Philadelphia 76ers: Ricky Rubio isn’t a good free agent option

The Philadelphia 76ers have a clear and present need for improved point guard depth, but Ricky Rubio isn’t the player they should pursue.

Ben Simmons is still lacking an outside shot and T.J. McConnell has proven to be unplayable during the playoffs. The need for improved point guard depth is beyond evident. Despite this heavy need that the Philadelphia 76ers have, one player that shouldn’t even be considered is Ricky Rubio. Rubio has been informed by the team he played for this past season, the Utah Jazz, that he won’t be a priority in their free agent plans, according to Ernest Macia of Catalunya Radio.

Despite being a well established veteran in the prime of his career, Rubio shouldn’t be considered as a free agent option for the Sixers. He’s a solid playmaker and defender, yet there are several reasons why Rubio shouldn’t be on general manager Elton Brand‘s radar.

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There’s no doubt that Rubio can pass the ball like few others, he’s averaged 7.7 assists and 2.7 turnovers for his career. He’s been a solid defender as well, averaging 1.9 steals. Yet, he doesn’t fit with the Sixers. The biggest reason is his shooting.

He’s had a solid mid-range shot, but has struggled from the 3-point line for almost his whole career. The European point guard has only shot 32.2 percent from the beyond the arc during his time in the NBA. There was only one season that Rubio has converted above 35.0 percent on 3-pointers.

With the Sixers having two dominant players in Simmons and Joel Embiid that do their best inside the paint, having an inefficient 3-point shooter at the backup point guard spot isn’t a good fit. It was part of the reason why McConnell become unplayable.

Another thing to consider is that while Rubio is a ball dominant player, he does have a solid usage percentage of 19.4 percent for his career. In comparison, McConnell has a career usage percentage of 15.0 percent. Being able to playoff the ball will be big for whoever will be Simmons’ backup for next season and it doesn’t seem like Rubio is able to do so.

Operating under the assumption that the Sixers will return the same starting five from this past season, their won’t be that many touches for whoever is the backup. Simmons, Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris are all ball dominant players and require the ball to be as special as they are on offense. Not an ideal fit for Rubio, who has a decent sized usage percentage.

There are two other major things to consider. The first being would Rubio be willing to take a backup role behind Simmons? Rubio can be a starter on a fair amount of teams and he’s in the prime of his career at 28-years-old. It seems unlikely that Rubio would be willing to take that sacrifice even if that meant a chance at a title.

Probably the biggest factor working against a Rubio and Sixers union is the cost of bringing him in. He made close to $15 million this past season and even if he doesn’t make quite that much, his next contract could be in that pay range.

That’s way out of Philly’s price range for a backup as the team is set to try to bring back Butler and Harris, two max contract level players. Paying a large amount of money for a player who isn’t a natural fit on the roster doesn’t make sense.

Any union between Rubio and the Philadelphia 76ers doesn’t seem feasible. His skill set isn’t the ideal fit with the Sixers core, his role would be an issue and he’s too expensive for a role player on Philly’s roster. There’s no doubt that the 76ers need an upgrade at the point guard spot, but Rubio isn’t that player.