Ricky Rubio, a highly-touted basketball player from Spain, has decided to play at home for at least two more years before joining the NBA.  This is despite the fact that Rubio was drafted fifth by the Minnesota Timberwolves in last year’s June draft.  Alas, even personal trips by the Timberwolves’ top brass couldn’t persuade Ricky to join the team.

This decision confused many NBA insiders and fans on this side of the ocean.  But some NBA players understood Rubio’s decision and believe that allowing him time to fine-tune his skills will make him an even better player.

The Utah Jazz’s young point guard Deron Williams had this to say: “He’s still so young. It’s good for him to get a couple of more years playing over here and then make the transition over.”

Remember that Rubio is still only 19 years old.  By any professional standards, you are just getting started at 19.  Recently, Ricky Rubio signed a five-year contract with Barcelona, but the deal included a buy-out should he decide to leave for the NBA.

Rubio is said to be one of Spain’s greatest basketball players ever even at his young age.  Other notable Spanish basketball players are Pau Gasol (who just won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers) and Rudy Fernandez (who participated in the All-Star slam dunk competition last year).

We will see if Ricky’s decision to spend some more time in Europe will benefit him in the long run.  Playing 82 games in a foreign country at an extremely high level will certainly expose any weaknesses that Ricky has in his game, and it would be good to minimize those weaknesses the best he can before giving it a go in the NBA.