Minnesota GM David Kahn thinks that Ricky Rubio will likely come to Minnesota in a year and a half.

“We developed a very solid relationship with his representatives, and more importantly, perhaps, his family, this past summer,” he told Abbott. “It wasn’t an issue of him having any concern about Minnesota whatsoever. I think at the end of the day he just felt that him having a couple more years in Europe would be the smart and prudent thing for him to do. He had a lot of input from his Spanish National team members, who all think he can play here, but also thought that a few more years of development would help him. I don’t have any reason not to think that’s true, either.”

I don’t know if Kahn is just toeing the company line or if he truly believes that Rubio wants to play in Minnesota, but if he really didn’t think he was ready to play in the NBA, why did he put his name into the draft in the first place? Obviously, something happened on draft night (or thereafter) that convinced Rubio that he should stay in Europe. Prior to the draft, it looked like he was a sure bet to play in the NBA this season. The only thing that changed was that he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Suddenly, he’s signing a two year contract with another team in Europe.

On paper, Rubio to Minnesota is a nice fit, but when you look at the T-Wolves’ stars — Al Jefferson and Kevin Love — a wide-open offensive attack doesn’t spring to mind. However, they are tied with the Suns for third in overall pace (98.2 possessions per game) so someone is telling these guys to push the ball. I wonder if that’s designed in part to convince Rubio to come to Minnesota.

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