Report: Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio Agree On Four-Year $56 Million Extension

You get an extension, Alec Burks! And you get an extension, Klay Thompson! And you get an extension, Ricky Rubio! According to Jon Krawczynsi of the Associated Press, the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed on a four-year, $56 million contract extension with their 24 year-old starting point guard.

This comes as a surprise given multiple previous reports that Rubio and the ‘Wolves were far apart in negotiations. Conventional wisdom was that agent Dan Fegan was holding out for max-level offer from Minnesota – this extension puts Rubio’s average salary at $14 million, $3.5 million below the maximum threshold.

But Rubio’s camp should take this as a win regardless. The league is stacked with quality point guards, and limitations of the Spanish star put him on a plane below players with similar contracts. Eric Bledsoe of the Phoenix Suns, for instance, will be paid just as much annually in his new deal. Considering Bledsoe’s immense defensive worth is roughly equal to Rubio’s and his play on the other end easily superior, this extension seems a boon for the ‘Wolves point guard more than his team.

This isn’t a drastic overpay by any means, but there’s a lot of projection involved here. Rubio has been a very poor shooter and finisher to this point in his career, rendering his passing and dribbling wizardry far less valuable than it should be in a vacuum.

Minnesota hired a shooting coach to work with Rubio over the summer, and the organization obviously believes that it paid major dividends. Extremely early returns from the 2014-2015 season support that optimism: Rubio has made 6-of-9 shots from beyond 15-feet in the Timberwolves’ first two games. The problem is that he’s yet to attempt let alone make a three-pointer, and has shot just 2-of-9 in the paint.

Minny is counting on continued scoring progress in addition to Rubio’s playmaking influence looming larger than it has in the past. The last part makes more sense than the first. Kevin Love masked so many offensive issues for the ‘Wolves, and the numbers proved Rubio’s on-court offensive worth nonetheless. With an overhauled, young roster lacking a viable go-to guy, it’s easy to believe that Rubio’s impact will be even bigger. The team’s preseason play certainly supported that assertion, too.

Krawczysnski makes a case for terms of the extension below:

Sounds good to us.

But a primary ballhandler that isn’t guarded to the three-point arc and can’t finish inside severely limits spacing. Even more than a lack of scoring, it’s the lack of a threat of point production that limits Rubio’s offensive influence most.

There’s time to improve – Rubio is still just 24 years-old despite being in the basketball spotlight for nearly a decade. But his deficiencies are those that plagued him even throughout his teenage stardom. When to stop believing in eventual development of those areas?

Given Rubio’s new contract, the ‘Wolves obviously don’t think it’s now.

What do you think?

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