The Minnesota Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio have agreed on a four-year contract extension that’ll be worth at least $55 million, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal was reported with three hours to go before the midnight Oct. 31 deadline.
Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves reportedly agree on 4-year, $55 million extension
With just hours to spare, the Timberwolves locked up their point guard with a rich deal that’ll keep him around for the long haul.
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It looked unlikely that the two sides would come to a deal as the Oct. 31 deadline loomed. Rubio rejected a reported offer of four years and $48 million at the beginning of October, a sign he was perhaps seeking out a max extension of five years. In the end, the two sides came together on a deal that'll pay Rubio more annually than peers like Phoenix's Eric Bledsoe, Charlotte's Kemba Walker, Denver's Ty Lawson and Toronto's Kyle Lowry.
But with the salary cap expected to jump in the future, the Timberwolves obviously believe they need Rubio in their corner to move forward as a franchise after trading Kevin Love to Cleveland. Rubio has flashed more offensive aggression early in the season, a big key for his development.
Rubio shined while playing alongside a talented player like Love, but this year he'll have to prove himself worthy of the big contract while playing with rookie Andrew Wiggins and developing big man Gorgui Dieng. His passing talents have been clear since his arrival in the NBA, as has his defensive capabilities. Last season, the Spanish point guard averaged 9.5 points, 8.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Yet, it's Rubio's offense that has struggled. The point guard shot 38 percent from the field last season and hasn't extended consistency on his jumper in three seasons in the league. Rubio, simply put, is quite predictable in how little and ineffective he is at scoring. According to NBA.com SportVU data, he scored 0.11 points per touch, the second-worst mark among the top-100 players in touches (only Kendall Marshall was worse).
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