Utah Jazz rumors: Pacers want Rubio, Hayward root of Celtics woes?

Indiana Pacers interested in Rubio

In case you SOMEHOW missed it, as a brief reminder it’s almost a complete certainty that Ricky Rubio won’t be back with the Utah Jazz next season. The veteran point guard made it known that the Jazz had informed him that he’s not a priority and he’s likely to look for opportunities elsewhere that will allow him a starting role on a contending team. Meanwhile, Utah will aim to bolster their point guard position significantly by finding an improvement over Rubio.

While Rubio will likely have many options this summer, finding his ideal spot as a starter on a contender may be harder than he thinks – principally because if Rubio is your starting point guard, I have a hard time believing your team will be all that great, unless the team is full of other superstars. I don’t see this happening, but I suppose we could still be surprised.

However, if Ricky is looking to play on a good playoff team that is definitely seeking a new look at point guard, he may be able to find as much in the Indiana Pacers. In fact, it was announced on Tuesday that the Pacers are indeed very interested in the Spanish Samurai. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor went as far as to say that he will be “a top free agent target for the Indiana Pacers.”

I can see where the Pacers may want to take advantage of Rubio’s passing ability and knack for running an offense effectively. But quite frankly, outside of that I’m a little confused at the appeal here. If anything, the Pacers, not unlike the Utah Jazz, are in need of a second playmaker and scorer who can get into the paint and create his own shot alongside Victor Oladipo. Rubio is none of those things.

In fact, Rubio’s poor shooting could very well just leave Oladipo and the rest of the Pacers with less room to operate on offense, where the team would go through major droughts last season as it is. We all saw what Ricky did at times to the Jazz O, and it’s hard to see why the Pacers may want to bring that same issue upon themselves.

But, we don’t invent the news, we just report it. And if the Pacers truly are interested, they assuredly know what they’re doing better than I do. Though I see it as an odd fit basketball-wise, Rubio would actually likely be a great fit chemistry-wise in Indiana. Like the Jazz, the Pacers are a no-nonsense, hardworking group that is known for its whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Rubio would fit that mold seamlessly as he did in Utah and help bring seasoned veteran experience to their mix.

Not only that, but if he did land a starting gig in Indiana, I wouldn’t be able to help but be happy for him. Despite not making much sense anymore for the Jazz, he’s still a phenomenal guy and played his heart out for Utah the past two years. Seeing him end up in a good situation on a competitive team with a great culture would be a refreshing sight for someone who deserves it so much after all the good he did in Utah.

There are a lot of places that Rubio could end up and, despite being ready for him to move on from the Jazz, I’ll be happy to wish him well wherever he lands.