Trade Deadline Targets for the Orlando Magic

Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio is an interesting player, to say the least.

Rubio has been a misfit with the Minnesota Timberwolves since the day he was drafted, which may have affected his development over the years. Throughout his career, Rubio has proven he can be a difference-maker on the court, especially with his play-making abilities.

When healthy, Rubio has proven he is a complete basketball player.

Rubio is extremely active on the defensive end and is not afraid to go for rebounds. On the offensive end, Rubio is not much of a scorer. But he does a terrific job creating and facilitating for others on his team.

The one area of concern with Rubio is he has not improved his outside shot throughout his NBA career.

The Magic have struggled with Elfrid Payton mainly due to his inability to shoot the ball from the perimeter, so Rubio would not fix that necessarily. In his six-year NBA career Rubio is shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from behind the arc.

For Rubio to succeed in a team he must be used as a distributor. The Magic could use a player like Rubio to create open looks for players like Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross and to run an efficient pick and roll with Aaron Gordon.

Rubio is only 26 years old and could still develop into an even better player if he can improve his jump shot. He would at least be on the same timeline as most of the other Magic’s key players.

Rubio is under contract for two more seasons, which would allow the Magic to try him for two years and simply let him go if things do not end up working out.