Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 11:34 am  |  147 responses

Rubio Goes to Barcelona

by Ryne Nelson

Sources from (one of) Ricky Rubio’s current clubs, DKV Joventut, is reporting a “trade” with the Spanish team, Regal Barcelona. The $5.3 million buyout will become the most expensive European basketball transfer in history.

Details about when the deal will happen are unknown, but what we do know is that Ricky is a long way away from playing in the League. According to Marca, Rubio will sign a six-year deal with Barcelona. The pact features a progressively decaying buyout clause, making it very possible that he’ll join the NBA after two more seasons overseas.

Roughly translated, check some of the details from the Spanish report:

Ricky Rubio will be a Regal Barcelona player. It will be the most expensive buyout in the history of European basketball: 3.7 million euros (around $5.3 million dollars).

Ricky signed for six seasons with an opt-out clause to play in the NBA. The amount of that clause will progressively decrease.

After playing the second season with Barcelona Ricky will have a buyout low enough to go to the NBA in the summer of 2011.

Rubio’s status with the L-Wolves gets muddier. Will the Wolves retain Rubio’s rights by 2011? Will Ricky demand a trade, as he did with DKV this summer?

At 18 years old, is Ricky Rubio truly good enough to dictate where and when he plays? Guess so.

UPDATE: Yahoo! is reporting that no deal has come to fruition as of yet.

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  • adams

    I may be going a little too far off topic here, but I was very surprised recently, when I read “The Breaks of the Game”. The author mentions that up until the early sixties (if I remember correctly) there was a widespread stereotype in the US about black athletes not being clutch or mentally strong in general, weak defensively etc. Pretty much the same stuff that’s been said about international players in the last decade or so.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Myles Brown

    FYI, Rubio hasnt signed a contract with anyone yet.

  • http://slamonline.com/ niQ

    Can’t he get a loan then play in the L? :P

  • tavoris

    geez..this thread may have gotten to 100 comments in record time…

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    @Izzo’s 11:59 am comment….. Amen!

  • http://drexlerwasabeast.com nbk

    This is not true

  • someone

    Rubio goes to Barcelona… walking. As he walks or takes the underground he sits in the waggon and looks around and thinks how the awful women he can’t watch become amazing ladies 10 minutes later… And the weather upstairs, Ben… not to mention. 10 minutes is an atmospheric eternity…

  • http://staticseth.blogspot.com/ Seth

    This is not the Rubio news I was hoping to see. Thank you Minnesota for screwing this up for everyone anxious to see the kid play in America. Well, at least my DKV jersey is now retro. Everyone likes retro.

  • Big D

    how long until he can opt out of that 6 year deal? Nice pick-up Kahn.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Bryan
    Why shouldn’t the rule apply to amateur players?
    What’s your logic for why that’s fair?
    A regular citizen can leave school at any time and become a profesional. Why would you deny that right to college basketball players, but grant it to young foreign players?
    My thoughts are that the League has a draft so that the worst teams have the most opportunity to draft the best players. It doesn’t matter where those players are from.
    If you’re going to force college players to abide by the rules, why change them for foreign players?
    Izzo
    I think you were hinting that the reason people dislike Rubio is xenophobia. Maybe you’re right. But, initially, he was getting a LOT of love from most people. It’s only his recent waffling that’s driven people crazy.
    Personally, I don’t have a problem with his decision. It’s a smart business decision. I have a problem with the PR spin some cats have tried to put on the decision and the repeated attempts to absolve him of blame. I’ve heard people bashing his foreign team, the T-Wolves, his agent, his parents, everybody.
    Put it this way, Rubio is the same age as OJ Mayo was when he was making his moves to get in college. Nobody has cut Mayo any slack when it comes to bad decisions he made.
    Rubio made an adult decision. Until somebody proves that he only made that decision because people forced him, then I’m going to assume that he acted like a man, and he should be treated like a man. The end.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Check out the comment by Seth for a prime example of what I’m talking about.

  • izzo

    Allen: I was probably more outspoken for OJ Mayo at the time, I even wrote a piece about it on my old blog. I just there is a mob mentality with Rubio. I don’t like mobs.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    A feeling we share.

  • http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

    Is it a good time to comment that the L-Wolves are screwed cause Flynn will never develop into anything more than a decent bench player?
    No? Not a good time?
    Okay, I’ll wait. Go on, everyone.

  • http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

    Allen: Izzo’s not entirely wrong here. There’s been some downright racist comments about Rubio.
    On the other hand though, you’re right as well. Easy Yi didn’t get anywhere near the hate Rubio is getting when Yi was trying to get himself out of Milwaukee.
    So it’s clearly a combination of both. Which is never a good thing.

  • http://lastknickstanding.blogspot.com Bryan

    To a certain extent they do allen, I think you’re missing my point I think foreign professionals should be ineligible for the draft because they are already pros and likely already have agents and contracts and stuff. If anything it helps amatuer players here in the states if something like this happened because there are more spots to be drafted if you removed the euroleague and other league players from the pot.

  • http://lastknickstanding.blogspot.com Bryan

    if a minor league baseball player isn’t eligible for the mlb draft then why should players from lesser pro leagues ? It makes no sense. This draft should be used on college and high school level players only . They can do it one of two ways make every foreign league vet act as free agents or have an entireley different pro draft for pro players.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Bryan
    I understood your point. I think the problem is that foreign players become professionals so much earlier. I also think there’s the question of maintaining competitive balance.
    If the foreign pros could always negotiate their own contracts, I think we would see a situation where the best teams would load up on good players.
    However, I think you have a great point about how it’s unfair that professionals are forced to get “drafted.” I just think that correcting that problem would create more problems.

  • http://www.manutd.com Zaal

    Bryan, then kids here will pull a Jeremy Tyler and sign a one year contract overseas the year before they become eligible for the NBA draft then sign on an NBA team as a FA. I know that’s what I would do. / For the record, I’m an equal opportunity hater: I hated it when Franchise did it. I hated it when Yi tried to do it. I hate it when Rubio tries to do it. The draft is made for the weak teams to get the best talent. How fun would the league be if guys like Wade, Bron, Melo, CP3, Dwight all ended up in big markets/marquee teams like NY, LA, Chi, Bos, Mia?

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the balla

    Hey Jukai. lol

  • http://www.myspace.com/freedmusic fredd

    i think i’m way too naive .. i don’t understand … a player presents himself to the nba draft, it’s HIS choice …. and finally decides ( contracts or not ) to stay in europe, plus sign a SIX YEARs contract …. amazing ……

  • andynorstrom

    this guy needs to get his priorities straight, Minnesota or not- the NBA is the NBA. Its the best league in the world. Then again, maybe he’s just putting coming to the League on hold until he is actually good enough to play there… I have seen this guy play and to be honest i think he is over-rated

  • http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

    Hey James, wuttup

  • http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

    If you want my two cents, I really think the only reason to be mad at Rubio is the way he conducted himself pre-draft. His refusal to try out in OKC and Memphis guaranteed he wouldn’t be drafted in OKC and Memphis. His baffling behavior in Sacramento (being a real b*tch about private work-outs, being a bit demanding about playing time and not giving a guarantee he’d be playing in the states) made Sac-town pass over him, and his own rant about “only playing in Cali and New York” made Minny worried enough to grab the lesser Flynn just incase.
    So yeah, Rubio made his own bed, now he has to sleep in it.
    I’m NOT sure why you’d be mad at Rubio for deciding to stay in Europe though. He is contemplating signing a six year deal but would probably be out of it by the same time he’d be done with his current contract and playing in the NBA. Other players have done this in the past, other players have been demanding about where they want to play (it goes back way before Francis and Kobe… I’m talking Maravich, Barry, Dr. J) and it’s sort of odd to really crucify Rubio over it. I can get some “haha, serves you right” responses since this really IS all Rubio’s fault, but for real, why all the hate?
    I’m still waiting for someone to tell me how bad Rubio’s defense is.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the balla

    Chillin’. Co sign Jukai. Rubio acted like a punk to some of those teams. The main fact is, there are enough people around Rubio to know who was going to get the top picks in that draft. If Rubio didn’t want to play for most of them, and also didn’t want to work for playing time amongst other guards. Then why even go in the draft? To go in the draft, and get chosen high enough that any true basketball fan would kill for, and then stay in Europe … I can see why people are ready to hang the kid!! I was hoping to see him flop in the NBA because I am not a fan of this kid, ecspecially now. But after this, I just hope he stays in Europe.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the balla

    Hopefully Minny doesn’t trade him to a solid team for nothing.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Blinguo

    Rubio’s defense is soo bad they would trade him for Shaq, even though he clogs the lane. /1-2 drums 3-cymbal
    -
    Granted the TRADE HIM FOR SHAQ riggs masterpiece should just go in the Beasley mourning stuff now…

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Blinguo

    Is this the closest the North American fans can get to the uproar that occurs with soccer fans and futbol hooligans alike when their superstars back stab and move to different ball clubs?
    Nobody cared about Beckham outside of LA scene kids, and uh KG getting sucked into it to watch a few games in a box suite, and when he was loaned out, it barely made ripples. Galaxy bandwagon fans, gone. And Rubio isn’t even a proven superstar with those major contracts yet either in his league. Those buyouts being taken on by new teams are a start in that direction though.

  • http://fdjsklf.com Jukai

    James: please don’t co-sign me, you missed my point completely.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the balla

    Naw naw, I agreed with you but through in my points on understanding why people don’t like him. But I get what you are saying and agree.
    And is Rubio’s defense really that bad? My biggest thing on his game is zero jump shot!

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I want me a Rubio jersey.

  • chintao

    Damn, I can’t remember what I was going to say. I think it had something to do with Myles and a crow….

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    So, a guy can make himself eligible for the draft, cross his fingers that a certain team picks him, and then when it doesnt happen, he says F it and not show up at all.. This system makes no sense whatsoever..

  • GJ BC

    Minnesota must feel like asses right now.

    oh well, they have flynn.

  • JoeMaMa

    Everyone has had their thoughts on Rubio, the money owed, and the situation in general.
    EXCEPT, I haven’t heard anyone’s opinion on the shadiness of the buyout itself.
    How could such a massive buyout exist for someone who’s getting paid 90k a season? How could that possibly stand up in court? That has to be considered exploitative and completely unethical by the organization. Why aren’t we directing our hate towards an organization that has pimped out a teenager, who they paid peanuts, so they can get rich? Do NOT hate the player. Hate the game, please!!

  • http://shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ Tariq

    izzo:
    Kudos on your masterwork of a comment (11:59). I think I’m developing a healthy man-crush on you. (Pause). Quick question: When you say “How dare someone like you, from International have the GAUL to be as overrated as you are?” Did you misspell “gall” or did you MEAN to type “gaul”. Because if you meant to, man, you’re a f*cking genius.

  • Son of Shawn

    This is only abot the NBA´s STUPID RULE “you only can paid 500K to a foreign club to obtain a player”, in what f*cking world you prefer to pay for playin´ in Minny nowadays?, I won´t appreciate all those opinions of people who didn´t watched at least five of his games, if the kid were a bust, will an Euroleague semifinalist pay 5,3 M to obtain him?

  • ED

    Izzo is a bit(h ass and all of you guys hating too; stop judging the young dude and let him take his own decisions. Putting such long posts to hate on the man, you gotta be fu(king desperate son lol

  • Noname

    To JoeMaMa:
    Team rules are very different in europe than in the states. It’s not shaddy, it’s how is made in europe. In europe you have a contract with the team and teams are free to pay as much as they want to other teams if they want to end a contract before it expires so having a big buyout clause is usual.

    For example in Soccer, this summer Real Madrid paid 134 million dollars to Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo. His new salary is 18.5 million dollars per year, but his buyout clause is now 1.4 Billion dollars.

  • http://shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ Tariq

    ED: izzo is mocking those who are hating on rubio.

  • caoneidaren

    whenever he is ,I will support him forever!!
    Come on!Ricky!
    Try your best!Be confident!I believe you will succeed!!

  • http://www.manutd.com Zaal

    Shaw, I understand your argument but that’s like saying if Erick Dampier were such a bust, would someone pay him 10 mil per?

  • LCD screen cleaner

    My money is that nobody posting here, in Rubio’s shoes, would have the balls to make the decision to go to Minny. I’m disappointed that he didn’t, I understand why he did.

    So he makes the VERY AMERICAN decision to say, “FUCK the risks, gimme my money”, and he gets hate from these quarters? I’m getting tired of these halfway-haters, who don’t think before they hate.

  • LCD screen cleaner

    To be perfectly clear, you can hate the hype, but you can’t hate the man.

  • yungchance

    tht sux there was all this hype about him bein the most talented rookie PG and now he’s not even playin in the NBA

  • JoeMaMa

    Noname:
    I guess it’s a different player union/owner relationship between the states and Europe. But when this first started the buyout was never really an issue, because I think the Rubio family thought they could get it substantially lessened. No deal…and no one’s really talking about that. I’m pretty sure a small buyout = Ricky in tundra.

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