When the Timberwolves traded for Ricky Rubio, they envisioned him and D'Angelo Russell being able to pair seamlessly in the backcourt. The talk coming out of training camp was positive on all fronts — and then the games started, and the combination wasn't exactly fruitful.
That was a reality President Gersson Rosas acknowledged when discussing the state of the team after the Wolves didn't make any moves at the trade deadline Thursday.
"Early on, unfortunately, and you guys are tuned in, the returns weren't good …" Rosas said. "It wasn't good offensively. It wasn't good defensively. We like having multiple ballhandlers on the floor at all times.