Northwest Notes: Rubio, Casspi, Nuggets, Jazz

Ricky Rubio has been the subject of frequent trade speculation in the past couple years, but if he continues to play like he has lately, Rubio should have a future with the Timberwolves, writes Sid Hartman of The Star Tribune. As Hartman details, Rubio has been averaging a double-double (15.8 PPG, 10.6 APG) and shooting well (39.5% on threes) since the trade deadline, and is on a reasonable contract (two years and $29MM+ after this season). Minnesota drafted Kris Dunn last June to be the point guard of the future, but it appears Rubio isn’t ready to give up his hold on that title quite yet.

Here’s more from around the Northwest division;

• The Timberwolves signed Omri Casspi in the wake of Nemanja Bjelica‘s season-ending injury, hoping that Casspi could do some of the things that Bjelica did on the court. However, as Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune details, Casspi is still adapting to his new team. The Wolves have just nine games left, so the veteran forward may return to the free agent market before getting fully comfortable in Minnesota.
• The Nuggets struck gold with center Nikola Jokic, but still don’t have a playmaker who can make a big shot in the clutch, according to Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post, who makes a case for why the team should move Wilson Chandler and pursue Gordon Hayward in free agency.
• Following a weekend loss to the Clippers, Jazz center Rudy Gobert unloaded some frustrations in his post-game comments, suggesting that “some of us don’t compete” and “just thinking about scoring” (link via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com). Gobert later backed off those comments, apologizing to his teammates and vowing to be a better leader, per Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Utah has since won back-to-back games.