Free Agency
With so many roster holes filled through trades and the draft, James Jones did not really need to hit free agency very hard this offseason.
And yet, with somewhat limited options, he landed the best guy possible.
By all metrics, Ricky Rubio was a top-five available point guard in a very deep point guard free agency summer.
Sure, landing Kyrie Irving have been a better move, but Irving was both never in play, and the money placed on his acquisition would have been detrimental to the additional roster additions that Jones is going to make over the next couple of years to finalize a truly deep and competitive roster.
Phoenix Suns
Fans too wanted D’Angelo Russell, and the reason why Phoenix did not target him is, to this day, is still a confusing one.
But Jones too did not settle with lesser point guards who could not actually lead an up tempo offense the way Rubio can.
Patrick Beverley and Terry Rozier are nice point guard role players, but not the kind of starters who would, on any level, help the franchise grow in any discernible way.
In the case of the singing of Ricky Rubio, credit must be given where credit is due. Rubio will help the young core grow on both sides of the ball, which will lead to more wins both this season and in the future.
Ricky Rubio was not a settled-on signing. He was the best available point guard this summer, and he is now a member of the Phoenix Suns.
The acquisition of Frank Kaminsky was nothing more than a depth signing, one that put the final touch on Jones’ obvious vision of a high-volume and high-efficiency 3-point shooting team; and one more shooter for Rubio to dish the ball to when open.
Other than being able to shoot the 3 from the four, is he anything special?
No. But he was signed via the cap exception and if he is an abject failure, it does not hurt the roster in anyway.