NBA Update: Spanish star Ricky Rubio all set to join the Minnesota Timberwolves
Ricky Rubio is finally going to join the Minnesota Timberwolves, it has been revealed. Although there still has been no official word from the Timberwolves as yet, sources close to the front office have confirmed that the Spaniard
will indeed be joining the Minnesota Timberwolves in the next season.
Ricky Rubio is a Spanish point guard who currently plays for Regal Barcelona. He was drafted two years ago by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the fifth overall pick. The talented player however was still under contract in Spain at
the time and had a high buyout at around $6 million. The NBA’s current rules allow for the Minnesota Timberwolves to pay only $500,000 for the buyout, which meant that Rubio had to pay the rest of the money himself.
As such Rubio decided to stay in Spain for two more seasons and now his buyout is a manageable $1.4 million. The player was also rumoured to be concerned over moving to the Timberwolves because of the standing of the twin cities’
franchise. Compared to other franchises in the league, Minnesota Timberwolves are not that favourable from a marketing perspective, which translates to less lucrative endorsements.
However, things have come to a head because of the NBA’s labour dispute. In the event of a lockout, Rubio will lose a lot of games in his rookie season and that is not something he would want. But, if he does not agree to a contract
with the Timberwolves now, and the eventual negotiations between the players union and league lead to the salary cap being reduced, Rubio could get a significantly lower offer from the franchise.
In the given circumstances it seems the player has decided to join the Minnesota based franchise now rather than play for another year in Spain. The delay in the announcement of the decision is believed to be because both parties
do not want to disturb Rubio’s participation in the ongoing playoffs in the Spanish league.
As a player, Rubio has underperformed this season, averaging a poor 6.5 points per game at below par average of 39 percent shooting. However, there is no doubting his talent, which first came to attention in the Olympics. Rubio
shined in a polished display against the United States which drew praise from many established NBA stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
His Spanish national team colleague and Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol is a big fan of the point guard and earlier in the season had this to say regarding Ricky,
"He's a special player and a very good point guard," the Lakers forward said. "Very unselfish. He's got great size, great length. He knows how to play the game very well. He's got a great feel for the game. He's just a guy that
will get the team going and do what he needs to do."
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