Would Ricky Rubio Mean End Of Knicks' LeBron Dreams?

Rubio and James would not be a good mix

Since Donnie Walsh took over the reins of the Knicks, many have been reassured by the fact that his personnel moves all seem to be following some kind of a master plan. For now that plan has more to do with clearing cap space than anything else, but that will start changing over the next year. That's why it's interesting that the team is sniffing around a trade to extricate Ricky Rubio from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It's interesting because such a trade runs totally counter to the entire LeBron James 2010 theory that's been guiding the team since Walsh's arrival. Signing him was always a longshot, but adding Rubio wouldn't help and might even hurt whatever chance they have of landing the NBA's best player.

Rubio is a great passer and ballhandler with a substandard shot. James is a player you want to have the ball in his hands as much as possible, surrounded by guys who can knock down shots when the defense converges on him. That's not exactly a peanut butter and jelly combination now, is it?

That doesn't mean they shouldn't trade for Rubio. There are plenty of other free agents, like Amar'e Stoudemire and Chris Bosh, who would benefit from playing with a virtuoso point guard. The Knicks should be asking themselves if getting Rubio is better than having a chance at James or even Dwyane Wade because of the dissonance that would be created when they're on the court with Rubio.

Now, Walsh and Mike D'Antoni might have a different picture of what a James-Rubio tandem could do. It's hard to see how you'd reach a radically different conclusion based on the player that Rubio is at this point in time, though, and even harder to see why you'd sign James and then take the ball out of his hands.

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.

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