Wolves player profile: Ricky Rubio

This is the final installment in a 16-part series running Tuesdays and Fridays profiling each Minnesota Timberwolves player leading up to the start of the NBA season.

There's a reason the Timberwolves' long-term plans won't implode if Ricky Rubio doesn't sign an extension by this Friday's deadline. As team front-office types are quick to point out, the Spanish point guard is technically under contract for two more seasons.

Unless something changes between now and Halloween, Rubio will play out 2014-15 and become a restricted free agent afterward. The Wolves will have an opportunity to re-sign Rubio outright or match any outside offer sheets that come his way.

Rubio reportedly wants a max deal. But Minnesota's not about to shell out that kind of commitment to a point man who can do everything but shoot at this point in his career.

So when and what kind of a deal gets done -- either with the Wolves or someone else -- is of less import than when Rubio can take the next step. The first depends on the second.

2013-14 stats: 9.5 PPG, 44.8 FG %, 38.1 3-point FG %, 4.2 RPG, 80.2 FT %, 8.6 APG, 2.3 SPG during 32.2 MPG in 82 games

2014-15 salary: $5,070,686

Last year: For the first time in his career, Rubio played a full NBA season. After being drafted fifth overall in 2009 and coming to America two years later, his rookie season was shortened by the lockout and an ACL tear that cost him the final 25 games of the 2011-12 season. Rehab from the same injury kept him out of 25 of Minnesota's first 30 games in 2012-13.

So starting all 82 games last year marked a personal hallmark for Rubio. And in almost all of them, he firmed up his reputation as one of the game's best distributors, ranking fourth in the NBA in assists per game, and a strong perimeter defender, trailing only Chris Paul in steals per game.

But the Boy Wonder from Barcelona also solidified the notion that until he shoots better in games, he won't be an elite NBA point guard. It's something he wasn't asked to do growing up playing in Spain, and he's struggled to adapt to the part of American pro hoops that demands a point guard glean respect from defenders in order to open up the rest of the floor. It's a big reason why coach Rick Adelman went with J.J. Barea -- who was waived Monday -- at point guard late in games last season, keeping Rubio on the bench.

Rubio doesn't need to be a volume scorer. Just enough of one that defenses won't constantly go under pick-and-rolls and dare him to shoot. So that's a primary objective in Rubio's fourth NBA campaign -- along with again staying healthy.

This year: To that end, Rubio spent some time during a busy offseason -- he attended the soccer World Cup, played in the basketball one and trained in Spain and the United States -- working with current Wolves shooting coach Mike Penberthy. His mechanics are solid, Penberthy says, but it's Rubio's confidence that needs work.

So extra time getting shots up outside of practice will be a big part of Rubio's regimen this year.

So will learning to work with some new running mates. With Kevin Love gone and Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Thaddeus Young and a young, high-flying athletic group here instead, Rubio's alley-oop total should go up. Perhaps more important, he'll be able to run the floor more in coach Flip Saunders' up-tempo style.

He'll also take on more of a leadership role. At 24, Rubio is older than five of his teammates. And with Love out of the picture, he'll be looked to as a voice in the locker room and, even more so, on the floor.

The things Rubio already excels at will be on full display. How much he can add to his acumen will help determine his future -- both in Minnesota and the NBA at large.

Restricted free agency could allow the market to determine Rubio's value. At this point, he doesn't look like a max-type player. But a season that shows signs of progress could push him closer to that echelon. After this year, the Wolves could either lock him up or see what kind of offers, if any, he gets from other teams.

Even if a deal were to get done by Friday's deadline, it's a monumental season for Rubio. He'll either need to prove he's worthy of A) any extension he garners, which would be in the $10 million-plus range, or B) that he's worthy of a lucrative one moving forward.

Quotable: "Big guy is not on the team anymore, so somebody else has to step up. I don't think it's only one player, but of course, I've got to step up my game, and I'm working hard. I'm working hard to do it and improving. All I want to do is win." -- Rubio earlier this preseason

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