Crazy day in the NBA offseason has major implications for Utah Jazz

Jazz trade for Ricky Rubio

It had been rumored for several weeks that the Utah Jazz were eyeing Ricky Rubio, although particularly when a report surfaced that Gordon Hayward was perhaps desiring that George Hill stay on the team, many began to feel that it was a mere rumor and nothing else. However, the report indeed came to fruition as Dennis Lindsey used Utah’s soon-to-expire additional cap space from 2016-17 to acquire Rubio for a first-round pick.

This is of course big news for the Jazz for the simple fact that they’ll be adding a new player to their fold. There are certainly some concerns about Rubio, including a checkered injury history and some overall shooting woes, but there’s also no questioning his strengths. He’s an incredible playmaker and a breath-taking assist man who’s sure to have his number of highlight dimes with the Jazz.

Last season he averaged 9.1 assists per game as well as 1.7 steals. As my The J Notes colleague Zack Padmore pointed out earlier today, Rubio had a phenomenal month of March where he put up 17.8 points and 10.4 assists while shooting a solid 47.2 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from deep. Hopefully that month was more indicative of his potential production moving forward as they’re significantly better than his season and career averages.

A change of scenery could very well help Rubio reboot his career, much like George Hill put up career scoring numbers with the Jazz.

Beyond the fact that the Jazz are getting a brand new player, it also impacts them in a number of other ways. First of all, Rubio is on a relatively friendly deal for a starting point guard with a contract of about $14 million during each of the next two years. That’s presumably much cheaper than incumbent starting point guard George Hill would have demanded and it appears more now than ever that Hill and the Jazz will indeed part ways.

This is somewhat disappointing as Hill had a phenomenal season with the Jazz and though his injuries were discouraging, they were largely an outlier compared to the rest of his career. Hill is a much more efficient scorer and certainly brought a lot of stability to the Jazz (when he was on the court) so while the hope is that a much younger Rubio can provide longer term success, there’s a very real chance that Hill will be missed.

However, if Hayward remains with the Jazz, then parting ways with Hill won’t seem nearly as devastating. Although it was supposed that Hayward preferred to play alongside Hill, the Deseret News’ Jody Genessy reported that Hayward was content with Rubio as well, so hopefully we’ll get to see that duo play together as well.

Rubio’s friendlier contract could also help the Jazz make further moves this offseason, but if Hayward does leave, however, fans won’t be able to help but ask if trading for Rubio, rather than keeping Hill, was actually the right course of action.