Cue the spin in Minnesota. David Kahn speaks:
This morning I met with Ricky and his parents and told them that I understood Ricky´s decision. It was clear to me yesterday and in this morning´s meeting that the pressure surrounding Ricky and his family to remain in Spain for at least two more years had only intensified as the summer wore on and was weighing heavily on them.
The NBA is the best basketball league in the world, by far. As an 18-year-old man, Ricky would have been challenged on a nightly basis to a degree he has never experienced. In order for Ricky to meet this challenge fully, I believe it is important that his family and other people important to him were comfortable with the move to the NBA and fully supportive.
I also agreed with Ricky´s position that two more years of competition in Spain and the Euroleague will only aid his development and that he will be much more ready for the NBA when he joins us.
On the night of the draft, I explained that the decision to draft Ricky was not difficult – that he was 18, the youngest player in the draft, and we were a building team that could wait for him. Nothing has changed. When we received signals from Ricky this summer that he was considering accelerating his path to the NBA and joining us sooner, we threw ourselves into this process willingly and energetically, including meeting with Joventut on four separate occasions.
So it was the plan all along for Rubio to stay in Spain? Sounds like a pretty convenient explanation. And considering Rubio's signature performance--at the heart of all this hype, really--came in the Olympics, against Team USA, playing in the gold medal game with a broken wrist, the arguments that he couldn't handle the challenges on a nightly basis seem a bit far-fetched.
Had Rubio gone to New York and Los Angeles, would his family advisers have been so cautious about making the transition to the "best basketball league in the world"? It's a moot point now, I guess. The party line, for now, is that Rubio isn't ready.
Ricky's less verbose explanation is below (with stilted English!):
The reason leading me to take this next step is to have a period of preparation to better take the challenge of the NBA in better conditions as a player. The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to be my first option and I wish to play with them in the near future.