Rubio Interview in Spanish
Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 10:47 am
I got this off of a different website because it was translated but it was an interview he did with a spanish news crew.
Question about this season.
Positive season. Not very good because we didn't reach the playoffs, but good because we progressed with the 40 wins. Happy with my season: 82 games played, healthy and with a good last stretch. Negative things like losing so many close games to start the season, we roamed around 500 and couldn't make the leap. Still all around a positive season but not good enough.
You were a clear candidate to reach the playoffs. Wasn't that a disappointment since there haven't been that many injuries? Where do you think was the key for the failure: the close losses? the lack of a good defense?
The close losses were very costly. The west has been insanely hard. Still, no excuses. 40 wins are not enough. I would put the blame on the inability to play well on close games.
You are still almost untouchable in Minnesota. Your shirt is the best-seller, over even Kevin Love, but I've seen how the national media, when trying to explain why you didn't win those games, or the team couldn't reach the playoffs, they would give 3 or 4 reasons and your shooting problems was one of them. How has that affected you? Given how your 2nd half of the season your fg% was 42%, was that an answer to the critics or have you felt better as the season progressed? Have you adjusted things in your game?
No, it wasn't an answer. I don't have to answer to them. I like to play and I needed to confirm to myself... It was not about my shot selection... but I needed to lead the team and that made me feel more comfortable, so my %s and shot selection improved. I have to take that end to the season and take it forward to the next.
Have you felt your coach Rick Adelman, being his last season and with his personal problems was disconnected or "discouraged"?
Yes, maybe. Maybe the team lacked the proper motivation, not only from the coach, but the motivation of wanting to win from all of us, and that starts with the staff, coaches and assistants, who have to command over that. When you know it's your last season and you're not 100% players can feel it. Still, at 80% Rick Adelman knows so much.
Another problem, the bench. I think the Wolves bench was the worst in the league when compared to the starters. The offered the biggest drop off between starters and bench. Sometimes it's because the lack of talent and sometimes it's related to the "mixes". Are you disappointed with the bench or some of your teammates? Maybe the rotations...for instance, Gorgui Deng was great at the end but didn't play much to start the season.
Yes, I think it was more about the team all around, not only the bench. It looked like a problem of adaptation among them and with the starters. We can't focus on them alone but the entire roster. We've seen with the rotations, at the end of the season, when given minutes Gorgui Dieng responded. Maybe he could have had more chances at the beginning, but you never know. But it wasn't just one thing. It's rotations, mixing, getting to adapt to each other.
It's reached here, maybe because of the discouraging results, that Kevin Love would certainly leave the team for another franchise and a big market, and that the situation made him be separated from the team a little bit, on his own, not being a leader inside the locker room. Was it like that?
No, Kevin Love is a special player, I mean his stats are amazing, but maybe the leader has to be someone else. He leads the team with his production, but he may not want to be the vocal leader. There are different kinds of leaders, so maybe we lacked a bit of that, a commanding leader, a commanding voice inside the locker room. Maybe he shouldn't be it, maybe Kevin Martin should have been the one, someone with more experience, or maybe I can take a step forward and be the leader once and for all. These things happen in teams so young, we missed that. If you take stats, it's clear Kevin Love is the one who must get the ball at the end.
What's your relationship with Flip Saunders? We know it was very good with David Kahn, the man who drafted you. It has to be crucial for you to stay in Minnesota.
Very good, he's giving his all and he's got the ambition of coming back to this franchise and taking it far again. Talking to him I've seen he trusts me a lot so I hope I can perform like he expects of me.
Flip has work to do. Of course he has to find a new coach. He has the chance to extend your contract and decide what to do with Kevin Love, which is not easy. At this point their relationship seems to be in good shape, he wants Kevin to stay and extend his contract, but step by step, what coach would you like to have, of what kind?
The new coach must continue with the project. I mean, with his own wrinkles, he must be similar to Adelman in his style: offensive minded, liking the open court, because this team is made for that, it's working and this team is progressing. Young players like me or Chase Budinger, players who are young and keep progressing, I think next year we can be much better if we have a coach similar to Adelman.
So, you think this team doesn't need to play better defense, so instead of finding a coach who offers that first and foremost, let's bring a coach who gets the best of this team and adjusts certain aspects. With this profile I see 2 names who have been heard lately: George Karl and college coach Billy Donovan from Florida, the prestigious college coach known by his offense, who develops the "block and continuation" , I don't know whether you have references or not from any of the two.
Well, yes, Corey Brewer talked a lot about George Karl this season, he loves him (laughs). He was COY 2 seasons ago and Denver played beautifully up and down. About the college coach, it's true they are thinking about 3 or 4 college coaches, the one from Michigan and some others, but we'll see. The problem with this is the coach who comes will have his doubts about accepting the job, because the star doesn't know whether he is staying or leaving.They don't want to gamble on taking the job and having to start from scratch.
In your case, in a possible extension, nobody can blame you of fattening your stats like sometimes happen with others. I think you've shot less than last year. You are 4th in assists and 2nd in steals, but nobody can say you have been selfish to find that big contract.
No, because I never thought of it like that. I never thought that by shooting more you're going to get a better contract. It's true that with stats you can go ahead and say "I do this, I do that", but I move by feelings and to get wins for the team. If the team wins you're going to get a good contract. So, I've done my best to try to get wins but maybe it wasn't enough to reach the playoffs, but overall I improved as the season progressed and I'm happy with that.
Do you think, regarding Kevin Love, the franchise will know soon if he's going to extend his contract, since if a player of his talent isn't going to continue, the best for the franchise is to trade him?
The best thing we can offer Kevin is the playoffs. He's a 5 or 6 years veteran, 3 times all-star, and he has never reached the playoffs. I don't think there are many others like that. The best thing we can offer Kevin is the playoffs. It's not a matter of him, but a matter of us all. He's playing at a great level, so the team must play at that very high standard.
Questions about certain teammates. How did you live the Cunningham affair.
It was more a press thing than what really happened with us, because we knew at all times what was going on. At first it was shocking, but then getting to know the matter, which is a personal matter, when we saw he wasn't at fault, you see it's more a thing of the press who created a bad image of him.
For the outsider, how do you get the information in the locker room? Is there someone related to him or the team who gives explanations? Do you ask?
Of course, the first day he wasn't with us, so he couldn't explain himself so what we read on the press is what we got to learn. Then you make calls. We have a security boss in charge of non-sports-related matters, and you ask him. He tells us what he knows and the next day, Dante himself tells us after the game what had happened. He wanted to say sorry for everything.
I wanted to ask you about Shabazz Muhammad, who is a strange player. His career, those cases when he was in college.. he's known as a big time scorer, but the season was weird. At first, he got no chances, then he gets a few minutes, he seems to take the opportunity and does help, then he dissapears again... how is he, as a basketball player and as a person.
As a basketball player he's a little inconsistent. He's a scorer but he's a little raw (green), he lacks understanding of the game. He's got many good things: a leftie with a very good hook shot, he posts very well and takes advantage of his size and strength and as an offensive rebounder I think he's the best I've ever seen. He lacks a bit of knowledge of the systems, but I think that is normal in a college player who comes to the NBA, who needs to learn and adapt to the systems to understand basketball. On a personal level, he's a young player with ambition, hard-worker. If he controls himself he's going to make a name for himself in this league.
Question about this season.
Positive season. Not very good because we didn't reach the playoffs, but good because we progressed with the 40 wins. Happy with my season: 82 games played, healthy and with a good last stretch. Negative things like losing so many close games to start the season, we roamed around 500 and couldn't make the leap. Still all around a positive season but not good enough.
You were a clear candidate to reach the playoffs. Wasn't that a disappointment since there haven't been that many injuries? Where do you think was the key for the failure: the close losses? the lack of a good defense?
The close losses were very costly. The west has been insanely hard. Still, no excuses. 40 wins are not enough. I would put the blame on the inability to play well on close games.
You are still almost untouchable in Minnesota. Your shirt is the best-seller, over even Kevin Love, but I've seen how the national media, when trying to explain why you didn't win those games, or the team couldn't reach the playoffs, they would give 3 or 4 reasons and your shooting problems was one of them. How has that affected you? Given how your 2nd half of the season your fg% was 42%, was that an answer to the critics or have you felt better as the season progressed? Have you adjusted things in your game?
No, it wasn't an answer. I don't have to answer to them. I like to play and I needed to confirm to myself... It was not about my shot selection... but I needed to lead the team and that made me feel more comfortable, so my %s and shot selection improved. I have to take that end to the season and take it forward to the next.
Have you felt your coach Rick Adelman, being his last season and with his personal problems was disconnected or "discouraged"?
Yes, maybe. Maybe the team lacked the proper motivation, not only from the coach, but the motivation of wanting to win from all of us, and that starts with the staff, coaches and assistants, who have to command over that. When you know it's your last season and you're not 100% players can feel it. Still, at 80% Rick Adelman knows so much.
Another problem, the bench. I think the Wolves bench was the worst in the league when compared to the starters. The offered the biggest drop off between starters and bench. Sometimes it's because the lack of talent and sometimes it's related to the "mixes". Are you disappointed with the bench or some of your teammates? Maybe the rotations...for instance, Gorgui Deng was great at the end but didn't play much to start the season.
Yes, I think it was more about the team all around, not only the bench. It looked like a problem of adaptation among them and with the starters. We can't focus on them alone but the entire roster. We've seen with the rotations, at the end of the season, when given minutes Gorgui Dieng responded. Maybe he could have had more chances at the beginning, but you never know. But it wasn't just one thing. It's rotations, mixing, getting to adapt to each other.
It's reached here, maybe because of the discouraging results, that Kevin Love would certainly leave the team for another franchise and a big market, and that the situation made him be separated from the team a little bit, on his own, not being a leader inside the locker room. Was it like that?
No, Kevin Love is a special player, I mean his stats are amazing, but maybe the leader has to be someone else. He leads the team with his production, but he may not want to be the vocal leader. There are different kinds of leaders, so maybe we lacked a bit of that, a commanding leader, a commanding voice inside the locker room. Maybe he shouldn't be it, maybe Kevin Martin should have been the one, someone with more experience, or maybe I can take a step forward and be the leader once and for all. These things happen in teams so young, we missed that. If you take stats, it's clear Kevin Love is the one who must get the ball at the end.
What's your relationship with Flip Saunders? We know it was very good with David Kahn, the man who drafted you. It has to be crucial for you to stay in Minnesota.
Very good, he's giving his all and he's got the ambition of coming back to this franchise and taking it far again. Talking to him I've seen he trusts me a lot so I hope I can perform like he expects of me.
Flip has work to do. Of course he has to find a new coach. He has the chance to extend your contract and decide what to do with Kevin Love, which is not easy. At this point their relationship seems to be in good shape, he wants Kevin to stay and extend his contract, but step by step, what coach would you like to have, of what kind?
The new coach must continue with the project. I mean, with his own wrinkles, he must be similar to Adelman in his style: offensive minded, liking the open court, because this team is made for that, it's working and this team is progressing. Young players like me or Chase Budinger, players who are young and keep progressing, I think next year we can be much better if we have a coach similar to Adelman.
So, you think this team doesn't need to play better defense, so instead of finding a coach who offers that first and foremost, let's bring a coach who gets the best of this team and adjusts certain aspects. With this profile I see 2 names who have been heard lately: George Karl and college coach Billy Donovan from Florida, the prestigious college coach known by his offense, who develops the "block and continuation" , I don't know whether you have references or not from any of the two.
Well, yes, Corey Brewer talked a lot about George Karl this season, he loves him (laughs). He was COY 2 seasons ago and Denver played beautifully up and down. About the college coach, it's true they are thinking about 3 or 4 college coaches, the one from Michigan and some others, but we'll see. The problem with this is the coach who comes will have his doubts about accepting the job, because the star doesn't know whether he is staying or leaving.They don't want to gamble on taking the job and having to start from scratch.
In your case, in a possible extension, nobody can blame you of fattening your stats like sometimes happen with others. I think you've shot less than last year. You are 4th in assists and 2nd in steals, but nobody can say you have been selfish to find that big contract.
No, because I never thought of it like that. I never thought that by shooting more you're going to get a better contract. It's true that with stats you can go ahead and say "I do this, I do that", but I move by feelings and to get wins for the team. If the team wins you're going to get a good contract. So, I've done my best to try to get wins but maybe it wasn't enough to reach the playoffs, but overall I improved as the season progressed and I'm happy with that.
Do you think, regarding Kevin Love, the franchise will know soon if he's going to extend his contract, since if a player of his talent isn't going to continue, the best for the franchise is to trade him?
The best thing we can offer Kevin is the playoffs. He's a 5 or 6 years veteran, 3 times all-star, and he has never reached the playoffs. I don't think there are many others like that. The best thing we can offer Kevin is the playoffs. It's not a matter of him, but a matter of us all. He's playing at a great level, so the team must play at that very high standard.
Questions about certain teammates. How did you live the Cunningham affair.
It was more a press thing than what really happened with us, because we knew at all times what was going on. At first it was shocking, but then getting to know the matter, which is a personal matter, when we saw he wasn't at fault, you see it's more a thing of the press who created a bad image of him.
For the outsider, how do you get the information in the locker room? Is there someone related to him or the team who gives explanations? Do you ask?
Of course, the first day he wasn't with us, so he couldn't explain himself so what we read on the press is what we got to learn. Then you make calls. We have a security boss in charge of non-sports-related matters, and you ask him. He tells us what he knows and the next day, Dante himself tells us after the game what had happened. He wanted to say sorry for everything.
I wanted to ask you about Shabazz Muhammad, who is a strange player. His career, those cases when he was in college.. he's known as a big time scorer, but the season was weird. At first, he got no chances, then he gets a few minutes, he seems to take the opportunity and does help, then he dissapears again... how is he, as a basketball player and as a person.
As a basketball player he's a little inconsistent. He's a scorer but he's a little raw (green), he lacks understanding of the game. He's got many good things: a leftie with a very good hook shot, he posts very well and takes advantage of his size and strength and as an offensive rebounder I think he's the best I've ever seen. He lacks a bit of knowledge of the systems, but I think that is normal in a college player who comes to the NBA, who needs to learn and adapt to the systems to understand basketball. On a personal level, he's a young player with ambition, hard-worker. If he controls himself he's going to make a name for himself in this league.