Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at 11:05 am  |  97 responses

Ricky Says ‘Adiós’ to DKV Joventut

by Ryne Nelson

You have to feel sorry for Ricky Rubio.

Sure, he’s already star in Spain, is banking endorsement deals, and he’s one of the most hyped foreign-born athletes in history. Not to mention he’s still 18 years old. But for a guy who didn’t make even 100 grand last season in salary from DKV Joventut, a $6.6 million buyout doesn’t seem right. If he pays that fee, Rubio won’t be making it big when he comes to America; he’ll be paying his way in!

When Joventut refused to lower the buyout, Rubio’s camp threatened litigation based on the difference between his salary and the buyout total. The issue will most likely be settled in court many months down the line for an undisclosed amount.

Roughly translated from the Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia:

After various negotiations that have not resulted in any agreement, Ricky Rubio has filed a lawsuit against DKV Joventut in order to force an agreement to reduce its break clause in contract.

Ricky’s not traveling the typical rose-petaled path of a top-3 pick, but when David Stern finally calls his name this month, that contract will be only an afterthought.

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  • http://fjsdklf.com Jukai

    Yeah, I feel you NBK. Sometimes I think Memphis’ management is masochistic.

  • pstar

    lang is losing his damn mind…

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    And if management isn’t, the people that attend games must be….which brings me to clippers fans

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Saying that a contract is binding REGARDLESS of its content is ABSOLUTELY FALSE. Anything that is not reasonable can be rendered null and void in a court of law. I don’t know if that means that THIS contract is illegal but I’m just saying that it’s possible to cancel anything that’s unreasonable.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Co-sign Juks. Thabeet and Gasol do complement eachother. That’s two 7-footers who can provide interior scoring and protect the rim. Size wins championships, eff that small ball ish. (don’t even try to say that orlando plays small bal with two 6-10/11 dudes at the forward spots). Let Conley develop, if you look at his splits. He was VERY solid after the ASG at 16 and 6 with 40% 3-point shooting.

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    The main question for Memphis (assuming they don’t screw this draft up) is what are they going to do with Gay…..He should be traded at some point because realistically resigning him is not going to happen. hopefully they don’t just give him to San Antonio for a snickers and tiago splitter.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Not a big fan of Rudy Gay. Not a meaningful 20 ppg scorer. Doesn’t go to the line much, gives you only 19 points on 16-17 shots a game. Doesn’t rebound for his size, not a great passer, doesn’t block shots or play any D for that matter. Low shooting percentage for an ultra athletic 6’9 dude. I just feel that a lot of 3-man in the L would give you 19 and 5 with 37 mins a game.

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    Z thats probably true, but not many of those 3 men have the upside Rudy still has. There is no player more naturally talented on the trading block then gay. Some team will make a good offer eventually, but Memphis might jump at the first offer that matches up salary wise. He may not be one of your favorites but he is definately a good trading piece.

  • Mike

    Chill, rudy from the home town. He just don’t come back like Melo do.

  • rav

    re: size of buyouts – spanish soccer teams must include a buyout clause and its usually far more than what they earn e.g. lionel messi earned something like $42m (around $13m of that from barca, the rest from endoresments) yet his buyout is over $210m so ridiculously high buyouts are commonplace in spain (and it’d be far easier for rubio to get $6.6m for a buyout on less than $100k per year than it is for messi to pay $210m on $42m earnings!!!)

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    once again you people are comparing soccer to basketball. the amount of money european football clubs pull in is not comparable to basketball. Stop. And there is no better league for a European Soccer player to leave too, only clubs that will in some way compete with the club they are already on. Which would be a good reason to have a higher buyout then earnings. But since Rubio would be moving to a whole different market and thus does not make any money for DKV’s competitors there is no reason for them to follow the same guidlines as the european lifeblood (football/soccer). So stop comparing the two you people are showing your ingorance in abundance

  • rav

    nbk – my point was that it is commonplace in spain to have a buyout clause that is far greater than what they earn, and that practice is quite common in spanish basketball like what has happened with luis scola and tiago splitter in recent years to name two examples

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    Those two examples you used kept those players from coming over. scola who was originally supposed to play for SA was unable to because league rules permit teams from paying over 500 thousand dollars towards two different players buy outs. And Splitter obviously still is yet to come over because of his buy out….which is the whole point. If arbitration can’t fix Rubios contract he will not be coming over because he would be financially screwed by DKV. There is no reason for his Buy-Out to be soo high compared to his contract, and if things aren’t worked out we wont be seeing Ricky Rubio this season. But in Soccer/Football it makes perfect sense, but that is more comparable to a player leaving the Grizzlies for the Spurs in the middle of his contract, then switching markets.

  • rav

    “There is no reason for his Buy-Out to be soo high compared to his contract”

    when you consider that joventut made him who he is and they’d be committing financial suicide to allow someone who has a realistic chance to be one of the biggest stars in spain and the nba to buy out his contract for $100k or so, especially considering that he’s 18 years old and its highly unlikely that joventut will have him for his best years so when you consider that $6.6m isnt that excessive, but they (FIBA, ACB, NBA etc) should change it so that players can pay their buyout over a certain time period (e.g. length of their contract) rather than straight away, but this is more a case of culture clashes more than anything (buying/selling players in europe vs trading players for other players/picks in nba/nfl etc)

  • RoB

    Funny though,shouldn’t Ricky just be able to walk away from the contract? If he personally signed it at 13,that makes the contract void. Look it up,capacity to contract,must be over 18 to enter into a legally binding contract. Unless of course someone signed on his behalf. Even though he is over 18 now that wouldn’t matter,its from when the contract was signed.

  • http:///www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    Rubio with the no-look to the Durantula!

  • RedRum

    I think it will be settled in court in favour of Rubio. There is no way a clause 60 times more than his salary will be justified.

  • Bruno, RJ

    last thing i’ll post on this topic.
    nbk, you are not just ignorant, but arrogant.
    what you REALLY have to understand is that the reality of sports in USA and the rest of the world is COMPLETELY differet.
    the whole structure… so, basketball and soccer in europe or elsewhere has a lot more in common than basketball in US and basketballl somewhere else.
    let me try to explain, but it’s a huge discussion to have on a basketball forum.. and i don’t really have patience for guys like you, but anyway…
    sports in USA are based on high schools and college but everywhere else is based on CLUBS and you HAVE TO protect the developers… its the same thing that happens in brasil or other places… european clubs come here and take away all the 17,18 year old talents with their money… if you don’t do something to protect it, like buyout clause or the 5% to the developer, no club is gonna invest money developing players anymore…

  • Bruno, RJ

    that would fu(k the whole sports system. you dn’t know how it is to live in a country that doesn’t have sports in school.
    you don’t know how it is to live in brasil and try to play basketball…
    its the same thing in spain.
    do you know how much money DKV invest in discovering/training/polishing young talents???
    how many kids do you think they try till they get a Ricky??? for how many years???
    and now, he just walks out paying a million bucks?
    thats GARBAGE money in sports nowadays… even the $6.6 is NOTHING, but at last is better than leaving the player that you MADE and now is a world celebrity.
    you know nothing, bro… you should THINK before coming here an insult other ppl.

  • http://fjdkslf.com Jukai

    Bruno: Apparently it’s not nothing, since pretty much every news source in the universe (both Spanish and American) claim that, if the contract goes to court, it will either be voided or heavily changed.
    Even still, that’s a VERY interesting point you’ve brought up about the lack of High Schools/Colleges developing talent and clubs having to protect their assets.

  • http://fjdkslf.com Jukai

    Although I don’t get this “DKV Joventut made him who he is” talk. DKV, if anything, one could make an argument that Rubio’s growth was stunted because of his lack of playing time given to senior status members despite Rubio being the superior player for numerous years. DKV didn’t “make Rubio who he is…” DKV realized Rubio was a phenom and sealed him up as long as they could. I mean, this is EXACTLY why the pay rate and buyout are so vastly different: so DKV keeps the awesome talent of Rubio for as long as possible.
    Rav also sadly can’t do math, as Rubio’s buyout is far more disproportionate to his salary than Messi

  • Nbk

    Cosign jukai and Bruno what your saying is implying that I think a buy out is wrong. Which is entirely wrong, a buy out is right but COMPARED to his previous/current/future contract the DIFFERENCE is bs. And taking credit for someones talent is the exact opposite of what clubs try Nd promote. Teamwork being the main difference between NBA and European basketball. And that’s what the club has developed a cohesive units that do not need individual accolades so taking credit for an individuals skills are selfish and contradictory. But saying that rubio leaving will hurt the team and future success depending on his talents. Either way to charge a player more money then he has made from your club for his entire career is essentially charging him for the 4+ years and however many wins and titles or whatever they have won is wrong in every way. especially considering CLUB dkv made more money off of rickey then they were paying him to begin with.

  • RedRum

    Ok, there seems to be something fishy with this contract he signed… who in their right mind would agree to make 310k in four years (this is how much his contract was 50, 70, 90, 110) yet valued as 6mil if sold??? if you take the last year only, his buy out is 60 times more than his contract, if you take the first year it is 120 times more!!!! I am sure he will be vindicated in court. As for people that mentioned Kaka, remember, he was making 6 million per year in Milan, and he will be making close to 14 in Real, hence his buy out is close to his value for a 4 year contract. BTW, I think Rubio is overhyped, he is a good point guard, but he will suffer in the NBA by quick guards. I don’t see much playing time for him if he does not do something about speed and strength. There are better players in Europe in the position, like Diamantidis from Panathinaikos, who is 5 years in a Defensive player of the year in both the Greek league and in Euroleague, as well as top 3 in assists and blocks… he is 6-7 and 27 years old. Do you hear me NBA scouts!!!??? I am doing your freaking job!!

  • rav

    “Rav also sadly can’t do math, as Rubio’s buyout is far more disproportionate to his salary than Messi ”

    the point that i was making is that messi’s buyout is far greater than what he earns in total and from barca, nothing to do with proportional values

  • http://sjkldf.com Jukai

    Redrum: Are you talking about Dimitris Diamantidis? Better than Rubio? Really? Are you out of your mind? Rubio already averages more assists than Diamantidis in less minutes! Rubio almost averages as many steals! And Diamantidis is eleven years older than Ricky boy!
    I don’t want to downplay the dude, Diamantidis is easily in the top-five non-NBA players in Europe right now (Siskauskas, Papaloukas, maybe Rakocevic, Navarro…?) but he’s probably going to start declining soon. He’s not that much of a go-to-scorer, so if he comes into the NBA next year at 30, he has to learn NBA play, learn NBA man-to-man (great defensive player, but he relies more on disrupting the zone, while Rubio is great at man-to-man full court pressure), and most importantly, learn NBA tempo control. At 30.
    He could probably be a starter in the NBA, but I don’t see him being any more of a star than Hedo Turkolu, and that’s BEST case. At worst he’s a 33-year-old Kukoc in his bucks days.
    Rubio is FAR FAR FAR better suited to be in the NBA. And they’re closer in skill than most people would like to believe.

  • http://sjkldf.com Jukai

    Rav: Messi’s buyout is 5 times his salary. Rubio’s is 40-something times his salary. So, I don’t see your point.

  • Bruno, RJ

    what you guys don’t understand… actually, one more thing you don’t understand and that i’ve written on my 1st or 2nd post is… the buyout is actually CHEAP, BUT, it shouldn’t be the player to pay it!!!!
    thats what happens. it doesn’t matter how much money kaka does, do you think he pays Milan 65 million euros to go play for Real Madrid?!?!?!?!?
    OF COURSE NOT.
    so, if, lets say, Memphis lands Rubio, they should pay $6.6 for DKV… its easy and simple, but you don’t understand cause thats not usual in USA.
    you don’t see, for example, Boston chasing Garnett @ sota and paying $50million for him… the had to trade somebody, but everywhere its like this.
    you can trade or you can buy. or you can sign someone AFTER his contract expires.
    he is under contrct, so he must deliver what he signed.
    if you want to live in the utopic world that Fiba balll doesn’t need individuals… be my guest.

  • al

    Jukai,

    I have a law degree in Spain, so I have some idea. As you well assume that contract will be surely declared abusive in a tribunal.

    The fact is still worse than looks. It was been revealed today that the club has used Ricky’s contract as a payment to the Tax Agency, (which is really weard), so now, not even the club can negotiate that contract. The Tax Agency will not negotiate either, but they dont mind, cause if the asset they got is not worth what they think, Joventut will have to give them another asset. So it looks really bad for the club.

    I just hope it ends up quickly cause the thing does not look easy and you cannot say we have the fastest justice here in Spain

  • RedRum

    Jukai, impressed with your knowledge, but your numbers are wrong… go check the euroleague. stats. Diamantidis numbers are deflated this year because he was injured and shared the backcourt with spanoulis, Jasikevicius, both very good passers-scoreres. He is a better athlete than Rubio, better mid-range and long-range shooter and you are also wrong on the man2man defense, he plays suffocating defense. He specialises in pick n roll defense (and offense) the way he reads the pick n rolls and reacts is probably world-class.Rubio has not shown such aspects in his game. Of course there is a lot of potential in Rubio, but I don’t see how he can be an NBA starting PG, with his lack of speed, defense,shooting, athleticism.At this point, if a team needs a PG that can run and pass the open court, defend the pick n roll, find open teammates, and be a general in the court, Diamantidis is the better option. I can see Rubio becoming a good player, but make no mistake, he is no Drazen Petrovic (best European player ever), not even in the class of Calderon-Navarro

  • rav

    “Rav: Messi’s buyout is 5 times his salary. Rubio’s is 40-something times his salary. So, I don’t see your point. ”

    its more like 16 times his salary from barca, and the point is that it would be very difficult for him to pay his buyout, far more difficult that it is for rubio

  • Patsas

    According to The Worldwide Follower, DKV have sold Rubios rights to the Spanish IRS to pay off their tax debt, so Rubio will now be suing the Spanish gov’t to get out of the contract. How do you say ‘Federal Bailout’ in Spanish?

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Rubio needs Charles Oakley to handle his business, if you know what I’m sayin’.
    I miss Charles Oakley.

  • AR

    People asked me why,after the whole ‘Ricky Rubio will decide where he wants to play thank you very much’ debacle why I thought Ricky shouldn’t be treated with the same reaction and distate that would befall an American player.This is pretty much why.

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    Bruno proves his ignorance by saying 6.6 million euros is a cheap buy out. and so is owning a man made island in dubai.

  • http://sjkldf.com Jukai_Loves_Sausages

    Bruno: the buyout isn’t cheap, the problem is YOU’RE still thinking in European terms and not NBA terms. For a club, the buyout is cheap. For a player, the buyout is ludicrously expensive, beyond any example anyone has given. Get it through your head.
    al: Thanks for the help, man!
    Rav: No. No it is not more difficult.
    AR: You mean like how people treated Kobe when he said he wouldn’t play for New Orleans?
    Oh wait, it got maybe less reaction than Ricky deciding where he wants to play!
    So, you know, just saying.

  • http://howdtheygetajob.com nbk

    How bout this bruno, you clean my yard 2 days a week for the next 5 years. i will pay for your lunch and buy you a car to get to and from my house. but if you want to quit before the 5th year is up, i want you to give me 44 cars, and buy lunch for me 44 times a day for however long i payed you. Sound fair?

  • Bruno, RJ

    last time, i promise… can’t take it no more.
    nbk: if i sign something like this, i have to stick to it till the end. i don’t like the offer, i’m not signing… simple as that.
    jukai: THATS WHAT I SAID. if you pay attention, you’ll see that its OBVIOUS that i don’t think its fair or cheap for an 18-year old kid to pay $6.6, neighter it is for Kaka to pay AC Milan $65million euros… thats why i’ve been saying the TEAM that wants his service has to pay the buyout… exactly like Real Madrid did and like everywhere else.
    thats what gonna happen?
    no. court will decide Rubio should pay $10 bucks and a pack of bubble gums to DKV and one more time, the club that invests so much money digging talents got scr&wed on the “business world of sports”.
    i’ve been watching the free fall that has been for brasilian soccer clubs exatcly because of that procedures and it just doens’t make sense.
    you have to protect the developers. Rubio is just 1… the work DKV and others do is way more important and less lucrative.

  • rav

    bruno – if a court does decide that rubio only has to pay joventut a token sum then expect european teams to make it VERY difficult for nba teams to sign their players as they’re creating quality players in a development system that IMO is far superior to the HS->College system (none of those dumb NCAA practice rules exist for example plus they get to play against men instead of teenagers). tbh i dont think its such a bad thing for rubio to pay a buyout, but something like paying over a number of years or a percentage of his nba salary for a set number of years would be a much better solution

  • http://fjdkslf.com Jukai

    You’re right, I’m sure DKV lost money on Rubio, the biggest basketball draw in Spain.

  • http://fjdkslf.com Jukai

    I mean, do you think any future stars are going to even want to be “developed” from a club that tries this hard to keep them there? DKV is hurting themselves hardcore here.

  • rav

    jukai, players are bought and sold in europe when under contract to a team, and its irrelevant how much they’ve made of him in the past, they wont be making any money in the future from him (and if anything they’ll lose money from lost attendance revenues, merchandise, tv monies etc) and their team will be significantly weakened for the second year in a row when a player has left them for the NBA, and if rubio goes to the NBA dkv should get compensated as is the norm on this side of the pond, especially as the NBA and the team who drafts him stand to benefit greatly from rubio coming into the league in terms of international exposure and from a talent perspective whereas joventut will gain very little if anything (how many more barcelona jerseys were sold when gasol went to the lakers, tau jerseys when scola went to houston etc) so a fee for them for developing him into the player that his is will be fair so that they can get a replacement for him and spend that money on improving their cantera and club facilities so that they can develop the next ricky or rudy. and of course if rubio’s parents didnt like the terms of the deal they should never have agreed to them, simple as.

    as for future stars wanting to go there – they’ve developed rubio, raul lopez and rudy fernandez in recent years, so i doubt this incident would hurt them at all seeing as their cantera has produced players of that quality and given them an opportunity to showcase their talents in the first team, and not every player in europe wants to play in the nba or even likes the nba (even rubio’s been critical of the nba’s culture in the past) so this rubio incident isnt likely to hurt dkv’s chances of attracting young players in the future, although they should have dealt with this behind closed doors (and the NBA should increase the amount a team pays for a buyout from $500k to a bigger amount for international players who’s draft rights they hold as its unfair for the player to pay such a large amount)

  • Bruno, RJ

    I REALLY GAVE UP.
    u don’t understand anything outside your borders and you don’t try to, so, why should I bother?
    you are right… i guess no kid in spain right now would want to play for DKV…
    hauhauhuahuahuahuhaha
    hauhauhauhuahuahuahuhauha
    you americans… you guys have the best jokes at all!

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Bruno’s got a point.

  • Nbk

    Spain will not have another ricky rubio for a long time and when they do you can bet he won’t sign a contract that goes past his 19th birthday. All because of how Dkv is handling this. It makes sense to have a buy out but to basically brand rubio and try and take compensation for his whole career is ridiculous who cares about borders. Why can’t his buyout be 20% of his NBA contract for the remainder of his dkv contract? That makes me sense then a 1000% inflated immediate buy out.

  • Andi

    someone said earlier that if Rubio was playing in Greece he would be making millions..
    that is simply not true…
    He might be making 200k but thats about it…
    big eurolegue clubs do not pay millions to players that might become great…
    they pay millions to players that are great…

    as far as his 75k paycheck goes…i think its ok for a talent…cause that is what he is..a talent…
    when he was 15 i bet the 75k was fine…noone..and i mean noone…talent or no talent..basketball or fooball or whatever…makes that kind of money at highscool for…being a talent…
    same as when he was 16…
    i bet the 75k was fine also was when he was 17…
    but now suddenly 75k is low…but other then the fact that he grew up 3 years…nothing more has changed…(at least as far as PKV is concerned)
    he is still a talented player…he produced 10 ppg in the domestic legue and 5 in the eurolegue but all that in a mediocre team…
    he might one day be a great player…but he has a long way to go…(comparing the 18 year old Rubio with the 2 times eurolegue winner and 5 times best european defender diamantidis is unfair to Rubio)…
    I personally think that its fair that the team that wants to find out just how good Rubio is or how good he may get to be should pay the team that helped him get this far…
    6.6 mil euros may sound a lot right now…but as said so did the 75k Rubio got for shotting hoops when he was 15…
    simple fact is that Rubio is a profesional athlete since he was 13…and he is treated as one…
    Last year Partisan sold Pekovic to panathinaikos for around 2 mil…this year they sold tepic for 1 mil…
    Tepic is projected to be a 2nd round draft pic and Pekovic was picked up last year around 25 i think from minesota…
    when a 25 draft pic costs 2 mil i think 6.6 sounds about right for a player that might reach no 1…
    looking back i see some of the greatest european players in the NBA that went there and their teams got peanuts…i think barca got like 1 mil or so for gassol i wont even bother with how much Dirks team got…
    but when brasilian soccer teams sell their best talents to european teams they make millions…
    If you want the best players and the best talents you have to pay for them…

  • Andi

    simple fact is…that nowhere else in the wolrd do professional teams get to choose talented players every year…for FREE…
    (this is what you call the draft…)

    And if i where you i wouldnt expect the courts in EU to side with Rubio any time soon…
    (Arsenal for example took fampergas from Barca when he was 16…they paid Barca a fee of 2-3 mil..
    and here is the sweer part…he dint even have a contract…(not a buyout of course)
    but there is a law in EU that states that the team that spends time and money to bring up a player has to be paid for it…)

  • Andi

    “I mean, do you think…themselves hardcore here.”
    quoted from jukai…

    “future stars” do not get to choose where they get to “develope”.
    its not like there is a developing facility in every other corner…
    if you live in bandalona and you like basketball you will propably end up in DKVs training camps…if you live in Barcelona you will end up in Barca…
    its not really hard to understand why…
    there are no scolarship or anything…people mainly take their kids to the best team that is available in their own city…
    if their kids prove to be good…same thing will happen that happened in Rubios case…
    if you think that parents will not want to take their kids to DKV you are rong…
    no one thinks “omg…if my son who is 13 now becomes a star at 18 DKV will cause problems”
    …
    they are more likely thinking that since Rubio turned out a star then DKV must be doing something right…
    their 1st worry is for their sons to actually become stars before they worry on what they will do after they become one…

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