The return of TeamRicky

[BloopOracle]

I cannot believe this is happening lol

[mrhockey89]

Ole' Ole' Ole' Ole', Ole', Ole'!

[AbeVigodaLive]

[youtube]ZZgU0cT_TfI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZgU0cT_TfI[/youtube]

[Tactical unit]

So does Ricky mean no J-Mac? I really love J-Mac please bring him back!

[TheFuture]

[youtube]ZZgU0cT_TfI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZgU0cT_TfI[/youtube]

Hahaha, I love that clip.

I am glad he is coming back, and the trade was not terrible. The utilization of the picks after were bad though. 20 year old stash and a 19 year old bonehead.

We got one NBA player and three more projects. Congratulations on the pick next year Warriors, come out to play.

[Monster]

Personally I think adding Rubio was actually a REALLY good move regardless of how many guards are on the roster.

There was a ton of talk about the Wolves adding an established vet with their picks. Rubio is an established vet. Is it a bit surprising that we added him? Yes. So would people have felt better if it was say the same deal for Danny Green or something like that? yeah that would make more sense but Rubio is a good player and I think most would agree that 17 compared to 25 and 28 in this draft seems pretty equal so we basically turned James Johnson into Rubio. So Rosas turned Dieng into Rubio...not too shabby. WE were talking about adding Aaron Gordon who obviously fit the timeline better but we were thinking maybe giving up #17 just to get him. Instead we get a guy in Rubio that may offer similar short term value to Gordon without really giving up significant draft capital. Thats pretty good IMO.

Lets talk money. Rubio makes a little more than Johnson this season but is a better player so you get mroe value for that salary this season. Next season Rubio is overpaid for a hefty chunk. What would the WOlves have done with that money? Could they move Rubio to another team in a deal similar to what they ahve been doing the past few months? Its certainly possible. I get that people are not happy with adding that extra year of money but honestly if Rubio stays healthy he is probably worth at least 12 million in salary.

Could Rubio stay here long term on a lower salary? I think that's very possible. IF so and he fits whatever is going on at that time it could add value to this deal.

I have ready lots of messages on this board about how Rosas isn't looking outside the box and is making moves based on his system etc. To me the Rubio Johnson swap was one for a clearly better player and may or may not specifically fit the system. They got the best player available to upgrade the roster. the reality is that we don't know what of the guards on this roster are actually gonna be good. Why not add a legit starting level 2-way PG that knows how to play and play with high level guards like Mitchell and Booker.

Its worthwhile to separate who the Wolves took with the picks they used after making the Rubio trade. I think most would agree there was plenty of value with those picks it just depended on who you liked/didn't like. IMHO acquiring Rubio should stand on its own.

Oh and its not a reason to do the trade but adding Ricky is going to bring positive vibes to the team. That doesn't hurt.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I don't mind the Ricky move if our backcourt rotation was looking like Ricky/Russell/Beasley with a splash of Culver for example. That's a balanced 4 man unit that can go offense if needed or defense if needed or mix and match depending on the opponent. Ricky getting to run a high PnR with Towns and Wiseman and dishing to Russell and Beasley in the corners just makes sense. The problem comes in when Ricky/Culver/Okogie/Edwards are 4 of your 6 best backcourt players and none of them are good shooters. If you put out Ricky/Edwards for large stretches you don't have good shooting on the perimeter and the paint gets packed on them. Our likely most played trio of Ricky/Russell/Edwards has 1 good shooter on the perimeter.

There was a scenario where Ricky could have made sense both on the court with his play and as a leader of this team. Right now his leadership is needed but his play doesn't fit with the majority of guys who will be next to him. Phoenix had much better shooters around him last year and they still struggled. I just don't think we have the right roster for him to help us to the level we need help to make the playoffs and if you aren't making the playoffs why are you paying a role player 17 million dollars to not be the right fit?

[Lipoli390]

I don't mind the Ricky move if our backcourt rotation was looking like Ricky/Russell/Beasley with a splash of Culver for example. That's a balanced 4 man unit that can go offense if needed or defense if needed or mix and match depending on the opponent. Ricky getting to run a high PnR with Towns and Wiseman and dishing to Russell and Beasley in the corners just makes sense. The problem comes in when Ricky/Culver/Okogie/Edwards are 4 of your 6 best backcourt players and none of them are good shooters. If you put out Ricky/Edwards for large stretches you don't have good shooting on the perimeter and the paint gets packed on them. Our likely most played trio of Ricky/Russell/Edwards has 1 good shooter on the perimeter.

There was a scenario where Ricky could have made sense both on the court with his play and as a leader of this team. Right now his leadership is needed but his play doesn't fit with the majority of guys who will be next to him. Phoenix had much better shooters around him last year and they still struggled. I just don't think we have the right roster for him to help us to the level we need help to make the playoffs and if you aren't making the playoffs why are you paying a role player 17 million dollars to not be the right fit?

Good analysis, Kahns. There were a number of different draft scenarios the Wolves could have executed that would have made sense of the Rubio acquisition. The simply one would have been drafting Wiseman at #1 and Saddiq Bey at #17. Another would have been swapping the #1 pick, Culver and Johnson for Buddy Hield and #11. Then take Bey at #17. Surrounding Ricky with shooters and pick and roll bigs; that would make sense.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Gotta say... if the Wolves were taking Edwards all along...

I'd prefer they went for Gordon.

[thedoper]

Gotta say... if the Wolves were taking Edwards all along...

I'd prefer they went for Gordon.

I agree. Gordon makes a lot more sense than Rubio to me.