The Downbeat: Ricky Rubio’s fit with the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz traded for point guard Ricky Rubio on June 30th. This was before Gordon Hayward had made his decision to leave Utah for the Boston Celtics. The Jazz made this move with Hayward’s preferences in mind, and they even flew Rubio out from Spain to join the meeting taking place in San Diego, California.

After Hayward’s decision, there was (and frankly still is) some speculation as to whether or not Rubio was a permanent, long-term piece of the Jazz’s puzzle. Do the Jazz flip him and free cap space for a future free-agency period? Do they dial down focus on youth and rebuilding? There was some reason to believe that the Jazz could move Rubio.

But watching Rubio’s style of play and his mental makeup, its hard to think that he wouldn’t make an excellent fit on the Utah Jazz.

Rubio discussed his fit in the Utah system with several media individuals Wednesday afternoon, and became even more likable for Utah Jazz fans.

He voiced his opinions on his respective play style, that of a pass-first point guard that the Jazz have not had in some time.

Speaking of his fit with Rudy Gobert, Rubio said the following:

Rubio throwing lobs to Rudy Gobert is something that nightmares are made of.. for opposing NBA teams anyway. It’s easy to see these two getting along very well on and off the court. As long as this doesn’t put a damper on the Gobert-Neto bromance, everyone will be completely fine with that.

Rubio also mentioned how impressed he was with Quin Snyder, and mentioned that he has been very involved in speaking to coach Snyder at least once a week since being traded to the Jazz.

Last but not least, Rubio paid homage to Jazz legend John Stockton, and expressed his unbelief at his career statistics.

The Jazz gave us an update on the renovations at Vivint SmartHome Arena, and things are looking pretty amazing so far.

These updates featured pictures of the outside entrance, new locker room, and new “court-side suites” which should be pretty interesting.

The Utah Jazz also appear to have made an official announcement (?) regarding Ricky Rubio’s jersey number. (via @UtahJazz twitter)

The number three jersey for the Utah Jazz has been an interesting mixture of good and bad players, including Bryon Russell, DeMarre Carrol, George Hill, and every Jazz fan’s current ex-player.. Trey Burke.

One of more anticipated events for NBA fans at the moment are the releases of the new Nike jerseys. There have been hints and clues at which color schemes the Jazz will be rolling out with this coming season, and Steve Starks told 1280 The Zone on Wednesday that they will be releasing two of the jerseys soon.

This is an exciting update to look forward to, and shouldn’t cause near as much stress as waiting for Gordon Hayward to make a decision.

Have you ever been at a Jazz game and because of lack of wifi been denied of your human right to post a selfie on Instagram or refresh your Twitter feed? Worry no more. Along with the renovations to Vivint SmartHome Arena, they will reportedly be adding wifi capabilities for the entire arena.

Coming from the President of the Utah Jazz himself, there will now be a way in which you refresh your Twitter feed as much as you would like. The wifi add is a low-key and underrated move for the Jazz, much like most of their free agent signings this off-season.