Ricky Rubio's Future As a Minnesota Timberwolve

I hear a lot of talk about Ricky Rubio going to New York. I hear a lot of talk of Ricky going to Spain, and a lot of rumors around the web.

But I'm here to inform you that David Kahn knows what he's doing, and I doubt that anyone is going anywhere, especially Ricky Rubio.

Let me start off by saying that Ricky Rubio is not worried about the contracts of his buyout. His agent is working on that diligently, and I doubt that he stays in Spain for more than one year, if anything. Ricky Rubio wants to play now, and his agent has that in his best interest.

It is highly apparent that David Kahn is making a huge change with this franchise, and there hasn't been publicity like this surrounding the Timberwolves since Garnett was here.

Taking Johnny Flynn right after Rubio sent a lot of questions in fans' heads including mine, but that also has an explanation. Taking Johnny Flynn was an insurance policy, to insure that we definitely do have a point guard heading into next year. It's not guaranteed that Rubio will play next year, so if you look at it like this. Let's say the Timberwolves took someone like Derozan at #6, and Rubio just happens to play in Spain for another year. Do you really want Sebastian Telfair to play another year as a starter?

No, and that's exactly what would've happened. Johnny Flynn can play point guard, he's highly energetic, and can distribute. We need some energy on the court, and Johnny can bring that.

Let's break down a scenario that Jonny does become the starting point, and Rubio is in Europe for one more year. Johnny will backup Telfair for maybe a few weeks, then take over. Jonny will most likely have to be a scorer.

Why?

Because who else is going to score? When you got rid of Foye and Mike Miller, you got rid of two scorers. That means there's more opportunity's for Jefferson, Love, Gomes and Flynn. Flynn is not going to be much of a distributor due to the fact that virtually Jefferson is the only one that can score consistently.

While I think he can play the role of true point guard, his position is going to be scoring. I think of someone like Nate Robinson, a little guy who can score, and is a fire cracker off the bench. So while Rubio is over in Spain for a year, Flynn will be scoring, and possibly becoming the 2nd option to Jefferson next year.

This one year of scoring can solidify his scoring reputation for out working his opponents. He's nimble, quick, and is really a tough cover. The Timberwolves are going to struggle with scoring, and I keep saying it, but Flynn will backed into a position where he will have to score.

When Rubio gets here next year, David Kahn has stated that when Rubio walks through that door, he will be the starting point guard. I have 100 percent confidence in David Kahn's opinion that Rubio will be here for the future. David Kahn is very patient, and he knows as well as I do, we're not winning any championships anytime soon.

When Rubio comes back, understand that there's no way that Flynn will start at SG, and Rubio will be the point guard that plays 30-35 minutes. I see Flynn as the sixth man, as the instant offense of the bench, a firecracker if you will. There's no way that you can put Flynn and Rubio on the same starting roster. Rubio cannot shoot right now, and Flynn is too small to defend shooting guards. We do not want Rubio shooting three's, and we don't want Flynn defending three point shooters. Therefore, Flynn and Rubio on the court at the same time would be somewhat of a special situation, like a score right now run-n-gun style of play, which would make sense in that aspect.

Rubio will play 30-35 minutes as a rookie, as he will use that time to develop. But his potential level is incredibly high. Rubio played against the best in the world against the USA in the Olympics, but what made it spectacular, was that the 17-year-old kid actually looked like he belonged out there.

Rubio Information

Let's not get into the 10 points and six assists that he averaged at DKV. I choose to go into something different. Let's start off with some facts:

1. Rubio was the youngest player to debut with DKV Joventut as a 14-year-old, the youngest in the 50 year history of Spain's national basketball league, the ACB.
2. At 15, Ricky played for Spain's team in the European Under-16 Championship tournament. He had three triple-doubles and a quadruple-double.
3. In the finale against Russia, Rubio hit a half court three to send the game into overtime, which went into double overtime. Ricky finished with 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and seven steals.
4. Playing against USA in the gold medal game against Team USA (injured), he went for six points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals and just two turnovers in 30 minutes. This guy was 17 years old!

Rubio's Future In Minnesota

There's no doubt that Ricky Rubio can be a franchise player. Minnesota is not a large basketball market team, but then again, it's not a very small market. It's not like Milwaukee and Toronto, or Oklahoma City.

Rubio can get some endorsement deals in Minnesota, it's just that he will have to perform well right away. Rubio is hyped all over the world, and while he might not get to get a Nike deal, he might be able to get an Adidas deal or Spalding deal.

He's stated that the weather does not affect his position as a Wolf, it's more of the playing time. David Kahn is aware of this, and if he's a starter, he will be playing almost a full three quarters his rookie year.

Rubio can be the franchise player, and that's something that we have not had since Garnett. A point guard at the age of 18 at his caliber is extremely rare, especially for today's NBA.

I think Rubio will embrace the fact that fans want him here, we're willing to support him, and we're behind him, regardless of his decision to play now or later.