The Timberwolves cannot do much financially to help Ricky Rubio with a multimillion-dollar buyout of his contract with DKV Joventut in Spain.
So team president David Kahn will head across the Atlantic next week to meet with the team personally in hopes of lowering the $6.6 million price tag that has threatened to keep the wunderkind point guard in Europe for at least next season.
Rubio, who was drafted fifth overall by the Timberwolves in June, is still under contract with Joventut for the next two seasons.
After helping Spain to a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics and playing in the Spanish ACB since he was 14, the 18-year-old is ready to test his skills in the NBA.
The one thing holding him back appears to be money. Rubio made less than $100,000 playing for Joventut last season, so the prospect of being on the hook for millions of dollars could be an issue.
Further complicating the matter is a rule in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement that stipulates the Timberwolves can pay only $500,000 of that large sum to help offset the cost.
*The Jazz posted on their Web site that they plan to match the Blazers’ offer to forward Paul Millsap, a restricted free agent. … The Bulls were one of several teams to work out former Bobcats forward Sean May.
