So you think Ricky Rubio is a jerk. Think he's a prima donna. Another John Elway or Steve Francis, unhappy with the team that drafted him and refusing to play there.
So maybe you think, as this hysterical shriek of a story so clearly put into words, Who does Ricky Rubio think he is?
Let me tell you who he is.
But first, let me tell you who you are. And by you, I also mean me. Us. The city of Minneapolis. The state of Minnesota. The NBA. Even the United States. All of us:
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| Is Ricky Rubio really excited about playing in Minnesota? (Getty Images) |
We're just not.
Look, I love it here. Am not moving, am not leaving, don't even want to visit another country. Don't own a passport, and other than for work reasons, don't care if I ever do. There are only 142 songs on my iPod, but here are two of them: God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood, and America by Neil Diamond. Love those songs. Those are great workout songs. They get me fired up.
But so does this. This Ricky Rubio drama. Your Ricky Rubio outrage.
See, America and most of the world at large is one thing above all else: free. We have options. You do. And me. So does Rubio. Now, you might not love all of Rubio's options, especially if this one feels -- like Rubio's stance that he doesn't want to play for Minnesota feels -- like a slap in our American face.
There's no debating that point. Rubio is slapping the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota and by extension the NBA and even the United States. Slapping all of them -- all of us -- right in the face.
And that's OK. Because that's one of his options.
Rubio isn't from here. Maybe it was his lifelong dream to play in the NBA, but apparently it wasn't his lifelong dream to play in Minneapolis. Can I blame him for that? No, I cannot. It's freaking cold up there. Visiting is one thing. Living there? Quite another. If I had a job where I could almost literally live anywhere I wanted while doing my job at a high level, would I choose to live in Minneapolis? Hell no. No offense, Twin Cities, but you're too cold. Call me a wimp, but that's a choice -- freezing my ass off -- that I'm not willing to make.
Apparently, neither is Rubio. And even if the weather in Minneapolis were perfect, it's not like the T-Wolves are all that balmy a franchise. They're dysfunctional, having just run off their former general manager-turned-former coach.
New GM David Kahn immediately drew a clown hat on his own head by stocking up on draft choices in the worst draft in years and then with the fifth and sixth picks taking a point guard. Both times. Rubio went fifth. Jonny Flynn went sixth. Well, lookee there. Kahn just drew a Groucho Marx mustache on his own face. He's talented, that guy.
But so is Rubio. Fabulously talented. Overrated? Maybe. But when you're named the best player in Europe at age 18, you're damned good. The next Pete Maravich, as some have called Rubio? Probably not. So if he's overrated, he's overrated. But he could be significantly less than the next Pete Maravich and still be damned good.
That's Rubio, and we have to be honest here. This is the T-Wolves. They've never won anything. They've been in the NBA for 20 years, they had one of the best five players in the league, Kevin Garnett, for most of that time, and only once -- one time in 20 years -- have the T-Wolves made it out of the first round of the playoffs. And Garnett's long gone. In the years before and after KG, Minnesota has averaged 21½ wins per season. Look it up. This past season they overachieved and won 24. Congratulations.
And they now have a GM who picked a point guard fifth overall and then, with the sixth pick, got that new point guard some firepower by drafting ... another point guard. And that's the franchise where Ricky Rubio, who has other options, is supposed to play?
More to the point, that's where Ricky Rubio -- who would have to buy out his European contract for $6 million -- is supposed to pay to play?
Give me a break. And give him a break, too. Again, this guy isn't you. He's from Spain and has played professionally in Europe. Never been there myself, but I hear Europe's not bad. And he's famous there. Famous, and rich. Yes, he would be famous and rich here as well. But he doesn't need to leave Spain to make it happen. And Minneapolis in January, like the T-Wolves at any time of the year, isn't all that inviting.
So who does Ricky Rubio think he is? That's up to him, but I'll tell you who he's not. He's not John Elway, who pitched a fit after the Baltimore Colts drafted him in 1983. He's not Steve Francis, who pouted like a baby after Vancouver picked him in 1999. Elway forced his way to Denver. Francis forced his way to Houston. Through force of will they got their way -- and wrecked the original franchises.
Had Elway stayed in Baltimore, it's possible the Colts wouldn't have moved to Indianapolis. And you do know, of course, that Vancouver lost its NBA franchise in 2001. Is Francis to blame? Partially, sure. The NBA in Vancouver already was a tough sell, but that idea was merely creeping downhill until Francis gave it a nice shove in the back. Two years later, the Grizzlies were gone.
Rubio isn't that guy, because the NBA isn't that league. Times have changed, starting with this: Good players, even good American players, are now more than happy to play in Europe. Josh Childress left the NBA last year to play overseas. So did Earl Boykins and Jannero Pargo. Brandon Jennings skipped out on junior college or prep school to play this past season in Europe. Sophomores Terrence Oglesby of Clemson and Nick Calathes of Florida left school this spring to go to Europe. That didn't stop the genius in Minneapolis from drafting Calathes anyway, but still.
My point is, basketball in Europe is no joke.
Basketball in Minnesota is.
So who does Rick Rubio think he is? He thinks he's better than the worst franchise in the NBA.
And I think he's right.
