Ricky Rubio’s NBA relevance has gone from YouTube sensation to fanboy whimsy to actual draft pick to mythical figure, all with only one real constant: for all of the hype and criticism alike, Rubio has yet to play a single NBA game. It’s incredibly unclear when that might change, and if Rubio’s situation wasn’t tenuous enough on its own, a potential lockout definitely adds another variable to the mix. We could still be years away from Rubio’s NBA debut -- if he decides to play in the States at all -- and whether he’ll start his American career with the Timberwolves or some other team is a mystery.
That said, there’s at least one prominent owner with an eye on Rubio. Mark Cuban frequently describes his managerial style as “opportunistic,” and should Minnesota decide to trade either a signed Rubio or merely his rights, it sounds like you can count Cuban among the interested parties. From Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas:“We’re very high on him,” Cuban said told the [St. Paul Pioneer Press.] “If they want to give him up, we’re very interested. We would do that in a heartbeat.”
The Mavs are going to need a starting point in two seasons. Jason Kidd’s contract expires after the 2011-12 season (assuming there is a season). Beaubois has been tapped the point guard of the future, but there’s plenty of uncertainty if he the lightning-quick slasher will ever be able to assume that mantle. Dallas was interested at the trade deadline of re-acquiring Devin Harris with designs of flipping him at some point for Deron Williams, but the New Jersey Nets took care of that. The Wolves want Rubio to play for them, but if not...
“I don’t think if he came in [to the NBA] now he would dominate the league or anything like that,” Cuban said. “But, I think he would have a big impact here.”
As Caplan notes in his post, there’s no tampering here. Although the Timberwolves own Rubio’s draft rights, he’s not actually a member of the team and thus fair game for discussion among NBA parties.
There’s no use going deep into the idea of Rubio as a potential Maverick, but he and Beaubois could form a pretty interesting backcourt pairing. If Dallas can’t reload on the fly with an established commodity following Dirk Nowitzki’s inevitable decline, Cuban will blow the core up and start from scratch. Rubio and Beaubois would be a solid foundation -- or at least a nice pair of assets -- to begin a rebuild.