He entered the NBA in 2011 with a lot of sizzle, but now his tenure with the Timberwolves may fizzle out.
Guard Ricky Rubio could be on the trading block, and the only barrier could be the lack of interest among other NBA teams, Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher suggests.
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"I'm hearing that the Minnesota Timberwolves are actually looking at potentially moving off of Rubio at this point," Bucher said. "They've seen enough, and they do not believe that he is the future, in spite of the fact that he's only 24. Now, they've tested the trade waters. I'm hearing that they're quiet right now, but that they could return to looking to see what they could get for Rubio once the season begins and some things shake out for some other teams, because they don't have any specific trade partners at the moment."
That report refutes the news from Foxsports.com, which cited a story from Gulf News a day earlier that quoted Rubio as saying he believes the Timberwolves aren't looking to get rid of him.
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"I have confidence that the team wants me but you know in this league anybody can get traded," Rubio said. "You don't listen to the rumors. You just live day-by-day and that's it."
Asked whether he wanted to remain in Minnesota, Rubio said, "Yes."
The knock on the 24-year-old Rubio has been his lack of improvement on offense since entering the league. He averaged 10.3 points per game in 2014-15, which was off his career-best of 10.7 in 2012-13.
Rubio, who did have a career-high 8.8 assists per game last season, shot a career-worst 35.6 percent from the floor.
Probasketballtalk speculated that the Wolves might consider trading Rubio if they have a backup plan at point guard, but current teammates Zach LaVine, Tyus Jones and 39-year-old Andre Miller are not the answers.
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