March 3, 2011 – Allen Moll

It seemed as if the high speed, highlight reel style of play that international sensation Ricky Rubio is accustomed to was a perfect fit for the National Basketball Association. After all, while international players focus more on winning championships their American counterparts and their fans seem to sometimes be more focused on scoring titles and MVP Awards.

So it would be perfectly logical to think that Rubio’s rather paltry stats (6.2 ppg and 4 assists/gm) this season for FC Barcelona in Spanish League(ACB) and Euroleague play means that the former Lottery pick is struggling overseas. But that would be misleading. Even though his numbers aren’t overwhelming, Rubio is his club’s starter at point guard and usually makes the most of his 20-25 minutes per game in helping FC Barcelona once again win consecutive Spanish League Titles(a feat which hasn’t been done since 1988) and helping them advance to the Top 16 of Euroleague Play.

Along the way, he earned the 2010 Rising Star Award, given out annually to the league’s most outstanding young player. It’s a great accomplishment considering he’s constantly playing against bigger, stronger, and older players and that it’s almost a rite of passage for the European game’s younger players to defer to the elder statesmen, even if the youngsters are clearly better players. With all that being said, he still finds time to nail half court bombs and continually drops those amazing no-look passes which he now is known for..

Even though Barcelona is undefeated(5-0) into the 6th week of Euroleague play, everything hasn’t been all roses for Rubio and his teammates along the way. They suffered more losses than the previous year in the ACB and Rubio’s development has arguably stalled as he struggled in FIBA Worlds, shot only 18% from behind the arc in league play, barely over 40% from the field, and at times has struggled mightily against bigger defenders.

Many feel that Rubio’s style of play would flourish in the Association. The Minnesota Timberwolves are counting on it since after selecting the Spaniard with the #5 pick in the 2009 Draft, their rebuilding plan with Ricky running the point has yet to begin, since Rubio is still honing his skills in Europe over a dispute over a contract buyout with his previous team in Europe.

Many are expecting Ricky to make his NBA debut beginning next season but with an ugly lockout looming, fans in Minnesota, and in every other NBA arena for that matter, may be waiting quite a bit longer to see the Spanish sensation in action in the United States. If a lockout happens, Rubio almost certainly will not sign his rookie contact because if he did it would leave him in basketball no mans land, since he would then be unable to either play in the States or return to play for a European club since he is under contract.

On the other hand, Rubio only has until June 30th to sign his rookie contract, that will pay him accordingly to what a 2011 rookie should make. If he waits until after the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires, he stands to lose a ton of money as the league undoubtedly will tighten it’s purse-strings, especially on rookies. Even if the labor dispute is resolved, he may miss out an any Summer League or training camp activities which are vital to a rookie on any level.

Despite the Timberwolves steadfastly sticking to their belief that they have a hand-shake agreement with Rubio to be a member of the Wolves next season, there are rumors that he may stay on with Barcelona or try and reunite with his former coach at Joventut, where he played previously.

One member of Rubio’s camp gave a statement saying:

“Why would he want to play in Minnesota?” “He’ll continue to say all the diplomatic things, and Minnesota needs to keep his value up for trade purposes, but the family’s preference is to be on the East Coast, specifically New York, Miami or Boston. He wouldn’t be troubled if he has to stay another year.”

Will Rubio ever make it to the NBA? Sounds like he hasn’t quite made up his mind just yet. Surely his people will be monitoring the NBA labor issue very closely this Summer.

Check out Ricky’s highlights from last season with Regal FC Barcelona:

Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.