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SALT LAKE CITY — Following Utah’s Game 2 loss to the Houston Rockets, Ricky Rubio had some uncharacteristically stern words for his teammates.
“It’s about us believing in what we do, and I think we haven’t bought in 100 percent,” he said. “If you’re not 100 percent in, you’ve already lost the battle.”
The Jazz had been humbled, embarrassed even; their defensive game-plan ridiculed and laughed at. Rubio didn’t blame the strategy. He looked at his teammates.
“I don’t like to talk a lot but when I do, I’m honest,” Rubio said. “I’m going to give you my opinion 100 percent — if you like it or not. I talked to my teammates after almost every game in this series and I never talked to them that often.”
In the final games of the season, Rubio was determined to try everything in order to keep the season going. If that meant going chest-to-chest with James Harden to try and show some fight, or calling out teammates, or being attack-oriented on the offensive end, he was willing to do it.
If that’s the final image of Rubio wearing a Jazz jersey, it will be one that fits right along with his time in Utah.
He hasn't been a lights-out shooter or a lockdown defender. He didn’t lead the league in assists or develop into a true driving threat. But it’d be hard to find someone who cared more than Rubio did — cared about his teammates, about the team, about the community, about getting to play one more game.
“His greatest strength as a player and as a person is his empathy, and I would add his care factor,” Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said last week. “That’s why you saw him play so well against Houston. The guy was fighting.”
Rubio averaged 15.4 points and 8.6 assists in Utah’s first-round loss to the Rockets — including back-to-back 11-assists games in the final two contests of the series. His fire both on and off the court inspired a turnaround that had some fans even believing that maybe the Jazz could do the impossible and come back from a 3-0 deficit.
“I gave it all — all I had,” Rubio said. “Could I have played better? Yeah. Finishing the season, who knows if I’m finished here, with everything I had. I’m proud about it.”
Lindsey compared the effort to the ones he saw from San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili — and that’s not a comparison he makes lightly. It also makes the decision whether to resign Rubio a little more difficult.
It’s no secret that the Jazz tried to include Rubio in a trade during February’s deadline for Memphis's Mike Conley — Lindsey even admitted as much last week. The Jazz wanted another playmaker to go along with Donovan Mitchell. And that's something that still will be on the minds of the Utah front office as it heads into the summer.
"The trade deadline happened and, unfortunately, a team leaked something,” Lindsey said. “That was unethical and it became a month referendum on Ricky, and I had that conversation with him, and he understood and the same thing will hold true in free agency.”
That month was difficult for Rubio. It wasn’t the first time he has heard his name come up in trade rumors — it was a normal part of his time in Minnesota — but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t have an impact.
Following the deadline, Rubio wondered aloud to the media if front offices truly understood how important team chemistry was to building a championship team and, last Thursday, he admitted that it was a trying month leading up to the deadline.
“I tried to stay as positive as I could and focus on the team and what we were doing here, but it’s hard,” Rubio said. “And a player like me, I play with heart. And you want to go out there and play with heart, but you don't know if tomorrow you’re going to be here. It’s tough, I’m not gonna lie. Luckily, it didn’t happen and ended the season here on a really good note.”
That really good note was playing Rubio's trademark effort that has won him so many fans in Utah. And while it may be hard for many to see him leave — if that does indeed happen.
“He has a decision to make on his end,” Lindsey said. “We have a decision to make on our end. There’s a lot of scenarios where I could see Ricky back. We really appreciate who he is. We think we can get him better from a health-performance standpoint, from a skill standpoint. We know who he is. We know he has Jazz DNA. We’ll have options, he’ll have options.”
As for Rubio’s options, he said he wanted to find a place where he is happy.
He’s been happy in Utah. Last week, Rubio talked glowingly of his teammates and coaches — especially about having the chance to mentor Donovan Mitchell and to be coached by Quin Snyder. But whether or not a return is in the cards might just depend on who the Jazz can land in free agency and how much Rubio will demand on the open market.
“One thing I will look at, for sure, is the best situation for me,” Rubio said. “With the coach and the team. … (I) want to find the best opportunity for me to perform and be happy.”
