Utah Jazz notes: Rubio envisions Finals appearance, Mini-camp details

Utah Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio has some very big ideas about where his team can go. Also — full details on the free agent mini-camp.

Ricky Rubio and the Utah Jazz had a banner year in 2017-18. The Jazz point-man put up career-high marks in points (13.1), field goal percentage (41.8) and 3-point percentage (35.2). Meanwhile, his squad, in hindsight, was arguably one of the top five teams in the Association.

However, Rubio is far from satisfied with advancing to Round 2 and getting unceremoniously dismissed by the Houston Rockets.

In an interview with Catalan ESport3, Rubio said he sees himself leading the Jazz attack in the NBA Finals one day.

Here are Rubio’s comments, translated from Spanish —

"“We are young, we have a solid future and a team, and I feel that we still have to do something big. I see myself playing the NBA Finals with the Jazz ”"

Clearly, Rubio is confident in the direction the Jazz are headed, as well as his role in the process. And with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert leading the charge, it’s easy to see why.

The Golden State Warriors continue to be the class of the Western Conference (and the league), and toppling them will be a Herculean task, but the Jazz could be major players in the free agent market during the summer of 2019.

Moreover — and this speaks to Rubio’s statement about the team’s future — there’s still plenty of internal development to come from the team’s core players. Mitchell is only one year into his run, with some clear areas for improvement, while Gobert continues to develop his offensive game.

For his part, Rubio showed there’s another gear he can hit as well. From December 30 on (roughly half a season in terms of games played) he averaged just under 15 points, six assists and five boards per game. Along the way, he shot 44 percent overall and 41 percent from deep.

If he can approach those numbers over the course of an 82-game season, the Jazz become a very dangerous team.

Perhaps even NBA Finals dangerous.

Free agent mini-camp this weekend

The Utah Jazz released full details and a list of invitees for their upcoming free agent mini-camp on Thursday. In total, 32 free agents will participate in the camp on June 8 and 9 at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus.

Here’s the complete list and info —

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Jazz fans should recognize some of the names on the list. Salt Lake City Stars ballers Isaiah Cousins, L.J. Rose and Diamond Stone will be in attendance. So, too, will be a litany of players with NBA experience. Chief among them are Lavoy Allen, Perry Jones III and K.J. McDaniels.

The 6-foot-9 Allen is a veteran of 388 NBA games; he last played for the Indiana Pacers. Allen has career averages of just under five points and five rebounds per game. This past season, he suited up for the G-League’s Northern Arizona Suns.

Jones, meanwhile, was a first-round pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2012. He played parts of three seasons in OKC, averaging 3.4 points per contest in limited action over 143 games.

McDaniels, a 6-foot-6 wing, started 15 games for the tanking Philadelphia 76ers as a rookie in ’14-15 and put up 9.2 points and four rebounds per game for them. He was dealt to the Houston Rockets later that year, before ending up in Brooklyn last season.

Over 148 career games, he’s averaged 5.3 points per game.