Report: Timberwolves Seeking To Trade Ricky Rubio

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The NBA Trade Deadline is set for February 23rd this year and according to a report from The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Minnesota Timberwolves are "actively shopping" point guard Ricky Rubio in potential trade negotiations.

With a little over a month to go before the deadline, the Wolves have reportedly contacted several teams about trades centering on packages that involve Rubio and forward Shabazz Muhammad. From the report:

"The Timberwolves have attached Rubio to multiple offers with Shabazz Muhammad to several teams around the NBA, league sources said. Minnesota has been seeking something of a "bridge" guard in return, a player capable of starting in the short term, but who'll ultimately settle into a backup role and give way to rookie Kris Dunn to become the long-term starter, league sources said.

The Sacramento Kings have had a strong interest in acquiring Rubio, but there's no traction on a deal between those two teams, league sources said. So far, the Timberwolves are trying to exhaust the market elsewhere for a better return of assets than the Kings can offer."

Rubio is currently the highest paid player on the roster at $13.5 million this season, and he is signed for the next two years. The 26-year-old point guard is currently posting career lows in scoring (7.9 PPG), rebounds (3.9), and three point shooting percentage (24%). His continued poor shooting combined with the team spending the 5th overall pick in this past year's draft on point guard Kris Dunn seem to have made him expendable.