After what seems like a lifetime of back and forth negotiating and backpedaling, Ricky Rubio has decided not to enter the NBA this season. His official statement was :"The reason leading me to take this next step is to have a period of preparation to better take the challenge of the NBA in better conditions as a player. The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to be my first option and I wish to play with them in the near future", spinning his reasons away from the subject of money, and closer to focusing on his own skill. However, does anyone really believe that this decision was not fully guided by the ridiculous amount of money coming his way now that he is not joining Minnesota this year?
Rubio, 18, was the NBA's fifth draft pick this year and was supposed to help make the Minnesota Timberwolves the best team they can be. Along with Flynn, Lawson and Ellington, Rubio was supposed to make Minnesota a team worth talking about and bring them into the NBA spotlight (or at least closer to it then they were previous to this year's draft). However, it seems as though Rubio would rather have a fuller wallet than takeover Sportscenter week by week, and refused to leave behind a juicy salary promised by FC Barcelona.
But Rubio choosing Barcelona over the NBA is not the end of the story because there is another important decision he needs to make regarding money. How long should he stay in Spain?
If he decides to stay two years, coming to the NBA in 2011, he could lose a significant amount, almost making his decision to opt out of the NBA this year, pointless. If Rubio rejoins his fellow draft picks in 2011 then he would be coming back under the terms of the rookie-salary scale, and he would not be allowed to become an unrestricted free agent until the summer of 2016, at the age of 25. However, if he signs a three year contract with FC Barcelona, not returning to us until 2012, then he is no longer bounded by the rooke-salary scale, and will make a handful more money with Minnesota (or whatever team he ultimately ends up with). Of course there are certain things that need to happen in order for a three year contract to work in Rubio's favor, including his NBA contract being something like three to five years with a team with enough money to sign him up (what that team would be now though is anyones guess). Overall though, Rubio would make more money staying in Spain longer, and seeing as so far he seems to prefer money over the game of basketball, it is a safe bet that he will do whatever it takes to make the most of his name and reputation.
Personally, I think it a little ridiculous that he even entered the draft in the first place. Both Rubio and his camp claim that at that time he was fully ready to play for Minnesota and was very excited to enter the NBA, but I beg to differ. Within days of the draft there were speculations that Rubio would not end up coming over to the US, leading me to think that his mind was set from the get go. So why would he even enter it? Was he disappointed in being a fifth draft pick? Did he want to go to a different team? Was he just testing the waters to see how well he could do in the NBA? We may never know. I do hope though that once he does finally come over to our side of the world that he is prepared to give his all and won't have any more tricks up his sleeve. The NBA has enough players taking it for granted. No new additions need apply.
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