On if he wants to continue with the Jazz: All that has affected me, without a doubt. If the question had been asked a year ago, I’d signed with them with my eyes closed. Now, from here to July, many things can happen.
More on Ricky Rubio Free Agency
Here’s what Rubio said in an interview with Spanish outlet AS. On his possibilities ahead of free agency: There are a thousand possibilities, excluding the teams that have a starting point guard under contract who will remain there. Like Houston or Golden State. Then there’s Boston where you still don’t know if Kyrie Irving will be there. Or Charlotte with Kemba Walker. Things really don’t depend on you but on the other players. For example, if Kyrie Irving went to Utah, this wouldn’t be a possibility for me anymore. In the end, they choose first.
On how important is his next contract: If I sign for a team that doesn’t have really have aspiration or things won’t work, my NBA career will almost end because if I sign for three or four years, when I finish my contract I’ll be 32. It’s one of the key moments of my career.
Rubio had nice things to say about the Jazz, but didn’t show any confidence that he’ll be playing in Utah next year. “A lot of friends ask me, but I don’t have any idea where I’m going to go,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that depend on (whether other teams) are going to need a point guard or not. When free agency comes, I can start thinking and see where I can go. One thing I’m going to look for sure is going to be the best situation for me with the coach and the team. I want to be happy, I’m going to try to find the best situation for me to be me and be happy.”
Rubio is one of three free agents on the roster along with Thabo Sefolosha and Ekpe Udoh. Lindsey spoke highly of Rubio and how much he’s given the team over the past two seasons, including his “care factor” and “empathy.” While he said the Jazz would be happy to have Rubio back, he wasn’t overly convincing about how much they wanted him. “He’s got a decision to make on his end and we’ve got a decision to make on our end, but there’s a lot of scenarios I can see Ricky back,” he said. “We really appreciate who he is and we think we can get him better from a health perspective and skill standpoint. We know who he is — he has Jazz DNA. So he’ll have options, we’ll have options and we’ll talk to him and his agent.”
Multiple NBA sources have told the Sun-Times that not only have the Bulls been scouting veteran point guards as the Feb. 7 trade deadline approaches, but they are focusing on veteran point guards who are going to be free agents this offseason and deemed fiscally responsible for some summer shopping, headlined by Ricky Rubio and Darren Collison.
