David Kahn heads for Spain today and meetings presumably with Ricky Rubio and his DKV Joventut team in a trip that Kahn says his only mission is to be “helpful” in facilitating Rubio’s contract buyout so he can play in the NBA this fall.
The Wolves, by NBA rules, can pay only $500,000 of a buyout that could cost as much as $6.6 million. But with European teams everywhere suffering financially from the global economic downturn — and DKV Joventut in particular financial trouble — it seems more and more likely a deal eventually will get done. If it happens and Rubio signed by the Wolves by fall, it probably will because Rubio’s Spanish club is desperate for that buyout money and because Rubio’s representatives will have lined up enough endorsement deals to pay for that buyout, and then some.
Kahn said he expects to return from Spain sometime later this week.
Click here for Jonny Flynn’s windmill dunk from last night’s summer league game against the Bulls.
From
Howlin’ T-Wolf: An Interview with Jonny Flynn’s Little League Coach
The Ricky Rubio situation is not as simple. Sources close to Rubio have said that Kahn has done absolutely everything right in terms of convincing Ricky not to take a deal in Europe and to let him get involved with DKV Joventut’s buyout talks. While the Timberwolves cannot offer anything more than $500,000 towards a buyout, there is a belief that the Wolves could enter into a partnership with Joventut should Rubio ultimately gain his release – the scenario painted in Las Vegas is that should Joventut decide to release Rubio, the Wolves might be willing to partner with Joventut on future exhibition games and possible assistance with coaching and player development clinics. The Wolves could not offer anything specific or offer anything that has a financial component as that would be a violation of salary cap rules.
However Kahn’s visit could go a long way towards bridging future agreements should Rubio end up in Minnesota.
Twenty-three of the top young NBA talents will assemble Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the July 23-25 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp…
Attending the July 22-25 mini- camp are D.J. Augustin (Charlotte Bobcats / Texas); Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers / Arizona); Ronnie Brewer (Utah Jazz / Arkansas); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies / Connecticut); Gordon; Granger; Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder / Georgetown); Blake Griffin (University of Oklahoma); Devin Harris (New Jersey Nets / Wisconsin); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona); Kyle Korver (Utah Jazz / Creighton); Lee; Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets / Stanford); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies / USC); Paul Millsap (Utah Jazz / Louisiana Tech); Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers / Ohio State); Randolph; Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls / Memphis); Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks / Oak Hill Academy, Va.); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA); and Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers / Georgia Tech).
– Deserving a blurb is Timberwolves 7-0 center Garrett Siler. After attending a music academy in high school and averaging less then 2 ppg, he landed at Augusta State in Georgia. Playing D-II ball didn’t get him much love. Siler has had his chance to shine now and is making the most of it. He’s a straight monster in the paint who looks to dunk everything, and usually he can because of his massive size at 300 pounds. Sure he’s not the most skilled guy and struggles defending the perimeter. You just can’t ignore 7-footers who play hard and offer that kind of potential. Siler would be a great guy to stash in Europe or the D-League for a couple of years and see how he develops. Hint hint?
