Minnesota Timberwolves Reportedly Interested in Jrue Holiday, George Hill and Jeff Teague
It seems the Minnesota Timberwolves may be looking to make an upgrade at the point guard position this summer.
According to 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson (via RealGM), the Timberwolves are keeping an eye on Jrue Holiday, George Hill and Jeff Teague, and they are interested in signing one of them if Ricky Rubio is traded this offseason.
"It all starts with a Ricky Rubio trade ... I can tell you industry buzz indicates the Wolves are looking to acquire a veteran point guard in free agency, but it begins with trading Ricky Rubio," Wolfson said, via Def Pen.
Wolfson isn't exactly sure who among the three the Timberwolves will prioritize if they let go of Rubio, but he thinks the team will probably pursue Holiday first because he's the youngest at 27.
"There is some growing sentiment in the league that he is willing to leave New Orleans if he gets max money," he stated.
Well, trading Rubio isn't going to be that hard since the New York Knicks appear to like him a lot, and Wolfson has also noted that the Sacramento Kings are interested in acquiring him as well. Of course, both teams may end up selecting point guards in next week's draft and that doesn't bode well for the Timberwolves' plans.
Team president/head coach Tom Thibodeau usually likes a player who can hold his own on the defensive end of the court, so one has to wonder why Rubio is a constant source of trade speculation. The Spanish point guard's shooting woes have been well-documented since he entered the league, but he's actually a pretty good ball distributor and a solid defensive player.
Meanwhile, Derrick Rose's name is noticeably missing from the list. Wolfson said the Timberwolves probably don't rate him as highly as some of the players who are going to be available in the free agent market.