The trade part 1

[Brade4]

He'll be in Europe next year...Wow, T-Wolves, T-Wolves, T-Wolves

[fishin58]

How about this since nobody is happy with who they got or vice-versa and everybody wants out of Phoenix. We might as well make Little Ricky happy and trade him for Nash. Any takers???

[Sandmannd]

I'd take Nash in a heart beat.

[Barony]

Just got done talking to a buddy who is pretty connected w/ a T-wolves exec. He is convinced that they will keep Rubio no matter what. I'd love to see him in a T-wolves uniform, either this year or next. My buddy thinks it will be more likely this year than next.

[Scott M]

I think Rubio will spend a year in Spain and then come here. I wish they would have just used the 6th pick on Curry...they had a hole to fill anyways. Apparently they thought 2009 Rubio/Flynn was equivalent to 2005 Williams/Paul. (Why they drafted Rashad McCants when Granger and Warrick were available is beyond me, kind of like 2006 Roy-Foye but I promised myself I wouldn't talk about that draft!)

You can't pass on Ricky Rubio. If you think about it, the Wolves have drafted the most coveted player for the past two years. A year before the 2008 draft, people were all talking about O.J. Mayo. Last year at this time, everyone was calling the 2009 draft the Ricky Rubio sweepstakes. We got our guy, and we're holding onto him. You cannot pass on Rubio, because when he gets to the NBA, he's an immediate starter almost anywhere and he will most likely develop into an all star. You can't say that about too many draft picks.

The one thing you can be happy about as a Wolves fan is how plugged in David Kahn is with David Stern. Stern has a way of making things happen, so I could see him pulling some strings to get Rubio to Minnesota this year or next and helping work things out for a buyout.

Kahn has time. He doesn't have a coach to p-off, so he can draft whomever he likes and he can count on losing to get good draft picks for a couple years. In other words, he is stockpiling assets for a long term run so he can afford to wait a few years on Rubio. Ricky want to be an NBA player, he wants to go somewhere where he will be the centerpiece and log heavy minutes, and he wants to get paid and get out of his contract. I'm guessing the Wolves will work around some of his requests, maybe even try to find coaches that fit the kid's style. I hope they don't trade the kid away before they realize what they have...he's only 18 years old.

[Scott K]

The Wolves would be fun to watch again with Ricky, Flynn, and Big Al!

[Born2Fish]

It was reported on ESPN last night that Rubio had offers from a team in Spain and a team in Turkey. And they weren't too sure he wouldn't sign with one of them.

[Wallydog]

Based on the comments one of Rubio's teammates made to me, the Twolves ought get him signed!

WD

[ozzie]

Well I am very pleased with the way the Wolves drafted!! Take the 2 best point guards available and hope that one becomes a stud.......remember this is a very poor draft talent wise and for big men......They could have I suppose picked the kid from AZ (Hill) but he doesn't look like he has alot of basketball skill....athletic yes- b-ball skills minimal......So now Rubio doesn't want to play for the Wolves but reality is that he was hoping a major market team would be able to land him so he could get more endorsements and then afford to buy-out his current contract ($6 million buyout on $300,000 contract for 2 years).......so the Wolves let him stay in Europe for 2 years and he plays in 3 years when he is 20-21 or we trade his rights in the next year or 2 and we can pick up some good return value!!

I really wanted Evans but am very happy to have Flynn/Ellington as the back court as they both seem poised and mature to help this team in the future.......

[nofishfisherman]

After thinking about it I think the Wolves did the only thing that really made sense with #5 and #6.

The talent was a little thin this year so why not just draft the 2 best players available. The wolves needed a PG and now they also hold the rights to a player who may draw very lucrative trade offers.

Kahn did a nice job getting the #5 pick for Foye and Miller which the Wizards are probably kicking themselves over. There is no way they would make that trade if they knew they were essentially trading Rubio for Foye and Miller.

In the position the wolves are in you want as many chips to work with as possible. If Rubi wants to play here and you think he'll be the stud you need then trade Flynn for an established player or a future pick. Or what I think is more likely to happen is you trade Rubio away to a team willing to overpay for him. Who knows what other teams may be willing to give for him. There may be some very nice offers coming in.

[CrappiesNCats]

the wizards are not kicking themselves over the trade. thats what they wanted to do. they didnt want to get saddled with a rookie. they wanted vets. with a healthy arenas they are near a playoff team. they needed role players and they got them.

the mistake for the wolves was not moving down and taking Derozan to pair with Rubio.

[Scott K]

Ricky Rubio will remain in Spain to play for his DKV Joventut team for the remaining two years of his contract rather than try to move to the NBA this season, El Periodico reported today.

The paper also says Rubio plans to withdraw his contract lawsuit against the team. This is a very fluid situation and information could change on a daily basis, but it really looks like Rubio may finish out his contract in Spain rather than play for the Wolves.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

[ozzie]

with the wolves not able to help him with his buyout (other than $500,000) this is the only thing that makes sense for him financialy......in 2 years he will still be able to sign with the wolves and make good money.....otherwise he signs here and at the end of his 4 year contract he would have broke even or lost a little......the only way he was leaving spain was if they reduces his buyout option which the club would not do as he is the "draw" for that team that does not have a great fan base and they do not make alot of money but now they have one of the hottest basketball comodities still on their team for another 2 years!!!