Report: Celtics among teams doing ‘due diligence' on Ricky Rubio

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The Boston Celtics could use more depth at point guard, and the trade market is perhaps the best place to add reinforcements at that position.

One player who reportedly interests the Celtics is Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio. Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV in Minneapolis tweeted Thursday that the Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are among the teams "doing trade due-diligence" on Rubio.

Rubio is currently playing for Spain at the Tokyo Olympics, where he scored 26 points in a pool play win over Argentina on Thursday.

The 30-year-old veteran averaged 8.6 points, 6.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game for the T-Wolves last season. He shot well from the free throw line (86.7 percent) but struggled from 3-point range (30.8 percent).

Rubio is entering the final season of a three-year, $51 million contract that carries a $17.8 million salary cap hit. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Celtics currently have Marcus Smart and 2020 first-round pick Payton Pritchard atop their point guard depth chart after trading Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder last month. 

Rubio is a decent offensive player and a quality playmaker, but his poor 3-point shooting and less-than-stellar perimeter defense make him a bad fit for the Celtics, especially at his salary.

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