Minnesota Timberwolves: The case for Jordan McLaughlin over Ricky Rubio

The Minnesota Timberwolves‘ roster was always going to be one of the youngest in the NBA coming into the season. After all, their top three players, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and Malik Beasley, are all 25 and under.

Naturally, the front office decided that it would be beneficial to these players, along with other young pieces, including Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie, to bring in a steady veteran presence.

Enter Ricky Rubio.

Ricky Rubio has struggled mightily for the Minnesota Timberwolves

Rubio was acquired in a draft-day trade that sent James Johnson and the No. 17 pick in exchange for Rubio and the No. 25 and No. 28 in the draft. Bringing back a familiar face with plenty of NBA experience as a leader for the Jazz and Suns in recent years, Gersson Rosas believed Rubio would be able to foster a winning mindset that could move the needle for the Timberwolves.

That, however, has not been the case.

In the Timberwolves’ last five games, Rubio is averaging just 6.0 points and 3.4 turnovers per game on a horrendous 23.8 percent shooting mark from the field. On most nights, Rubio is simply hurting the team more than he is helping it.

Rubio often looks out of place in the Timberwolves’ fast-paced, 3-point-shooting-centric offense due to his lack of shooting. Due to Russell’s recent three-game absence, Rubio’s time in the starting lineup has turned out much worse than expected and it does not appear he will be finding his groove anytime soon.

And that means that it’s time to discuss the idea of moving Jordan McLaughlin into a bigger role.

The Minnesota Timberwolves should give Rubio’s minutes to Jordan McLaughlin

McLaughlin returns to the Wolves after a surprisingly effective rookie season last year for the Timberwolves, working his way from the G League’s Iowa Wolves to a positive bench contributor for the Wolves late in the season.

This year, after lengthy contract negotiations, McLaughlin was finally given a second two-way contract to remain with the Wolves. Due to health and safety protocols and the need to get him back into game shape and up to speed, McLaughlin did not play in the preseason or in the first two games of the season. Then, after appearing in four straight games, he sat out the next five.

However, as injuries and COVID-19 health and safety absences began to pile up, McLaughlin has flourished in his role as Rubio’s backup, averaging eight points and five assists per game on a respectable 53.8 percent shooting from the field.

McLaughlin is still playing with the hustle and grit of a two-way player trying to assert himself in the league. He’s able to create his own shot in a multitude of ways, most notably with his knack for getting to the rim and finishing. Plus, his five assists per game in just 20 minutes of action off the bench speaks to his positive playmaking ability; his 34.9 percent assist rate is the best on the team to this point as well.

It’s been clear over the past few games that when McLaughlin and the bench unit come in the game they provide energy and a drive to compete, often being the reason the Wolves have been able to claw their way back into games in the midst of yet another losing streak.

McLaughlin is generally a better fit in the Timberwolves’ pace-and-space offense, and it’s fair to wonder why Ryan Saunders did not move J-Mac into the starting lineup while Russell was out. His ability to create shots for both himself and others makes sense to add to a starting group without much outside shooting this side of Beasley and the center spot, whether that’s Towns or Naz Reid.

Rubio would be better suited to pilot the bench unit, as he would be able to create players for guys like Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Culver among others. He could provide veteran leadership and a playmaking presence to a relatively young bench group who has shown the ability to shoot the ball more efficiently than starters Jarred Vanderbilt and Josh Okogie.

On its face, moving your $17 million veteran point guard to the bench with Russell out may seem like a poor decision, but McLaughlin has been the better player of late and fits better with the current starting lineup.

Now that Russell has returned, things are a bit more complicated; McLaughlin didn’t see the floor until garbage time in the loss to Philadelphia on Friday. Time will tell if McLaughlin gets an opportunity to run with the starters at any point or simply take over some of Rubio’s backup minutes.

Then, if J-Mac can show he can perform when given a bigger workload, it would make that much more sense for the Timberwolves to unload the expensive Rubio in a trade that could net them a future pick and clear some cap for the future.

Yes, Rubio is a beloved Timberwolves icon, and fans will never forget his amazing playmaking from earlier in his career, this is a whole new team and it’s becoming clearer that McLaughlin is the answer as this team’s fill-in and primary backup to Russell.