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Spain’s gain is the United States’ loss. Rubio speaks on his decision to chase Spanish tail for at least two more years, and I’m gonna miss him:

Going to Minnesota would have just complicated my life a lot. It was a risk and I didn’t see it so clearly,” Rubio said. “My priority was the NBA and it was impossible for the Minnesota Timberwolves to pay my buyout clause, so I wanted to stay home. “When the season ended I entered the draft with the intention of going to the NBA,” Rubio said yesterday. “But some things happened that kept me from being ahead of the rest and I ended up No. 5, which I was happy with, but it didn’t allow me the chance to go to the NBA. I tried but in the end it wasn’t to be.” NBA guidelines limit the amount of money Minnesota could have contributed to Rubio’s buyout at $500,000. “They could only put half a million into it … the deal with Minnesota had too many obstacles,” Rubio said.

Jeebus but Rubio’s agent did a disservice to his client. Hey, Ricky? Even if you had gone to the Knicks as you tried to engineer, they couldn’t have paid your buyout. As for Minnesota complicating your life, it would have involved parka shopping, so, you got me there…

For those of you who follow the Frog’s Twitter feed (and the proprietors thank you for your patronage), you may have noticed this tweet regarding Ricky Rubio staying in Spain:

“Elgin Baylor is laughing at David Kahn. Isiah Thomas still thinks it was a good pick.”

Well, sure, it’s easy to pick on a woeful NBA franchise when they spend the fifth overall pick and end up getting nothing from that resource for each of the next two years. And blasting a couple easy targets like Elgin Baylor (currently unemployed, yet a solid target) and Isiah Thomas is always good for a chuckle. But wait, do the Timberwolves really get nothing from that #5 overall pick?

The Unfiltered blog at Basketball Prospectus has a nice rebuttal. Take it away, Kevin Pelton:

“From a basketball standpoint, however, it’s hard to see this as a negative for Minnesota. Rubio, lest we forget, will not turn 19 until October. He is, in fact, a full month younger than highly-touted incoming Kentucky recruit John Wall, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in next June’s Draft.

Given all the hand-wringing we usually hear about young players entering the NBA unprepared, how can it be considered a bad thing that Rubio will spend the next two years developing and maturing physically in Spain on Barca’s dime? When he does come over, Rubio will be better prepared to contribute immediately. He’ll also be (essentially) the same price. By waiting two years to bring Rubio over, the Timberwolves will get his age-21 through age-24 seasons on his rookie contract, as opposed to having to begin paying him market value at the age of 23. In the long term, this is a financial boon for Minnesota.”

Thank you, Mr. Pelton.

The Timberwolves also get to do exciting things like save future money for possibly extending Kevin Love and find out if Jonny Flynn can handle the point in the NBA. They’ll also have a better idea of what Rubio can do, particularly if he has improved his shooting touch and bulked up. In fact, in two years, it is quite likely Rubio’s value will be even higher. He’ll have two more years of experience under his belt and it is reasonable to think that the Knicks will still have Mike D’Antoni as their coach, but no LeBron James (unless he really wants to go to New York, be surrounded by very little quality, and face the challenge of winning an NBA title literally on his own). At that time, particularly if Flynn develops quickly, the Wolves may get to name a price for Rubio’s services (or Flynn’s, for that matter).

An eight million dollar buyout, that he can’t easily afford. Barcelona (and its beaches) as opposed to Minneapolis this winter. In the end, the right move for Rubio.

And, because of this, I come to praise Memphis. And, I guess, Minnesota. Rare on both accounts, I know.

As unthrilling as the Hasheem Thabeet pick was, it would have been FAR worse for the Grizzlies to pick Rubio and not be able to get him to come to the states. So, smart move, passing on Rubio. As for Minnesota, their fetish frenzy picking of point guards pays off, as they have a Jonny Flynn in place as the 6th overall pick and the asset that is Rubio to be dealt somewhere down the road.

The loser in this? Rubio’s agent, Dan Fegan, who leaked like a sieve in trying to force teams to pass on Rubio in the draft and steer Rubio to the Knicks. This tact back-fired for him a few years ago too, with Yi Jianlian. Maybe Fegan should try a different approach next time he gets an international client. Actually, if international players are paying attention, perhaps there should be no next time for Fegan.

Good lord, it wasn’t enough for Minnesota to keep drafting point guards, they are actually going to sign them too? Jonny Flyynn is already in the fold, but he was never going to be the hard one to get done. That was going to be Ricky Rubio, with the buyout from hell and the agent doing everything he could to get Rubio directed to either coast. Still, the Timberwolves love them some short guys who can dribble, and they are doing what they can to make it happen in Minneosota. From the Star Tribune news and notes today:

The Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio’s representatives haven’t given up on getting the 18-year-old point guard out of his Spanish contract for the coming NBA season. A little birdie says Rubio already has $600,000 in endorsements lined up if he legally can get to Minnesota.

Although Rubio’s DKV Joventut contract has a $6.6 million buyout, that’s expected to be negotiated down to about half that with the team, and loans to Rubio would allow him to pay them back over several years.

If only Minnesota could have been proactive and pried Don Nelson away from Golden State so he could look back into installing his dream four point guard offense, they might be on to something…

It was DraftExpress that had the initial report that likely second overall pick Rubio would be in “fuck no” mode when it came to the notion of playing in Memphis. And the Memphis Commercial Appeal writers then went into push back mode on behalf of the Grizzlies, calling such reports premature and not necessarily true. Well, DraftExpress has this up in response. It’s called reporting. And it makes me sad. Again. From DraftExpress:

From what we can gather, Rubio is most certainly going to want to have a large say in the team that drafts him, and if he’s not satisfied with where he lands, he may just decide not to ever come over, which would obviously be a huge embarrassment for the team that picks him. He is in a great situation with his hometown team outside of Barcelona, and it wouldn’t make sense to leave there for anything less than the perfect spot from his standpoint.

“The bottom line here is that Ricky has a large buyout—5.75 million Euros, both for this year and the year after. Depending on the team that selects him, he’s going to make a decision on whether he comes over or not. If he’s not satisfied, there is a very real possibility that he doesn’t come. His buyout is going to cost him a lot of money, and if it doesn’t make sense for him, he won’t do it. He is going to have to pay for the privilege of playing in the NBA”

According to the source, Rubio’s decision is going to come down to two things: winning and the role he’ll play for the team that picks him. The size of the market of the team that drafts him is apparently irrelevant, since his appeal will be on a global scale, reaching far past his team’s city limits.

With that in mind, it appears that the Memphis Grizzlies will have to make a very strong sales pitch to Rubio for him to move off his initial stance of not wanting to play for them. Rubio’s concerns stem from a number of factors, ranging from the potential poor fit of playing alongside a very ball-dominant guard in O.J. Mayo, to the negative experiences conveyed to him by the likes of Juan Carlos Navarro and Pau Gasol.

What part of that sounds like good news for the Grizzlies? None part of that. None. Not one bit. At the least, Hasheem Thabeet can apprentice in the NBA in relative peace. Fuck.

So much for leverage with the second pick:

“Rubio doesn’t want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so. Fegan [Rubio’s agent] wants him in L.A., and if he can’t have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City. “

Unlike Griffin or Hasheem Thabeet, who don’t really have any choice where they will play next season if a team decides to play hardball, Rubio has a reasonably attractive alternative option at his disposal—returning to Spain.

“He’ll pull out if he doesn’t like what he’s hearing,” the NBA source tells us. “Or he can stay in and force the Grizzlies to call his bluff—would they really take him knowing that he may never come over? That’s one way to get him to fall to three.”

Add in that Chad Ford is defending his assigning Hasheem Thabeet to Memphis by saying that his NBA source is close to Grizzlies owner and general bastard Mike Heisley and it is HEISLEY who is wanting Thabeet, over the objections of his entire front office, and, well, fuck.

I wish I could properly convey to you all the abject hopelessness and despair that is being a Memphis Grizzlies fan. I don’t know how to properly frame the infinite chasm of darkness that is that particular lot in life. Suffice it to say, it’s not a good thing. Nothing is ever good news. Ever. There’s always a twist that reveals the brief glimmer of hope to instead be wrapped in and infused with raw sewage.

Interesting. Early rumors that the Knicks have their hearts set NOT on Blake Griffin, who I have assumed would be the perfect four for a Mike Dantoni system, but rather Spanish wonder-guard Ricky Rubio. Who, actually, would probably be a perfect one for a Dantoni system.

Point is, IF the Knicks (ha, like there’s a question as to this) somehow lottery leap into the top spot, there is a chance that it won’t be Blake Griffin coming off the board first.

Actually, that gives Stern a nice target, manuever the top two picks to Oklahoma City and New York, letting Griffin go to his home state team and allowing Dantoni to get the high test octane he wants for his style of play. In this scenario, everyone else gets a rock. Have you looked at the draft pool this year? Yuck.

Lottery day is Tuesday. I can tell you, around Memphis, we have long since learned not to hold our collective breath…