It’s hard to believe that Ricky Rubio just completed his ninth season in the NBA. After being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Rubio would spend two years in Spain before making his debut for the T-Wolves in 2011.
He’d spend six years in the Twin Cities, but, after being included in the trade that will send Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns, Rubio will be suiting up for his third team in three years.
He’s learned, first-hand, that life in the NBA comes at you fast.
Shortly after news of the trade made the rounds, Rubio took to Twitter to express some sentiments that can be reasonably believed to be a reaction to the news that he’s headed to Oklahoma City.
“… what a business,” he tweeted Monday afternoon.
… what a business 🙃
— Ricky Rubio (@rickyrubio9) November 16, 2020
All things considered, it’s fair to say that Rubio experienced a bit of a renaissance in his one season in Phoenix. He’d spent the prior two years in Utah, where he averaged just 5.3 and 6.1 assists per game, respectively. In Phoenix, in slightly more playing time, he gave Monty Williams 8.1 assists per game — improving on his career mark of 7.8 assists per game and showing some serious bounce-back-ability after slipping a bit in Utah.
Similarly, Rubio connected on a career-high 36.1% of his three-point shots in Phoenix. He was instrumental in the Suns going an impressive 8-0 in the Orlando bubble and, like many of his teammates, was probably looking forward to running it back in 2020-21 to see if they could build upon their success and end the Suns’ 10-year playoff drought.
Now, instead, he’s heading to Oklahoma City — a destination where a lengthy rebuild awaits and one where a postseason berth appears to be far from a priority.
The fortunate part is that it won’t take too long for the masses to hear from Rubio. Media day for the 2020-21 season is just a few weeks away.