The Milwaukee Bucks made the right move in turning down the Minnesota Timberwolves’ proposed trade for Khris Middleton.

The Milwaukee Bucks like Ricky Rubio. That’s a fact that has long been established, and Zach Lowe confirms as much in his recent piece about Rubio.

The Spanish point guard is often derided for being a non-shooter, and that’s a legitimate gripe. But comparing him directly to Michael Carter-Williams is incorrect in multiple facets.

Rubio is a terrific floor general and on-ball defender, and far more consistent than Carter-Williams. He’s also older, but only slightly. It’s shortsighted to consider Rubio replacing MCW as a lateral move–it would be a definite improvement in terms of pure point guard play.

That fact along with the Bucks infatuation for Rubio makes it extra terrifying that the two teams talked at length about a trade that would’ve sent Rubio to Milwaukee, and that Khris Middleton was what Minnesota asked for.

Middleton for Rubio is an awful trade for the Milwaukee Bucks. They lose the only sure shooter on the team, and a guy who’s shown vast improvement in every facet of his game who also happens to be under contract until 2020.

Even though the Bucks trade record has been spotty recently, it’s not difficult for any front office to turn down Rubio for Middleton. Things apparently got more interesting than that though, as the Timberwolves considered throwing in their protected 2016 first round draft pick.

The Timberwolves are currently the fifth-worst team in the NBA, with a 29 percent chance of getting a top three pick. The protection on that pick is unknown, but considering Minnesota’s current draft spot it’s not unlikely that it might’ve been a top one or two protected pick.

That’s a chance for the Bucks to add two more talented rookies in the 2016 NBA Draft, which is tantalizing. But no draft pick is a sure thing, not even Ben Simmons.

But even if Simmons is a sure thing, the Timberwolves likely won’t end up with the first overall pick necessary to take him. And even if the balls bounced right, if the Bucks acquired that pick and it had that top one protection than Minnesota would get both Simmons and Middleton.

Frankly, with the growth that Khris Middleton has shown it’s somewhat surprising that he was ever on the table in the first place. Lowe’s piece does mention that Milwaukee retorted with a MCW for Rubio swap, and talks ended shortly thereafter.

It’s encouraging that the Bucks front office thinks highly enough of Middleton to turn down what could be a great draft pick for him though. That’s the most important part of this entire story.

Although this season has turned into a setback, Milwaukee’s braintrust has clearly decided that the team needs to retool, not rebuild. This core of Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker is good. Maybe even great.

Instead of breaking that up for another shot at who-knows-what, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to stand pat in the face of adversity. That’s unequivocally the right call in this situation.