Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 11:00 am  |  76 responses

Report: Ricky Rubio is Feeling Draft-y

by Marcel Mutoni

Tired of playing against some of Europe’s fiercest men, according to SI’s Chris Mannix, Ricky Rubio would like to enter the 2009 NBA draft.

Of course, Mannix is the same guy who erroneously reported that Marko Jaric was facing sexual assault charges last week, so take this latest report for what it’s worth:

Spain’s Ricky Rubio, a dazzling point guard with Pete Maravich-like skills and the facial features to match, is considered a lock to be selected in the top 10 of the NBA draft. Several league executives believe the 6-foot-3 Olympian will be a top five pick. The question is, when?

It could be this June. Rubio has made it clear that he would like to enter the 2009 draft, according to sources close to the situation. The 18-year-old Rubio is draft-eligible because he will turn 19 before the end of 2009.

But it’s not that easy. Rubio has a complicated, multimillion-dollar contract buyout with his Spanish team, DKV Joventut Barcelona. NBA teams are allowed to contribute a maximum of $500,000 to buy out the contract of a foreign player. That means if Rubio seeks to leave Joventut, he could be forced to use most of the money from his first NBA contract to pay for the buyout.

Therein lies the rub: How much money is Ricky prepared to lose in order to jump to the NBA?

We’ll be finding out soon enough.

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  • http://www.bjbl.co.uk Ryan.G

    i say he goes , nba the biggest basketball league in the world.i would risk my money to play in the nba.

  • fro

    Chris Mannix rubs me the worng way and DKV is in Badalona not Barcelona.

  • http://mindyourbusiness@getalife.com Allenp

    Why do people keep comparing Rubio to Steve Nash?
    The correct comparison right now is Jason Kidd. Rubio hasn’t shown Nash’s shooting stroke, handles or shiftiness. His game is much more similiar to Kidd’s, at least from what I’ve seen.

  • http://basketball-reference.com nbk

    Handles and Shiftiness are way way way more nash-like then Kidd, he doesn’t shoot as well but he definately has a better stroke then Jason Kidd as a rookie. Rubio also turns the ball over less then kidd did. Rubio is essentially the middle between kidd and nash, kidd-ish on defense and nash-ish on offense.

  • http://neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com Caleb

    @Be A Real Fan. Dude, Ricky Rubio is an awesome name. It’s like he was born to be a 6’3 Spanish point guard with maravich-like handles with that name. Richard Blonde? Yeah… sounds like a movie star or comic book character. He’s awesome.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Nima Zarrabi

    @ Hussman25: “3 million should cover it.” You clearly have no idea.

    Jukai is right, Ricky’s buyout is 6 million for the next TWO years. He will likely be playing in Spain for another 2 seasons.

  • Miguel Ferreira

    I wish i could see him play, he’s really great. Since i live in Portugal (that’s right next to Spain for all of you) it would be way better if he stayed here in Europe.

  • EC

    Dude should never be compared to kidd or nash, he has a far inferior left hand and his game is to one dimensional cuz he lacks a J and is to predictable

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Jukai, put Rondo in Spain and he’ll nail threes more consistenly than RUBIO.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    consistently*****************

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    And “Pistol Pete-like” skills?? You’ve got to be kidding me! I thought Pistol Pete could shoot?

  • Jacob

    I dont think Rubio will live up to the hype, I think he’ll be ok but not a fantastic player I think he’ll average about 11 points a game, and like 4 assists a game but who knows? I may be wrong

  • Son of Shawn

    It´s too easy to talk, and give a stupid opinion; but how many of you have watched more than ten entire matches of a kid who´s playing pro basketball since he was 15 years old in the second best basketball league in the world, a kid who´s the youngest basketball player ever got a medal in the Olympics (and having a prominent role in his team), a kid who was the leader of the Euroleague in steals per game when he was only 16 y.o.? but of course, I forgot that everyone here is a Hall Of Famer.
    This kid has done more at 18 y.o. than all of us in our entire lives, but, hey, maybe he´s not good, maybe he´s overrated, don´t f+ck me, he´s a great player, that´s what he is

  • larrylegend

    rubio will be right there, he has a fire inside, many nba ballers can dream of.
    not that he’s a 2nd pistol, but he is just 18 YEARS OLD, playing against european finest for about 4 years….playing 2 big international tournaments….can’t wait till 2009 draft.

  • Pablo

    4 assist per game??? xD he’s averaging 6 this year and playing about 20 minutes.. i would see him in miami with wade… its my dream

  • http://fdklf.com Jukai

    Pablo, Jacob and Teddy are consistent haters, it’s incredible how much nonsense they spout. Rubio is a better shooter than Rondo. Period. I’m not saying Rubio’s a better player than Rondo, he doesn’t have the speed that Rondo has. But he’s a better shooter.
    Why shooting is a problem is because he’s on the slower side, so he needs an outside shot to keep the D off him so he can get the driving lanes that he sees (but wont always be able to get to because of his speed). His shot isn’t terrible like Rondo’s though, not in the slightest.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    It’s ridiculous to compare a guy who’s not dead on shooter to Nash. I think that Allenp has it with J. Kidd. Good frame, good not great quickness, very good defense, great vision, so-so jumper. We’ll see. There’s nothing that I’ve seen from him that makes me say ‘that’s a year in year out all star right there’.

  • http://fdklf.com Jukai

    Z: When people compare him to Nash, they’re only comparing his passing. He passes A LOT like Nash: flashy lob and bounce passes are his thing. Kidd was more no-look-feeds to cutters or dropping an improbable pass to a guy under the basket that got people to “OHHHHHH!”
    As people are saying though, for Rubio to be an all-star, he’ll have to get a better jumper so the lanes will be there for him. Or get faster.

  • UlmRoan

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12FOZsjWxwk
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Pv5fHzP5Y
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqLGzkhRHN8
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYV5Lykiz8I
    These links are for those who had never watch ricky play. I don’t understand some of the comments posted here. I’m spaniard and i see him doing incredible things each game. And for those statistics lovers, he has been injured for three months, that’s the reason of the low numbers in this season and for not being a starter in his team until last games.
    (Sorry for my english errors, i hope the text is understandable)

  • http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    He’s 18, probably hasn’t got 100% co-ordination right now, is 6’3 (or 6’4 depending on who you look at) and is already a great baller handler.
    If you give a guy 6 months to improve his jumpshot, ball handling ability and overall game, you think he can’t do plyometric work and increase his explosive capabilities and vertical jump? He’s already great laterally and has a strong first step off the dribble.
    Add into the fact (it IS a fact) that he’ll be more experienced than every other point guard from college entering the draft and that should ensure he goes top 5 (top 10 at MINIMUM).
    If you’re 17 and locking down Jason Kidd and Chris Paul in a gold medal game in the Olympics for your national team… then you’re pretty damn good. I’ll take that kid on an NBA team every day of the week, twice on Sundays.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Nobody is saying that he won’t be top 10. Of course, he is an NBA talent and he is already pretty damn good! However, I think people need to slow down with comparing him to Nash, Maravich and other all time greats. I don’t even know if he’s better than Rondo right now who’s putting up 12 and 8.5 with outstanding D.

  • http://fdklf.com Jukai

    Z: He’s not. But he’s four and a half years younger than Rondo….

  • L33tSauce

    He’d be perfect next to a more dominant SG. (MIAMI, the team always making a home for PG’s)

  • Yassi

    I love his game and passion, thats why I´d love him to stay here and not go overseas.

    The way the game is played in the NBA those last years is making me sick to the stomach…….

  • pol

    DKV Joventut Badalona no Barcelona

  • MZ

    I think we should see Rubio playing against NBAs stars again. His level improves when he has the best players in front of him. See Portland’s Rudy, he is doing very well his firts year at NBA, his level is even better than in Spain and that happens when you have better players around u.

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