Are you ready for the point guard shuffle? The first domino is a trade sending Ricky Rubio to Utah in exchange for a lottery-protected first-round pick.
For one, this virtually guarantees that Utah will not re-sign George Hill, allowing the vet to hit the open market. There are a few teams who need a point guard, although it’s somewhat tricky to find a team who both needs him and can afford to give him the max deal he wants, since Brooklyn, Philly, and Sacramento all have cap space but also all acquired point guards in the past week.
Thanks to this trade and the Jimmy Butler deal, the Timberwolves now have no point guards and a suddenly competent roster, so they will have to find one in free agency. Reports have them interested in Jeff Teague, Hill, Jrue Holiday, and Kyle Lowry, all of whom probably want max contracts. The funniest possible outcome would be coach Tom Thibodeau talking himself into investing in the fossilized bones of Derrick Rose. Or better yet, to reunite Butler with the newly released Rajon Rondo, a known fan of Butler’s.