Ricky Rubio will be up for grabs as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this summer. The Spanish guard acknowledged that big names like Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson will, in a way, shape the fate of other free agents. “It’s the first summer I can really choose. It’s a bit early to see how the market is and it’s true that you depend a lot on many others. There are many free agents, like Leonard, Irving, Durant, Thompson… and they mark a bit the fate of the rest of the players,” Rubio said as reported by EFE, per Mundo Deportivo.
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“But the puzzle is clarified a bit and in the end, you don’t have to wait for everyone but you have a little clearer idea. I’ve always said that my goal was to go to a team where I have playoff aspirations and something more,” Rubio added. The Spanish guard had previously mentioned that his goal is to win a championship on a team with a protagonist role.
Adrian Wojnarowski: As @Bobby Marks says, Pacers will still have $31M in cap space after absorbing Warren into the roster. One significant Indiana target in free agent, per sources: point guard Ricky Rubio.
Indiana is circling Ricky Rubio, though they have eyes on other targets -- including trade options -- if Rubio's market gets too frothy, sources say.
Ricky Rubio: ... it’s time to just be happy. Being angry, sad and overthinking isn’t worth it anymore. Just let things flow. Be positive.
Unrestricted free-agent point guard Ricky Rubio will be a top target of the Pacers, according to multiple league sources. Rubio would replace point guards Darren Collison and Cory Joseph—both unrestricted free agents—and share the backcourt with Victor Oladipo, who ruptured his right quadriceps tendon this past season. Rubio is a worse shooter than Collison and Joseph, but would provide a significant defensive and playmaking upgrade to better complement Oladipo’s score-first style.
Ricky Rubio showed up in Barcelona port today (12/6) for a ‘Parley of the Ocean’ event which addresses major threats towards our oceans. He also had time to talk with the Spanish media about basketball including his upcoming free agency: “It will be very fun because I’m able to choose between many teams. But it depends on many factors because there will be many free players that will determine how the market will go. Any movement will affect the market and there will be a domino effect”, Rubio said, per Marca.
The 28-year-old added that it doesn’t mean he won’t have any choice in the matter: “It depends on some movements in the market but that doesn’t mean that I have to settle for what is left. There are options that will remain and I can choose”, he said before explaining his criteria for the decision. “There are teams that have a starting point guard with a contract, which I can forget, but there are others who are looking for a point guard. The priorities are to go to a team that has importance and minutes, which is set for the playoffs. This already rules out some teams”, Rubio noted.
For Utah going into next season, you guys have Ricky Rubio as a free agent and Derrick Favors on a non-guaranteed contract. What do you see for yourselves next season collectively? I think the biggest thing is just trusting what management does. Obviously, a lot of this stuff is out of my control personally. The biggest thing for us is to just get better and improve. Obviously, we didn’t have the end of the season we wanted to, but we had a 50-win season. I think that’s one of the things that people really don’t notice because we had such a quick exit in the playoffs, but we did have a 50-win season. I think for us, the biggest thing is just to continue to get better and understand that this is a process. It’s my first time really going through free agency like this, so I don’t really know what to expect, to be honest, but I’ve been around trades and guys coming in and going. We have such a tightknit team. I think it’s just a process of just trusting management and what they have planned. At the end of the day, we have to get better as individuals as well.
Spanish journalist Ernest Macia: @Ricky Rubio: I want to play a leading role and to be in a team with playoffs aspirations. Marc Gasol made me envious.
On if he wants to continue with the Jazz: All that has affected me, without a doubt. If the question had been asked a year ago, I’d signed with them with my eyes closed. Now, from here to July, many things can happen.
Here’s what Rubio said in an interview with Spanish outlet AS. On his possibilities ahead of free agency: There are a thousand possibilities, excluding the teams that have a starting point guard under contract who will remain there. Like Houston or Golden State. Then there’s Boston where you still don’t know if Kyrie Irving will be there. Or Charlotte with Kemba Walker. Things really don’t depend on you but on the other players. For example, if Kyrie Irving went to Utah, this wouldn’t be a possibility for me anymore. In the end, they choose first.
On how important is his next contract: If I sign for a team that doesn’t have really have aspiration or things won’t work, my NBA career will almost end because if I sign for three or four years, when I finish my contract I’ll be 32. It’s one of the key moments of my career.
Rubio had nice things to say about the Jazz, but didn’t show any confidence that he’ll be playing in Utah next year. “A lot of friends ask me, but I don’t have any idea where I’m going to go,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that depend on (whether other teams) are going to need a point guard or not. When free agency comes, I can start thinking and see where I can go. One thing I’m going to look for sure is going to be the best situation for me with the coach and the team. I want to be happy, I’m going to try to find the best situation for me to be me and be happy.”
Rubio is one of three free agents on the roster along with Thabo Sefolosha and Ekpe Udoh. Lindsey spoke highly of Rubio and how much he’s given the team over the past two seasons, including his “care factor” and “empathy.” While he said the Jazz would be happy to have Rubio back, he wasn’t overly convincing about how much they wanted him. “He’s got a decision to make on his end and we’ve got a decision to make on our end, but there’s a lot of scenarios I can see Ricky back,” he said. “We really appreciate who he is and we think we can get him better from a health perspective and skill standpoint. We know who he is — he has Jazz DNA. So he’ll have options, we’ll have options and we’ll talk to him and his agent.”
Multiple NBA sources have told the Sun-Times that not only have the Bulls been scouting veteran point guards as the Feb. 7 trade deadline approaches, but they are focusing on veteran point guards who are going to be free agents this offseason and deemed fiscally responsible for some summer shopping, headlined by Ricky Rubio and Darren Collison.
