Ricky Rubio Made The Right Choice Written by: robertbonnette
There are a lot of different questions out there on Ricky Rubio’s decision to stay in Europe. Was it about money? Was it about not being for the NBA yet? Was it about not wanting to play for the T-Wolves? Yes, yes, and yes. The $6 million buyout was a problem, obviously; Minnesota by rule couldn’t pay more than $500,000 of it, and Rubio’s rookie contract wouldn’t have paid him enough to take care of it. There was really no legitimate way for him to come to the U.S. right now. And even if there was, the kid isn’t ready yet. He’s only 18, about 180 pounds soaking wet, and reportedly cannot shoot or defend. That’s not exactly a recipe for immediate success; no NBA coach worth his salt wouldn’t play Rubio serious minutes right now. Which leads right into the third yes. Seeing as how the T-Wolves drafted Johnny Flynn, who will probably be more NBA ready at least for now, Rubio was looking at a fight for a starting job and the possibility of being outplayed by Flynn. Had he been drafted by a team with no competitor at the point, then coming over might have made more sense.
Now all that being said, there are some who think he should have come over anyway; I saw a few commenters on a blog spouting the ‘he needs to play in the NBA in order to get better’ argument, the rationale being that he needs to be in an NBA program practicing against NBA players to get better. I remember Mark Cuban making that argument about Donnell Harvey on the Jim Rome show; Harvey would soon be out of the league. That entire line of thinking is junk; NBA coaches are hard pressed to win and absolutely hate dealing with players who have no clue what’s going on out there. You’re more likely to get chained to the bench than receive the training you need to get better.
So I think Rubio did the smart thing. If he came up with the money, came over here, and struggled, the Ricky Rubio story would be over. EPIC FAIL. He’d be Carlos Arroyo. Now he gets two more years to get better as basketball before he comes over here. A 20 year old Rubio will be better than the 18 year old version, hands down. And after two years to build on the mystique, the hype could be even greater than if he came over now. Not to mention that he could be coming to a better situation in Minnesota as well. In two years, the T-Wolves will know what they have with Flynn, and if he has any value they’ll trade him. If he’s an All-Star, they can keep him and trade Rubio. And if he stinks, they can cut him loose and install Rubio as the unchallenged starter.
So don’t let anyone tell you different, Ricky. You chose wisely.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
good article i agree he made the right choice …… but i still think the reason he is even relevant is b.s. because there are plenty of kids here in the usa that are 18 19 and 20 and are just as good or better and its so messed up that he is about to get a big time paycheck just because he is not american and bound by that age rule it really is not right. not to mention that he would be okay staying in europe because he is gonna get paid anyway while all are young 18 19 and 20 year olds have to waste a year in college for nothing
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
1 point – 1 year in college is not a waste,
You grow mentally and physically, Thats more than nothing…SON
September 4th, 2009 at 12:49 am
I agree with both of you. It is unfair that international players can still come over at 18, but at the same time a year playing in college is not a waste. Kevin Durant was helped by playing at UT, and Derrick Rose benefitted from his year at Memphis. It helps to get some time in as the lead dog in big games instead of going from high school to playing on a bad NBA team.
September 19th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
one name…. Shawn Livingston. His unfortunate injury is the reason that if you can go to the NBA you should. If that injury happens at Duke, then he has no money at all. With that said, if Rubio gets hurt playing for FC Barcelona then he will be worse off than Carlos Arroyo. Just food for thought.