Thursday, January 31st, 2013 at 4:50 pm  |  69 responses

Ricky Rubio Wants Pau Gasol in Minnesota if the Lakers Don’t Want Him


Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio has gone to bat for his fellow countryman Pau Gasol before, criticizing the Los Angeles Lakers for how they’re misusing the talented big man. Rubio jokingly says that he and the T-Wolves would love to acquire Gasol if things don’t work out in LA. Per the Star Tribune: “Rubio is good friends with Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who is going through a difficult season with the Los Angeles Lakers – the Wolves’ opponent Friday at Target Center. [...] Today Rubio was asked if Gasol was being treated fairly. ‘I don’t’ think so,’ Rubio said. ‘He proved in the league that he is one of the best. He can pass, he can shoot, he can rebound. He can do a lot of things. I think if you use him in the right way, he is a top player in this league. If they don’t want him, we are more than welcome to get him.’ At this Rubio laughed. But it’s no secret that Gasol’s name has been linked to trade rumors all season. ‘He’s been with the Lakers (five-plus) seasons,’ Rubio said. ‘And he’s been a starter since day one. This year – it seems like It’s been the last two years – it seems they don’t want him. But actually they need him, because he’s a great player. He can do a lot of things. He’s had issues with his knees, and it’s been a lot of years without resting for him. But he’s a veteran, he knows how to play. He’s a great player.’”

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  • Marty Susman

    Great Gasol can go as long as Love comes back…The Nets need to offer up Lopez for Dwight & Dwight can go as well. Then Toronto needs to call & ask for Nash & he can go as long as Lowry comes here to LA. Now we have three young fast guys to run the offense. Then we trade Peace, Blake, Ebanks, Beasley, Jamison & a few more & get a few real bench guys & we might be ready for 2014 & beyond.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk
  • manny

    three team trade gallinari jordan hamilton to the lakers pau gasol ebanks to timberwolves derrick williams steve blake chris duhon to nuggets ridnour pekovic to the lakers mcgee to the timberwolves

  • Mike From Spain

    That is, the Wolves will offer Pek 11-12 a year, not a penny more, and if another team offers more then he might go.

  • Mike From Spain

    Man… Without AK the Wolves would have collapsed completely… The Wolves still suck because they have had missing most of their starting five most of the year. I usually regard your comments very highly but I think you are resorting to trolling in this one. The team started the year without Love and Rubio, then lost Roy (not that terrible but…), lost Budinger, lost Malcolm Lee, had Pek off some times, had shved miss time too… AK is perhaps no superstar in the prime, but cmon, this team needed to sign backup 3 (Josh Howard) and lost him, lost love again, has had 7 players ready to suit up and needed to sign a d-leaguer and an euro to 10 day contracts to keep afloat… They even had to have an assistant coach take part in the 5 to 5 practice because they were out of bodies.

    What part of this is sheer organizational incompetence or the basketball gods having a laugh i don’t know. But I am quite sure that without AK we would be where the bobcats are, toying with historically abyssmal play and futility.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Mike, it is better to be the Bobcats in terms of record, then it is to be the Timberwolves. By being bad enough to not be horrible, the Timberwolves are not helping themselves.
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    What is the point of being 10th or 11th in the West? Really? Why is that ok?
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    I am not discrediting AK or saying he doesn’t help at all. He just doesn’t help the situation. He’s paid to help them win (and by that i don’t mean sometimes, i mean consistently) and they can’t do that.
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    The reasons they can’t do it are kind of irrelevant, as he’s not on the hook past next season (at most) and is only getting worse from here on out. If you want to get the most value out of AK, considering he isn’t helping you do what you brought him in for, you have to trade him.
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    And i am not trolling. i am just explaining what is best for the Wolves. I understand it’s hard for dedicated fans to accept that getting worse is really the best way to get better, but it is. Being in the middle of the pack in your conference is the very worst place to be in the NBA. And Minnesota is experiencing their 2nd year of being in that purgatory.

  • Mike From Spain

    Gasol is a PF the way Tim Duncan and KG are PFs these days… I agree that Gasol can play the 5 and would do it in MN. He’s a good fit for Adelman’s offense. I think Gasol needs motivation and a system that has him playing closer to the basket. This he’d have in MN

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gerry-Cabalo/100000323251352 Gerry Cabalo

    Isn’t Love having a problem with the T-wolves or vice versa? How about Gasol for Love?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Gilbert/100001749589586 Mike Gilbert

    I’m with you on this NBK…a 3 man rotation of Pek, Love and Pau? wow. Still leaves a big hole at the 3 though.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Gilbert/100001749589586 Mike Gilbert

    I bet it mostly has to do with the fact that they would have no one to play the 3

  • http://twitter.com/pogivic19 Vicente Lebardo

    Rubio is playing well. He will have a long career in the NBA. A great friend, too.

  • http://twitter.com/Sdvickery Sam Vickery

    I’ve agreed with you numerous times that I think Gasol should play more at the Center position as he get’s at this point in his career….and yes when he plays at the Center position he has been more effective in recent years…but did you take into account that most of the minutes Gasol gets at the Center spot is when Bynum or Howard were out of the game….of course his numbers will be better because he didn’t have to share touches with Bynum and Gasol…

    and when Gasol comes in or starts at the PF position it’s normally when he’s sharing time on the court with Bynum (the past couple years) or Howard (this season) which take away from his opportunities on the offensive side of the floor for touches and won’t have as high of numbers rebounding bc Dwight and Bynum eat up board opportunities as well…

    the point I’ve been trying to make is that technically Gasol IS a “true” PF who also can play Center….just like Duncan and KG are “true” PF’s who also can play Center…but at the end of the day Gasol is a PF who is also really good at the Center position.

    and your trade very well could be done I just don’t see how Kahn could justify trading away 3 players (2 wing players, 1 guard) ….which are some of the weaker spots on the Wolves roster at this point in time….to get a dual threat post player in Gasol when the Wolves starting PF and Center situation is a perfectly fine duo of (KLove and Pek when healthy).

  • http://twitter.com/Sdvickery Sam Vickery

    that would be an awesome 3 man rotation….but I doubt Pek or Pau would be cool with coming off the bench…we already know that Pau has issues with coming off the bench in LA so why would that change all of a sudden in MN….and Pek has proven himself over the last two years that he’s a legit starting center in the NBA…and especially since his contract expires after this season I doubt he would resign with the Wolves if he wasn’t told he would have the starting Center position….and KLove….well we all know he’s not gonna give up his starting spot….

    so if they did bring Pau in the Wolves would have an awesome 3 man rotation until then end of the season but you can bet Pek wouldn’t be back and then looking back you just gave up 2 solid wing players and a electric backup PG for really nothing…

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    no dummy, he’s more efficient at Center. It’s not just that he gets more touches and shot attempts. He’s better. In every way shape and form at Center. You asked for proof, i gave it to you.

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    Now that you have proof you want to try and change what you were saying? LOL, #maturity.

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    now you want to say “true PF’s” which is a made up thing. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A TRUE ANYTHING.

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    I’m just going to say this as it doesn’t seem to be getting through in a polite way,

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    Positions were made up for idiots who didn’t understand how best to field a basketball team.

    - Gasol should be the Center. He’s better at the position. He’s not a true anything. he’s a 7’0″ who can’t keep up with most PF’s at this point in his career, and is best served with his back to the basket. With which the way the NBA is going, is primarily a Center position. Every stat says he’s a Center. Comparing him to other like players int he league says he’s a Center. The guy is a Center.
    .
    THere is no “technically” anything. There is what NBA.Com says, and then there is the positions they actually play and succeed at. If you are naive enough to just believe what you are told, fine. Call Gasol a PF who is actually better at Center. That makes perfect sense.

    .

  • Mike From Spain

    Keys for DWill: Better D (positioning, energy), pick his shots from 3, refrain from drives until they are polished, don’t showboat so much because he misses a lot of dunks when he wants to ‘thunderously slam it home’

  • Mike From Spain

    For me Barea takes away almost as much as he gives, he’s got pretty horrific sequences as often as really epic ones.

  • Mike From Spain

    Pek love and pau would be better than pek love and dwill as a big. But there is a hole at the 2 and at the 3 in the wolves if you trade away ak and dwill, the only decent players who can play the 3 right now.

  • Mike From Spain

    Ilyasova is playing all his time at the 4. He’s another stretch 4. Pau, Love, Ilyasova and Pek… I think that would mean trade Pek.

  • Vic Lebardo

    Kevin Love will not mind swapping teams with Paul Gasol, and Paul will not mind receiving passes from countryman Ricky Rubio.

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