Ricky Rubio To Play For The Minnesota Timberwolves Next Season

(Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Ricky Rubio dribbles up court for Barcelona. Rubio will
play for the Timberwolves this season after a two year wait.

The Spanish superstar finally has decided to play overseas, after being drafted back in 2009. Ricky Rubio was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft and will now finally play in the NBA after a two year wait.

Being only 18 years old, Rubio decided to stay in Europe for two more years and play for Barcelona. Another big reason Rubio has finally decided to leave European Basketball was because his buy out from Barcelona has decreased substantially since 2009.

Rubio officially started playing professional basketball at only 14 years old, pretty much being the Freddy Adu of European Basketball. The Spanish point guard has drawn similarities to Pistol Pete Maravich for his quickness, ball-handling, and court vision.

Despite playing professional ball since 14, being drafted with the fifth pick of the NBA Draft, and winning the Player Of The Year award, Rubio's stats have not stood out.

Rubio has never averaged more than 11 points per game or six assists per game. A big reason to this could be the European style of play, or the fact that he plays close to only 22 minutes per game.

Last year with Barcelona, he had his worst season in four years. He only averaged 4.8 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, and shot 32% from the field. He also lost the starting point guard role on the team.

Back in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Rubio helped lead Spain to the Gold Medal game, but lost to the United States.

Still, Rubio has extraordinary upside and when you put him on the court next to NBA players, he will shine much brighter then with his European teammates. With rising stars like Kevin Love and Michael Beasley on the Timberwolves, Rubio's main job will be to get them the ball. Last year, Minnesota kept up well with scoring, but it was their defense that gave them the worst record in the league.

Rubio has also stated that he will wear No. 9 next season.

With Minnesota having the second pick in this year's draft, after having the lottery screw them over for the top pick, they will likely draft Derrick Williams.

Analyst are saying how Williams is the most athletic player in the draft, and could also have the most potential to break out and become a star. The only problem is that Williams plays Small Forward or Power Forward, which just happens to be the positions of Beasley and Love.

Next season, seeing Rubio, Love, Beasley, and possibly Williams will be very exciting. With a 17-65 record last season, the T-Wolves may not be back to playoff basketball just yet, but with some franchises having their best days behind them, the Wolves should be on the rise.

With the Lakers and Spurs both on their downfalls, the Clippers, Timberwolves, and Warriors could be the new faces of the Western Conference. With talent at an all time high though, every team needs to put in their full effort every night to have success.

Ricky Rubio will finally be coming to the NBA! Everyone is excited to see what the kid has in store.

And to Ricky: Si usted está leyendo este artículo, buenassuerte el año que viene!