Wolves Updates 6/26 Part 3

From Marca.com (link and translation via HoopsHype):

The best-case scenario, and Marca.com can confirm negotiations are under way, is making a trade with New York. David Lee and Nate Robinson look like the players most likely to be involved in the deal…

According to sources close to the player, Minnesota already knew Ricky wouldn’t play there when they picked him.

From Antena 3 Noticias (link and translation via HoopsHype):
Real Madrid’s president Florentino Perez will try to sign Ricky Rubio. Antena 3 Noticias

From TrueHoop: Ricky Rubio, Playing Minnesota Poker

That sets up a dynamic where everyone involved — Ricky Rubio, his agent Dan Fegan, Nike, David Stern, the Spanish IRS that may or may not hold his contract now, even DKV Joventut himself — is better off financially if Rubio comes to the NBA where he can realize his star value on and off the court. In the event Rubio can’t get those other parties to pay some or all of his buyout, there are plenty of people willing to float him a loan for the difference.

Therefore, sources suggest that the reason Rubio is not pro-Minnesota is the presence of Flynn.

Now here’s where things get interesting. The conventional wisdom is that teams won’t bid high to a GM holding a player he has to move. But sources like Kahn’s position for counterintuitive reasons. They suggest his cards aren’t bad now, and could improve with time. Rubio would have more value if his buyout was finalized, for instance. Likewise if Rubio’s wrist was proven wholly repaired, other teams might be readier with good offers. Even in the scenario where Rubio returns to Europe, he’s at an age where he’s almost certain to improve. An improved shooting ability, for instance, could set off a frenzy. Meanwhile, the list of suitors could evolve. Through injuries or trades, more teams might find they could use a young point guard, raising his value still further. And the worst-case scenario probably isn’t so bad. If the best offers don’t come in for Rubio, Kahn could always trade Flynn.

From Jonathan Givony/DraftExpress:

What’s strange is how surprisingly unaggressive New York was while all this was going on. They really tried hard to move up in the days and weeks leading up to draft night, but decided to take a wait and see approach once it became clear that Rubio would slip to 5. It appears likely that Kahn initially took Rubio with the intent of “auctioning off the pick,” in the words of one source close to the situation, but it seems like the market isn’t quite as robust as initially anticipated.

Rubio’s comments after the draft made it very clear that he has no problem going back to Spain, and there will likely be a number of lucrative offers coming his way from the direction of Real Madrid and other top European teams once he returns home. This is likely going to be a long and drawn out process, and it’s very possible that we see teams like Dallas, New Jersey, New York and Indiana get back into the mix.

From SRI.com, David Kahn on the odds Rubio is playing for the Timberwolves next year:

“I don’t know that. I respect Dan Fegan (Rubio’s agent), he’s tough and tenacious and one of the best in our business and he will get this done. Dan called me right before we made the pick and I told Dan if there’s a team out there, we’re the team that can wait…what does it hurt us to wait a year. We’re not in a position we’re contending next year, maybe probably for two years. We’ll wait, we’ll be patient. We can do that. In two years, not saying it’s going to be two years, he’ll be 20. We’re not getting some old man here. I don’t know what the odds are. It will be a very turbulent summer here up and down , but I think ultimately he’ll be a Minnesota Timberwolf and I’m very, very excited about it.”

From Steve Alexander/Driftwood Blog:

Many folks are wondering the same thing after he drafted about 15 point guards last night, but, ironically, that’s one of the most sane things he’s done since he’s been in Minnesota. I think Kahn absolutely made the right call in drafting Rubio with the No. 5 pick last night. And I think that Kahn knew there was an excellent chance that Rubio wouldn’t be walking through those frozen doors any time soon, so he got an insurance policy by taking Jonny Flynn at No. 6. That part, at least the insurance side of it, makes perfect sense to me. And we can’t really count the Ty Lawson pick, as that was made under the direction of the Nuggets, and then they traded Nick Calathes. So the Wolves really only drafted two point guards in my mind.

But there are more questions than answers with Mr. Kahn, who some have referred to as “Kahn-descending.”

From Steve Aschburner/MinnPost.com:

It’s not as if the Wolves, in Kahn’s expressed ambition of chasing a championship, are going to vault from 24 victories last season to 45 to 50 in 2009-10, with or without Rubio on board. If the kid does not arrange a buyout — his DKV Joventut club holds a $6.6 million clause, which could be negotiated down — he would stay in Spain but still develop as a player in worthwhile ways. The Wolves hold his NBA rights indefinitely, so if Rubio’s desire to play at the game’s highest level is real, only the worst sort of stare-down could force Minnesota into blinking and trading him. Meanwhile, Flynn — who sounded excited enough to climb through the speaker phone for his first Wolves workout — would soak up the minutes not needed for Rubio.

From Ken Berger/CBS Sports:

I know, I know. David Kahn left himself exposed to criticism if Ricky Rubio goes back to Spain. But if you have a chance to take a player that gifted, and you believe in him, you take him and you don’t look back. Sure, the Wolves went a little guard-crazy in the draft, but Jonny Flynn provides insurance for the Rubio dilemma. And while Kahn is holding his ground so far against agent Dan Fegan’s push for a trade sending Rubio to the Knicks, having an asset that it’s in demand is not a bad place to be. Plus, Kahn traded the rights to Lawson for a first-round pick in 2010, which will be a better draft.

From Bethlehem Shoals/Sporting News:
Which brings us to Flynn, the most sympathetic figure in last night’s PG maelstrom. While I think he could come off the bench, there’s a big difference between sitting behind a vet and backing up a teenager, who the team had when they picked you, and whose preferential treatment could raise all kinds of other issues. Maybe Flynn is the team’s contingency plan; that makes some sense, management-wise. But from an ego standpoint, it was just outright raw for Kahn to fall over himself to pick Rubio, at one point thought of as a potential No. 1 overall, and then pick up another PG just for kicks. If he gets screwed because of the need to satiate Rubio, he could be the one who comes out of this trio with the biggest chip on his shoulder.

From Bill Ingram/Hoopsworld:

A source close to Harris told HOOPSWORLD today that he would like nothing better than to take on the challenge of an exciting young team like the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves would do well to hear what Harris has to say before they commit their foreseeable future to an inexperienced coach. After all, we’ve seen the success inexperienced coaches have had across the NBA, and the record isn’t good (see: Phoenix, Charlotte [before Brown], Detroit, Sacramento). If Minnesota is serious about restarting their franchise, and the talent they just acquired in the draft makes them ripe for a new era of exciting basketball, it seems logical that they would want a seasoned veteran on their bench, calling the shots, rather than a young coach who is just as inexperienced as the players he’s expected to mold. The success Kevin McHale had at the helm of the Timberwolves last season demonstrated that fact clearly.

Del Harris is exactly the kind of coach who could help a young team establish an identity . . .and start to hang long-overdue W’s on the board.

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Wolves Updates 6/26 Part 3

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper