By Jonah Bronstein
Jonny Flynn is disappointed that he’ll have to wait at least two years to team up with Ricky Rubio, the teenage sensation who told the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night he was going to put the NBA on hold and remain Spain.
“He’s a guy that could make me better, and make our team better,” Flynn said Tuesday after playing in an open run at his alma mater, Niagara Falls High School. “And that’s the most important thing. We’re going to be missing a piece to our puzzle that really could’ve helped us out this year.”
Rubio and Flynn, both playmaking point guards, were selected fifth and sixth in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Timberwolves president David Kahn said on Monday that Flynn will likely be the team’s starting point guard heading into training camp.
“It’s a great opportunity for me. I can step in and play a lot of minutes now,” said Flynn, who was named NBA Rookie of the Month in July following a stellar summer league performance.
“It’s tough to hear you have to wait two years to play with a great player like that. You saw what he did against the Olympic team when he was only 17 years old. Now we just have to focus on what we can do to fill that void.”
After saying all summer long that his preference was to play in the NBA, Rubio apparently got a case of cold feet at the last minute. Less than 48 hours after the Timberwolves, Rubio’s agents and the Spanish team DKV Joventut agreed in principle on a deal, Rubio changed his mind.
He told Kahn on Monday night that he wanted to stay in Spain for the next two years to better prepare for life in the NBA — a blow to a team that was hoping to have the popular passer on the court this fall.
“Of course there’s disappointment, but I don’t think that disappointment should overshadow the big picture, which is, he’s still so young,” Kahn said Tuesday during a call from Spain, where he spent the weekend negotiating the deal. “It appears now we will have a two-year wait. But if you frame it as he’ll be 20 years old and he’ll have two more years to develop, I can think of a lot worse things to happen to us as a franchise.”
The Timberwolves drafted Rubio even though he was still under contract with DKV Joventut in a deal that included a $8.1 million buyout clause. Kahn made three trips to Spain over the summer to try and help Rubio’s representatives negotiate that number down, a process that was hindered by NBA guidelines limiting the amount of money Minnesota could contribute to $500,000.
Kahn said Rubio’s agent, Dan Fegan, delivered a package of endorsement deals and sponsorships that helped make the NBA deal attractive enough for Rubio and Joventut to enter into an agreement on Saturday night.
When Rubio backed out of the deal, DKV Joventut reluctantly agreed to trade him to rival Regal FC Barcelona, which will pay $5.3 million to buy out his contract. The buyout, Kahn said, is the largest in European basketball history.
In a statement, Joventut noted the “big effort” by everyone to reach a deal.
“In front of this situation, and in contradiction with what he has been saying to us and to Timberwolves’ representatives from time to time, the player has announced the decision that he wants to be transferred to FC Barcelona,” the team said.
The deal with FC Barcelona requires Rubio to stay in Spain through the 2010-11 season, at which time the buyout price tag plummets to about $1.4 million. That’s a much more manageable number for Rubio to afford, but he said he was more concerned about being ready for the NBA.
“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,” Rubio said in a statement. “The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to be my first option and I wish to play with them in the near future.”
So what changed between Saturday and Monday?
Kahn said Rubio and his family were receiving pressure from his Spanish national team teammates, members of the Spanish media and other people in their hometown to stay in Spain.
“It’s just been a tough summer,” Kahn said. “From an 18-year-old’s perspective and his family’s perspective, it was very nerve-racking.”
The decision saves Rubio money in the short term, but could bring long-term consequences, both on and off the court.
“I explained to (Rubio) that I can’t predict the future,” Kahn said. “I did specifically mention that Jonny would be two years ahead of him. He understood that.”
When Rubio does come over, Kahn said he will be subject to the NBA rookie scale from this year. That means he’ll get a four-year deal worth more than $15 million and will be two years further away from the lucrative unrestricted free agent market.
While Flynn lost a potential teammate, he’s excited about the NBA veterans who will be coaching him. In addition to bringing in former Showtime Laker Kurt Rambis as head coach, Minnesota hired Bill Laimbeer and Reggie Theus as assistants.
“I talked to Kurt Rambis. He’s a great guy,” Flynn said. “He’s a guy who came from a winning tradition. He won championships with Magic Johnson. He won championships with Phil Jackson. And he’s a guy who can enlighten me.
“... Bill Laimbeer can give us that Bad Boy toughness. Reggie Theus is a guy I can relate to. I talked to a lot of guys throughout the league who said he’s a great guy.”
E-mail reporter Jonah Bronstein at jonah.bronstein@niagara-gazette.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
