He wouldn’t be the sexy acquisition, but for a number of reasons, Ricky Rubio would be the perfect one at point guard this summer for the Phoenix Suns.
Until one is acquired, Phoenix Suns fans are going to guess who and lobby for just about every point guard currently in the NBA and possibly available through draft, regardless of their availability (for instance, if you do not think that we here at Valley of the Suns are done writing about potentially acquiring Ja Morant even though Phoenix dropped to sixth overall in the next month’s draft, you’ve got another thing coming).
But while every point guard should be discussed, fans can very astutely begin to narrow down their list to a select few who for all the right reasons would make the most sense to the franchise.
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For instance, players with massive contracts should be (and very likely will be) entirely off-limits for Phoenix due to the far too many holes on the roster that need to be filled than just point guard.
Sure, if Phoenix felt they were one point guard away from making a championship run, they might have sincere interest in either Chris Paul or John Wall, each of whom will be making more money than God this coming season (it’s true: I asked). But since they’re more than one player away, thanks, but no thanks.
Age also plays a factor in who the Phoenix Suns might target, and they will not want to sign or trade for an older player with very little tread left on the tires as that player will not be here long enough to make a long-term impact on a roster that is still overall very young – again, counting out Paul (which I illustrated here) as well as Kyle Lowry.
Some younger players who fans might have a lot of interest in might be entirely unavailable, either re-locking up with their current teams, or hoping to be that final cog on a championship contender as I referenced earlier.
The three that immediately come to mind are D’Angelo Russell, Kemba Walker, and Kyrie Irving.
Each of them young enough to remain with the franchise throughout the remainder or entire duration of their prime (Russell is only 23-years-old, while Kyrie is 27 and Kemba, 29), however, Russell and Kemba are more than likely (although certainly not guaranteed) to re-sign with their current teams, while Kyrie probably wants to join a championship contender and not a team still in the process of rebuilding.
All of these variables mean that the best available and potentially best option for the Phoenix Suns at point guard this offseason is none other than Ricky Rubio, the first of two point guards Minnesota took prior to Golden State selecting Stephen Curry.
And the reasons are both simple, and plentiful.