FanHouse Rickyrubio

He may not be willing to lace up his sneakers for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Spanish point guard prodigy Ricky Rubio won't hesistate to become an American pitchman. Via Canis Hoopus, the young Mr. Rubio appears in what would appear to be his first stateside ad campaign, joining the likes of Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer in a spot for Gillette.

The Minnesota Timberwolves used the fourth pick in the NBA Draft to take Ricky Rubio, but now there are serious doubts about whether the Spanish sensation wants to play there. Rubio was non-committal immediately after being selected, saying he was excited to come to the NBA, when answering a question that asked if he was excited to go to Minnesota.

A little later on draft night, Rubio's father was quoted by a Spanish news site as saying that he would probably "remain one or two years in Europe." With it becoming increasingly clear that Rubio has no interest in playing in Minnesota, the Knicks said that they would make the call to the Timberwolves to see about bringing him to New York.

It has been said of late the draft begins with Oklahoma City at No. 3. Well, Sam Presti didn't pull out a bag of tricks -- he took the somewhat expected pick, shooting guard James Harden of Arizona State. Harden figures to slide right into the Thunder line-up between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

Speaking of Westbrook, who earlier this week bristled at the idea OKC could select point guard Ricky Rubio: he's going to love feeding Harden the ball. Harden is an incredibly efficient scorer. He even finished higher than Stephen Curry in True Shooting percentage last season. While not a perfect shooter, Harden has good athleticism and he was a solid defender in college. We'll see how much of an upgrade on Damien Wilkins and Thabo Sefolosha he can become.

Reports earlier this week had incumbent Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook offering some public friction to the idea the Thunder could draft Ricky Rubio at No. 3 and slide Westbrook over to shooting guard. In fact, Westbrook's quote (published by ESPN) to the idea was two impossible-to-misinterpret words: "You trippin'."

But in a draft day appearance on ESPN's Rome is Burning this afternoon, Westbrook stepped back from those comments, saying he trusts the franchise and will do whatever is asked of him. He did reiterate that he feels he is a point guard -- "I've been a point guard my whole life," he said -- while giving off the vibe he didn't want to cause drama for the Thunder. We'll see tonight whether OKC has any concerns with a Westbrook-Rubio backcourt.

With Tuesday's talent dump netting the No. 5 pick for Minnesota, the initial theory followed that said pick combined with the Wolves' own No. 6 could net the team Memphis' for-sale No. 2 pick, a selection coveted by several teams. Minnesota quickly blew back that idea, saying it would not be giving up both top-six picks in any such deal.

But the quest for No. 2 -- and the Ricky Rubio or Hasheem Thabeet it entails -- isn't over yet.

Michael Lee of the Washington Post followed up recent Wizards rumors in a piece this morning on the No. 5 pick and Caron Butler. Lee said the 'Zards and Suns discussed an Amar'e Stoudemire trade, but D.C. balked when Butler became a requirement from Phoenix's end.

Washington GM Ernie Grunfeld famously has little interest in keeping No. 5. Phoenix needs to do two things in short order: get younger, and get rid of its (spiritual) question marks up front (Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal), one way or the other. So can the Wizards and Suns arrange a deal without involving Butler, Gilbert Arenas or Antawn Jamison?

Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.

With the NBA Draft just a few days away, Matt Moore and Tom Ziller joined me to discuss some of the many ways that we might see things play out on the big night in NYC. And just about every scenario hinges on what the Memphis Grizzlies decide to do with the number two pick.

There's Ricky Rubio and Hasheem Thabeet to consider, or the team could try to trade down to get some more value, while still scooping up someone like Tyreke Evans. We know that the Clippers have the first pick, but for all intents and purposes, the Grizzlies are on the clock.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Toby Bailey was a huge star at UCLA, scoring 26 points as a freshman and leading the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA Championship. But after playing two years with the Suns, he headed to Spain where he later faced a young Ricky Rubio. In this FanHouse exclusive hear what Toby has to say about Ricky and why he calls him "The Truth." We Also hear from former UCLA Star Billy Knight who now stars overseas.

Check out the video after the jump.

Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reported Sunday morning that Ricky Rubio, a projected high pick in Thursday's NBA draft, is on the precipice of finalizing a buy-out agreement with his Spanish club, DKV Joventut. No word on how much of the $6.6 million owed to Joventut will be cut from the deal, but Amick said the resulting amount will be something feasible for Rubio, who should be a top five pick.

Further news on the Rubio beat: he met with Thunder officials in L.A. this weekend, and he will reportedly re-visit Sacramento today, where he is expected to engage in a work-out.