David Kahn made 3 trips to Spain in order to secure the services of PG Ricky Rubio, but despite having beat out the Sports Putz for the position of Timberwolves GM, Kahn is coming home empty handed, telling the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda, the no. 5 overall pick “felt mounting pressure from friends, family and countrymen to stay in Spain.” Rubio, as you might expect, was singing a different tune.
Kahn called the multi-faceted offer ” a complex combination of Rubio™s future endorsement money, future earnings and the offer of Wolves exhibition games in Spain among other items ” that he presented to DKV Joventut smalller than the $5.3 Regal Barcelona paid for Rubio™s right.
But he termed it œcompetitive enough and said Joventut preferred it over the Regal Barcelona offer because that team is its cross-town rival and because of the prestige Rubio™s departure to the NBA would have brought the club.
He said he could not foresee the future when asked if Rubio will ever play in Minnesota and said, œWe still own the rights to Ricky and that™s still a significant thing to have.
And he said he does not regret drafting Rubio fifth overall in June.
œNot at all, Kahn said. œHe™s 18. No matter what our circumstances are two years from now, I believe that was the highest and best value pick we could have made the way things developed that night.
Rubio was introduced by his new team in Barcelona today and said going to Minnesota would have œcomplicated his life significantly and called it a œrisky move. He also said he didn™t see the Timberwolves as a team where he could grow as a player and win championships.