn't accomplish something you wanted accomplished. I think this pretty well seals that Ricky's camp has been pushing for a trade for some time, and that he felt his previous agent didn't push hard enough. I can't see how you read it any other way. The guy took 2 extra years, coming from Barcelona to Minneapolis, one of the great cities in the world to a really nice place to raise a family. He has never made the NBA a priority in the offseason, and has regularly made overtures of wanting to leave in Spanish print. It may finally be time he gets what he wants.

He hasn't "regularly made overtures" to anyone about "wanting to leave. Where did you get that? Signing for 4 years here on a team-friendly contract was hardly indicative of someone wanting to leave.

There has been a Spanish language interviews the last two summers of him saying in Spanish that he is ready to move on if we didn't win. That was why Sid was all over him asking him if he still wants to leave. Yes Sid is old and crazy and everyone said when these articles came out all the Ricky defenders came out saying there were things lost in translation, but regardless of language those qualify as overtures. I personally believe the reason he is always in trade rumors has more to do with his team then with the Wolves.

His contract was fair market value at the time for an injury riddled PG who was the worst shooter in NBA history. Yes it looks great now with the new TV but he, the NBA, and the team were in vastly different situations 4 years ago.

[Lipoli390]

The reality is pretty obvious I believe. You don't get a new agent unless your previous one couldn't accomplish something you wanted accomplished. I think this pretty well seals that Ricky's camp has been pushing for a trade for some time, and that he felt his previous agent didn't push hard enough. I can't see how you read it any other way. The guy took 2 extra years, coming from Barcelona to Minneapolis, one of the great cities in the world to a really nice place to raise a family. He has never made the NBA a priority in the offseason, and has regularly made overtures of wanting to leave in Spanish print. It may finally be time he gets what he wants.

He hasn't "regularly made overtures" to anyone about "wanting to leave. Where did you get that? Signing for 4 years here on a team-friendly contract was hardly indicative of someone wanting to leave.

There has been a Spanish language interviews the last two summers of him saying in Spanish that he is ready to move on if we didn't win. That was why Sid was all over him asking him if he still wants to leave. Yes Sid is old and crazy and everyone said when these articles came out all the Ricky defenders came out saying there were things lost in translation, but regardless of language those qualify as overtures. I personally believe the reason he is always in trade rumors has more to do with his team then with the Wolves.

His contract was fair market value at the time for an injury riddled PG who was the worst shooter in NBA history. Yes it looks great now with the new TV but he, the NBA, and the team were in vastly different situations 4 years ago.

Doper -- I'm not reading as much as you into those two quotes expressing Ricky's frustration with not winning. But you could be right that the trade rumors have been coming mainly from Ricky's camp. Thibs and Layden run a very tight ship. I used to get a lot out of various sources in the organization but haven't gotten a crumb from this group. Same for others I know who are pretty plugged in. So you might be onto something.

You've almost persuaded me. But unless Thibs is an idiot, Ricky's not going anywhere for two years if Thibs doesn't get what he wants in return. That's the bottom line. Since we don't have a legitimate PG behind Ricky, Thibs' trade options are limited. And if Ricky's purpose in pushing for a trade is to win, then that further limits Thibs' options to roughly half the League. Ricky's simply not in a position to force his way out and it's not in Ricky's character to pout or refuse to give his all as a way to force a trade. Ricky has never complained about playing in Minneapolis or about his teammates. His only complaint has been losing. Again, as Flip told me, winning is the ultimate cure for any player's unhappiness.

Honestly, if this team doesn't make the playoffs next season, Ricky won't be the only one wanting out and this franchise will be in deep you know what. If we do make the playoffs, I suspect Ricky will want to stay and be part of this team's promising future.

[Lipoli390]

I'll add that Ricky should be the least of our concerns one way or the other. Our main concerns should be (1) the development/improvement of KAT, Wiggings and LaVine, (2) our front office's ability to significantly improve our roster this summer, and (3) the coaching of Thibs. If we're going to worry about players wanting to leave, I'm worried about Wiggins, LaVine and, the following year, KAT.

[Monster]

The reality is pretty obvious I believe. You don't get a new agent unless your previous one couldn't accomplish something you wanted accomplished. I think this pretty well seals that Ricky's camp has been pushing for a trade for some time, and that he felt his previous agent didn't push hard enough. I can't see how you read it any other way. The guy took 2 extra years, coming from Barcelona to Minneapolis, one of the great cities in the world to a really nice place to raise a family. He has never made the NBA a priority in the offseason, and has regularly made overtures of wanting to leave in Spanish print. It may finally be time he gets what he wants.

He hasn't "regularly made overtures" to anyone about "wanting to leave. Where did you get that? Signing for 4 years here on a team-friendly contract was hardly indicative of someone wanting to leave.

There has been a Spanish language interviews the last two summers of him saying in Spanish that he is ready to move on if we didn't win. That was why Sid was all over him asking him if he still wants to leave. Yes Sid is old and crazy and everyone said when these articles came out all the Ricky defenders came out saying there were things lost in translation, but regardless of language those qualify as overtures. I personally believe the reason he is always in trade rumors has more to do with his team then with the Wolves.

His contract was fair market value at the time for an injury riddled PG who was the worst shooter in NBA history. Yes it looks great now with the new TV but he, the NBA, and the team were in vastly different situations 4 years ago.

Doper -- I'm not reading as much as you into those two quotes expressing Ricky's frustration with not winning. But you could be right that the trade rumors have been coming mainly from Ricky's camp. Thibs and Layden run a very tight ship. I used to get a lot out of various sources in the organization but haven't gotten a crumb from this group. Same for others I know who are pretty plugged in. So you might be onto something.

You've almost persuaded me. But unless Thibs is an idiot, Ricky's not going anywhere for two years if Thibs doesn't get what he wants in return. That's the bottom line. Since we don't have a legitimate PG behind Ricky, Thibs' trade options are limited. And if Ricky's purpose in pushing for a trade is to win, then that further limits Thibs' options to roughly half the League. Ricky's simply not in a position to force his way out and it's not in Ricky's character to pout or refuse to give his all as a way to force a trade. Ricky has never complained about playing in Minneapolis or about his teammates. His only complaint has been losing. Again, as Flip told me, winning is the ultimate cure for any player's unhappiness.

Honestly, if this team doesn't make the playoffs next season, Ricky won't be the only one wanting out and this franchise will be in deep you know what. If we do make the playoffs, I suspect Ricky will want to stay and be part of this team's promising future.

I don't think anything Doper said should sway you. Jon K knows as much about Rubio as anyone and he has continually said a Rubio likes it here. He wants to be here he wants to win. He said those quotes last year was Rubio saying in that Spanish interview he wanted to win he did not really have any real ultimatum to get out. It was widely reported when Rubio signed his current deal he said he wanted to be here and his representation weren't happy he took a cheaper deal (you can argue whether it was fair or not some people thought it was too much money but that's not the point) but yeah. Jon is a Rubio guy but sometimes when he responds to the questions about Rubio being here he lists all the reasons he likes it here and also kinda wonders a bit why he likes it here. He has plenty of reason to want to leave. Losing, all the different coaches, roster turnover, trade rumors etc.
Its kinda funny how the guy that there is actual evidence that he to wants to be here is the guy a lot of people want to run out of town given the chance. Now is it difinitive he wants to be hear? No there are reasons you can think either way about what he wants to do I just don't think there is any way you can say oh yeah Rubiobwants out.

Since we are speculating...Lip and plenty of other people including media have said Thibs and Layden run a tight ship. I know Jon K reported last year Rubio wasn't happy about hearing his name in trade talks with Milwaukee. What if Rubio said something to Thibs and Thibs told Rubio straight up "Ricky we had some talks but we never got anywhere near dealing you. If you are upset about hearing your name in the trade rumors you should be upset with either other teams or other representatives. We don't leak things like that we respect players as much as possible." Again there has been chatter about Fegan drumming up rumors etc for years and maybe Rubio got fed up with it. Is that the case? Probably not but there certainly has been instances where players have left their agents because they went a different direction that didn't involve their next contract or why team they went to. It might be more clear when we find out who he switched too.

What Inwould be interested in is where these rumors start. To be honest most of the Rubio rumors last year seemed to come from people that just assumed Rubio wasn't Thibs guy or his type of player and he would just move him to get something else. Well that wasn't true. Like Lip said if Rubiobreally was demanding to go to a winner...um that might be a difficult deal to make happen since only a handful of teams might even be interested that don't have a starting PG. you can easily come up with reasons whybstaying with the Wolves makes a lot of sense for Rubio. Anyway I've written too much but it gets old people just jumping to conclusions so easily. I thoughtbRubiobwasbgonna be a Knick years ago. -eye roll-

[Lipoli390]

Well said, Monster. We'll leave it at that.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I'll add that Ricky should be the least of our concerns one way or the other. Our main concerns should be (1) the development/improvement of KAT, Wiggings and LaVine, (2) our front office's ability to significantly improve our roster this summer, and (3) the coaching of Thibs. If we're going to worry about players wanting to leave, I'm worried about Wiggins, LaVine and, the following year, KAT.

Well you should have 0 worries of any of the big 3 leaving because we have a majority of the power. There's only one option they have of getting out of here and that's to sign the qualifying offer which nobody exercises when they are staring over 100 million guaranteed in the face. Max guys just don't turn down the money regardless of how much they like or don't like being where they are.

[Lipoli390]

I'll add that Ricky should be the least of our concerns one way or the other. Our main concerns should be (1) the development/improvement of KAT, Wiggings and LaVine, (2) our front office's ability to significantly improve our roster this summer, and (3) the coaching of Thibs. If we're going to worry about players wanting to leave, I'm worried about Wiggins, LaVine and, the following year, KAT.

Well you should have 0 worries of any of the big 3 leaving because we have a majority of the power. There's only one option they have of getting out of here and that's to sign the qualifying offer which nobody exercises when they are staring over 100 million guaranteed in the face. Max guys just don't turn down the money regardless of how much they like or don't like being where they are.

Kevin Love was prepared to leave. Now that we have two 5-year deals to give under the new CBA, we should be in really good shape with KAT and Wiggins. But there's risk with Zach. And I think there's even risk with KAT if our team sucks this next season. He might be willing to leave money on the table to go win somewhere else, thinking that he'll make up for at least some of the contract money with bigger endorsement revenue as part of a winning team, possibly also in a bigger market.

And even if I had absolutely no worries about one of our core three leaving, I'm still left with worries about their development, our front office's ability to improve the roster and our head coach.