After two years of wondering and waiting, Timberwolves fans can finally rest easy: Ricky Rubio is coming to Minnesota.
Under normal circumstances, fans would not celebrate the impending signing of a fifth overall selection two years removed from the day he was picked, but Rubio and his long trip to Minnesota have been far from normal from the start.
If he would have never played a minute in a Timberwolves uniform, the 2009 draft may have gone down as the worst in franchise history. But team president David Kahn avoided that disaster by getting Rubio to agree to a contract Tuesday, a long-awaited solution that leaked out late Wednesday night despite the team refusing to comment on it.
Kahn has been criticized repeatedly for using a top-five pick on a player who wasn’t a lock to join his team. Then there was the debate over the very next pick Kahn made, selecting point guard Jonny Flynn at No. 6 over Stephen Curry, who went to the Warriors at No. 7. Flynn has struggled in his brief tenure with Minnesota, and Curry has developed into one of the league’s most explosive scoring point guards.
Still, Kahn deserves credit for fighting through criticism and staying the course. The day after the 2009 draft, Kahn answered questions about rumors involving Rubio's unwillingness to play in Minnesota. He remained consistent in stating that the organization would be patient. Whatever Kahn did worked, and Rubio, still only 20, will be able to fill the giant hole at point guard that Flynn hasn’t so far.
Now the team with the league’s worst record this season can focus on other holes, and next up is deciding what to do with the Nos. 2 and 20 picks in this draft. Knowing Rubio is on his way makes a dramatic change to the strategy Kahn and the Wolves will deploy June 23. Suddenly, there is a first-rate passer on board to get the ball to the team’s stockpile of young talent at the forward spots.
Midseason acquisition forward/center Anthony Randolph is a freakish athlete and could benefit most from Rubio’s swift passing and pinpoint alley-oops on the fast break.
All-Star power forward Kevin Love, too, will find his points a little easier to come by. In fact, he tweeted this before his head hit the pillow Wednesday night: “Just thinking about pick-and-rolls . . . good night!"
Small forward Michael Beasley is a terrific spot-up shooter, and Rubio will clear more room for him, too.
The last time the Timberwolves had a stellar point guard was when Sam Cassell led them to the 2004 Western Conference finals. Now, for the first time since Kevin Garnett left town in 2007, the team is within reach of becoming relevant again in the local sports market.
Here’s hoping an impending lockout doesn’t delay even longer the arrival of a more exciting brand of basketball.
Under normal circumstances, fans would not celebrate the impending signing of a fifth overall selection two years removed from the day he was picked, but Rubio and his long trip to Minnesota have been far from normal from the start.
If he would have never played a minute in a Timberwolves uniform, the 2009 draft may have gone down as the worst in franchise history. But team president David Kahn avoided that disaster by getting Rubio to agree to a contract Tuesday, a long-awaited solution that leaked out late Wednesday night despite the team refusing to comment on it.
Kahn has been criticized repeatedly for using a top-five pick on a player who wasn’t a lock to join his team. Then there was the debate over the very next pick Kahn made, selecting point guard Jonny Flynn at No. 6 over Stephen Curry, who went to the Warriors at No. 7. Flynn has struggled in his brief tenure with Minnesota, and Curry has developed into one of the league’s most explosive scoring point guards.
Still, Kahn deserves credit for fighting through criticism and staying the course. The day after the 2009 draft, Kahn answered questions about rumors involving Rubio's unwillingness to play in Minnesota. He remained consistent in stating that the organization would be patient. Whatever Kahn did worked, and Rubio, still only 20, will be able to fill the giant hole at point guard that Flynn hasn’t so far.
Now the team with the league’s worst record this season can focus on other holes, and next up is deciding what to do with the Nos. 2 and 20 picks in this draft. Knowing Rubio is on his way makes a dramatic change to the strategy Kahn and the Wolves will deploy June 23. Suddenly, there is a first-rate passer on board to get the ball to the team’s stockpile of young talent at the forward spots.
All-Star power forward Kevin Love, too, will find his points a little easier to come by. In fact, he tweeted this before his head hit the pillow Wednesday night: “Just thinking about pick-and-rolls . . . good night!"
Small forward Michael Beasley is a terrific spot-up shooter, and Rubio will clear more room for him, too.
The last time the Timberwolves had a stellar point guard was when Sam Cassell led them to the 2004 Western Conference finals. Now, for the first time since Kevin Garnett left town in 2007, the team is within reach of becoming relevant again in the local sports market.
Here’s hoping an impending lockout doesn’t delay even longer the arrival of a more exciting brand of basketball.
