Pro Basketball Talk is reporting that Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, who the Timberwolves drafted with the fifth overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, is expressing doubts about whether now is the right time to come to the NBA. Or his agent is, in any case.
Rubio has two agents, one in America and one in Spain. His American agent is apparently telling him that now is the time to head to the United States. His Spanish agent, whose name is German Gonzalez, disagrees.
So, the Spanish guy named German disagrees with the American. Everyone still following?
There are a few reasons why Rubio's hesitation makes sense. For starters, Rubio has never really seemed to warm to the idea of playing basketball in the Great White North, a fact that can't be helped by the fact that the Timberwolves are the NBA's worst team. Second of all, the NBA could potentially have some labor issues very soon as their CBA is expiring. Third, as the PBT article points out, if Rubio stays away from the NBA for another year, he would no longer be subject to the rookie wage scale. . .as it stands right now, he would have to take what amounts to around a 50 percent pay cut to leave FC Barcelona, and would then be locked into his rookie contract for between three and five years.
So, if you're one of the many fans that is holding out hope that Ricky Rubio will be leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to the promised land starting in 2011-12, you may wish to temper your enthusiasm accordingly.