The Ricky Rubio Disaster

Initially, I thought the Wolves were completely batty for taking both Rubio and Jonny Flynn in the 2009 NBA Draft. But in hindsight, Minnesota had to take two point-guards. First off, they need a real point-guard and I have no doubt that Flynn or Rubio will become a viable option (note: that doesn’t mean either are All-Star worthy despite Rubio’s immense hype). Second, when Rubio fell to them with the fifth pick, they had to take him. If he pans out as a star, the Wolves betting faithful would’ve ripped management.

However, now it’s a question of whether Rubio will ever suit up in a Timberwolves uniform. The electric, Spanish wonder kid is handcuffed by a $6.6 buyout clause with his Spanish club, the DKV Joventut. On top of that, the Rubio camp is wary of letting Ricky go to Minnesota despite the fact that he’ll have both Al Jefferson and Kevin Love to feed the ball to.

David Kahn has been defending his selection of Rubio vehemently. The idea that he can let Flynn take the time to develop while Rubio matures, ages and adjusts to the pace of American basketball is a great one. But all of that is moot if Rubio doesn’t even plan on showing up in Minny.

Given the buyout with SKV Joventut and Rubio’s reluctance to go to Minnesota, Kahn did the next best thing: he teased the market. Though no details have been revealed, it seems that the Wolves hold one of the most marketable and sought after players from the NBA Draft class. If Rubio is dangled even deeper in to the pool, then the NBA big fish will bite and Minnesota could walk away stronger for it.

The plot gets thicker with Kahn merely testing the waters with Rubio. He is confident he can play both Rubio and Flynn, and was confident enough in that idea to tell the season ticket holders that playing Flynn and Rubio, “can and will work”. Either way, the Rubio drama is going to unfold as we inch closer to the NBA opener in the Fall.

If Minnesota sees Rubio in uniform, along with Flynn, Jefferson and Love then they have reasons to be genuinely excited. If Rubio gets packaged in a deal that brings another considerable tour-de-force to the Wolves, you know they’re going to get something good for the Spanish Disaster. It’s a good time to be a Timberwolves fan, and we haven’t been able to say that for a long, long time.