Spanish basketball star Ricky Rubio announced in a press conference in Barcelona on Friday that he will leave Regal Barcelona to join the Timberwolves, who drafted him in 2009.
“It is my dream and I want to fulfill it,” he said. “After thinking about it a lot, the time has arrived.”
Though Rubio was drafted with the fifth pick overall, the $6 million buyout on his contract with Barcelona was too expensive for Rubio to pay himself.
The NBA prevented the Timberwolves from contributing more than $500,000 to help Rubio, so the team had to wait two years for Rubio’s buyout to be lowered to about $1.4 million.
“This is a day our organization and our fans have been eagerly awaiting from the moment we drafted him, and I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Ricky to Minnesota,” Timberwolves president David Kahn said in a statement Friday.
A source close to the deal told the Associated Press that Rubio signed his NBA contract on May 31 so as to be included in the current rookie wage scale.
The AP reported that the Timberwolves will introduce Rubio later this week. Minnesota also owns the second pick in next week’s NBA draft.
“It is my dream and I want to fulfill it,” he said. “After thinking about it a lot, the time has arrived.”
Though Rubio was drafted with the fifth pick overall, the $6 million buyout on his contract with Barcelona was too expensive for Rubio to pay himself.
The NBA prevented the Timberwolves from contributing more than $500,000 to help Rubio, so the team had to wait two years for Rubio’s buyout to be lowered to about $1.4 million.
A source close to the deal told the Associated Press that Rubio signed his NBA contract on May 31 so as to be included in the current rookie wage scale.
The AP reported that the Timberwolves will introduce Rubio later this week. Minnesota also owns the second pick in next week’s NBA draft.
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