Finally... Ricky Rubio is coming to the NBA

I will be lying to you if I said that I didn't have more than a passing/professional interest in this story. Ever since his dominating performance at the FIBA Europe U16 Championship (more on this later), I've been enamoured with the young Spaniard's game.

Yes, a lot of super-talented young players have come and gone over the past few years: some have lived up to their expectations (Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin) and some have disappointed (Greg Oden, Hasheem Thabeet, Michael Beasley (mostly)). But there was always something different about the young Spaniard. Rubio's gifts were more mental than physical. Even as a teenager, he was mentally a step ahead of the adult players he played with in the Spanish League or in international competitions for Spain. It seemed that, somehow, the kid just gets basketball. If you know about him, I shouldn't have to point you to his highlight videos for proof. Hell, I'll do it anyways.

News broke a couple of weeks ago that the Minnesota Timberwolves, who drafted Rubio 5th in the 2009 NBA Draft, had finally signed him to a contract. Due to his contractual agreements with FC Barcelona, it took Rubio a few more days to announce the deal, and on a press conference on June 17th, he finally announced that he will be taking his talents to Minnesota.

FINALLY! Barring any Lockout-related tragedies (#LWord), we will finally be able to see the magical young point guard in action in the NBA this season. I have been waiting a long time for this: I first heard about Rubio via a SLAM Magazine article by Lang Whitaker back in 2007, and I was immediately curious to see if his game could back up his accolades.

Rubio has been the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League, when he made his debut for DKV Juventut as a 14 year old in 2005. 14, and playing amongst adults in probably the second-best domestic league in the world. He played for Juventut for four years. But it was his performance at the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship that cemented his young legacy.

During the tournament in August 2006, Rubio achieved two triple-doubles and a quadruple-double. In the 110–106 double overtime Final victory over Russia, Rubio scored 51 points, grabbed 24 rebounds, made 12 assists, and stole the ball 11 times! He also forced the first overtime with a three-point, buzzer-beating shot from mid-court. Rubio was subsequently named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after leading it in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

He was named FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, was voted the Spanish League's best point guard in 2008, and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year in the 2008-09 season. In his four years, he won a FIBA EuroCup championship and the ULEB Cup championship with Joventut. Ricky was recognized as Europe's overall best basketball player by being named Mr. Europa in 2008.

2008 was the same year that Ricky was selected in the Spanish senior national team for the Beijing Olympics. At 17, he was playing point guard maturely for essentially the second-best team in the world. He started in the final against Team USA, and showed incredible offensive and defensive vision in a losing effort. Ricky was later part of the Spain team that won the EuroBasket 2009.

At 18, after declaring for the NBA draft, and promptly taken by the Timberwolves as their 5th pick, Ricky decided not to go to the NBA, or rather the Timberwolves, and his contract was bought from Joventut by FC Barcelona, with whom he announced that he will stay for at least another two years before crossing the Atlantic. He has since won the Spanish League Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, FIBA European Young Player of the Year for three straight years, the MVP of the Catalan Cup in 2009, and the EuroLeague Rising Star award in 2010.

His Barcelona side has won everything in Europe with him and with plenty of other stars, including the EuroLeague and the Spanish League.

Across the pond however, Rubio's controversial decision to stay in Spain another two years made him a very unpopular person in the NBA circles. Fans questioned his toughness to stick with NBA players, and they questioned his toughness to stay away from home in the first place. From sunny Barcelona to the very not-so-sunny Minnesota. From the Spanish League to the world's most competitive basketball league in the NBA. Is he overrated? Are we judging him too much based on YouTube? His meager statistics last season with Barcelona were 6.5 ppg and 3.5 apg. He even lost his starting spot at one point in the season.

Do we believe the hype?

Yes, I say, but now, with some careful doubt. Yes, there are a lot of question marks surrounding his game. Yes, he has digressed slightly over the course of the season. Yes, he is a scrawny little kid about to be fed alive to the big boys.

Those were the cons. These are the pros:

- He's still only 20 years old, and already has 6 years of professional senior basketball experience. He has represented Spain's senior national team since 2008 and Europe's best basketball team, Barcelona, for the last 2 years. He has won a lot. At this age he already has a winning blueprint all over him. He has learnt well, and while most players of his age are still rookies, his adjustment won't be to the pro game, it would be to the game in the NBA, something that, given some time, he will be able to master.

- Don't be fooled by the size - Ricky pestered two of the NBA's best point guards in Chris Paul and Deron Williams defensively in the Olympics. And is other tiny-looking guys like Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, and not to mention Steve Nash can make it, why not Ricky?

- Don't be fooled by the stats either. In his 1 year with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian Lega A in Europe, Brandon Jennings averaged 5.5 ppg and 2.2 apg. But the European system is much different to the NBA and the stats are not comparable In the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks for the last 2 years, Jennings has averaged 15.8 ppg and 5.3 apg. And even those stats lie. Players with European experience or European style of play such as Jennings, Tony Parker, and Rubio don't need big stats to be effective. They do it via defense, making the extra pass, and just being complete ball players instead of being scorers or passers. In this sense, I have no doubt that Rubio will be successful in the NBA.

Now the question is: will he actually stay in Minnesota. The Timberwolves, with Rubio, will probably run a starting lineup of: Rubio, Wesley Johnson, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, and Darko Milicic. But their advantage is that they also have the second pick in the NBA draft, which will probably be used for 6 foot 9 combo forward Derrick Williams. Now someone out of Love, Beasley, or Williams will have to go. Who will it be? And will the T-Wolves give Rubio away in a deal with one of them? There are doubts if Rubio will be motivated/happy to play in Minnesota, but he has value and the Timberwolves can get a good player in return for him by sending him to a big market.

A lot of questions abound the Timberwolves right now, and no one knows what their line-up really will look like when (and if) the season starts. No one is sure if Rubio will be there or not, but one thing is for sure, we will definitely, finally see him play on the big stage. In an article I wrote last January, I was sure that Rubio was exciting enough that, one day, he could become one of my favourite players in the league. I still believe it, and I'm hoping that after seeing him play in the NBA, some of you will start believing it too.

The Ricky Rubio Article

One day, Ricky Rubio will be my favourite player in the NBA.

It was about time that I wrote this. See, every thoroughbred basketball fan has that one player that, for some inexplicable reason, he or she supports no matter the circumstances. Whether the player succeeds, fails, or spends his career in the purgatory of the mediocres, the fan will side by him, give him the benefit of the doubt, and write in a vote for him in the all star game.

In April 2007, Lang Whitaker of the SLAM Magazine found a lanky little 16-year-old kid in Spain named Ricky Rubio and exposed him to me and the rest of the world. The title of this article was something close to 'El Prodigio: The best player in the world you've never heard of'.

At his young age, Ricky was being compared to everyone from Pete Maravich to Drazen Petrovich to Steve Nash to Magic Friggin Johnson. He was six days short of his 15th birthday when he became the youngest player to ever play in the Spanish ACB League, probably the most competitive basketball league in the world outside of the NBA. Ricky appeared for the side DKV Joventut for four years.

With Joventut, Ricky was named FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008, was voted the Spanish League's best point guard in 2008, and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year in the 2008-09 season. In his four years, he won a FIBA EuroCup championship and the ULEB Cup championship with Joventut. Ricky was recognized as Europe's overall best basketball player by being named Mr. Europa in 2008.

He was 17.



The more I followed his game, statistically and on YouTube, the more I liked it. Here was a youngster who overpowered opponents with his basketball IQ more than any other weapon. He seemed to be a intelligent floor leader who did whatever was necessary to win, with a delicate balance of efficiency and spectacular flair to the game that recalled the Maravich/Nash/Magic comparisons. In his fifth year as a pro (all in his teenage years), Ricky has largely dominated the game against talented full-grown adults in his prolific young career.

2008 was the same year that Ricky was selected in the Spanish senior national team for the Beijing Olympics. The team was one of the favourites of the tournament, and Ricky stood amongst experienced NBA-known names such as Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez, Raul Lopez, Jorge Garbajosa, and Juan Carlos Navarro. This was the first time that I got to watch Ricky play outside of grainy YouTube videos, and he impressed me tremendously. At 17, he was playing point guard maturely for essentially the second-best team in the world. He started in the final against Team USA, and showed incredible offensive and defensive vision in a losing effort. Ricky was later part of the Spain team that won the EuroBasket 2009.

At 18, after declaring for the NBA draft, and promptly taken by the Timberwolves as their 5th pick, Ricky decided not to go to the NBA, or rather the Timberwolves, and his contract was bought from Joventut by FC Barcelona, with whom he announced that he will stay for at least another two years before crossing the Atlantic.



His Barcelona squad are now the best team in Europe, and Ricky is probably the best point guard in the entire continent.

Still only 19, Rubio is sure to be one of the most exciting players to watch in the future. My Knicks have always had an interested eye on him, and tried several times after the draft to snag him away from the Timberwolves.

It now seems that they're trying again, says the NY Post:

Ricky Rubio, whom the Wolves drafted sixth, is playing in Spain this season, switching teams to FC Barcelona. That actually turned out well for the Knicks, who are still marking his progress.
Knicks international scout Kevin Wilson, who's responsible for their pick of Danilo Gallinari, lives in Barcelona and the Regal Barcelona team is his hometown club. It has been well-documented Wilson is friends with the Rubio family and Ricky's parents would love to see the Timberwolves deal him to New York.
Wilson is in town this week as the Knicks have their scouting meetings as a prelude to the Feb. 19 trading deadline and discussing available point guards will be a priority.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh told The Post the last time he spoke to Wolves president David Kahn, his former assistant in Indiana, he was told Minnesota wasn't accepting trade offers now. Rubio is averaging 5.6 assists for Barcelona and showing marked improvement, but he's still leery about spending his career in Minnesota.
"David has told me he wants to bring Ricky over for next season," Walsh told The Post.
Beyond signing a maximum free agent, the Knicks will be in the market for a point guard this offseason since Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson will become free agents and aren't likely to be re-signed.

Come on, Donnie, bring down the future best PG in the league to the MSG. LeBron/Wade/Bosh could use his help. Hell, if the dream offseason turns out to be a nightmare, at least Lee, Gallinari, Chandler, etc. will be assured that someone decent is bringing the ball upcourt every possession instead of useless Chris Duhon. D'Antoni could use Ricky's style well, too...

See for yourself, non-believers:



Whether he joins the Knicks, or the Timberwolves, or anyone else; and whether he comes to the league this offseason or in 2011, I know that I will be voting for him in the All-Star team, senselessly defending his slumps, and buying my nephew his signature shoes for years to come...

Update: A representative for Rubio's agency in Spain believes that the Knicks don't have much of a chance of getting Rubio. Oh, well...