No NBA for Ricky Rubio

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Ricky Rubio is lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves and won’t be coming to the NBA anytime soon. GM Kahn did not deliver Rubio and you have to wonder how that affects his job status.

Ricky Rubio agreed to a 6 year deal with Regal FC Barcelona and there is no NBA out clause until 2011. The TWolves can kiss him goodbye at least for now. Not sure the exact rules, but it appears Rubio will someday be a TWolve.

Rubio, 18, apparently won’t play for the T’wolves until the 2011-12 season, and that’s devastating for the franchise’s new regime, which hoped to tout Rubio as one of its fresh-faced stars. Minnesota was able to legally pay only $500,000 toward the buyout, and the relative constraints of the Twin Cities’ market made the accumulation of endorsement deals difficult to close the gap on the buyout figure. Rubio would’ve made nearly $3.3 million in the NBA this season as the fifth pick in the draft.

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The new Timberwolve boss David Kahn had predicted he would sign Rubio, but now after 67 days and no Ricky Rubio, it finally looks like he is not going to be in the NBA this year. This is tough for Kahn, because Ricky was going to be the face of the new Timberwolves and lead the team down a rebuilding path.

Rubio signs to play in Europe

Jonny Flynn from Syracuse, also a rookie, will now be the new point guard of the future for Minnesota. This has to be tough to handle, not because Jonny is not very good, he is good, but Rubio had that flair that puts butts in the seats.

Rubio is one of the most celebrated young prospects to ever come out of Europe, a cult figure who has played pro ball since his 15th birthday. Kahn, the NBA Developmental League owner who was the surprise choice of Minnesota’s ownership to replace former GM Kevin McHale, has banked a lot of his early credibility on how he’s handled Rubio’s buyout negotiations.

Image: Zuma Press

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