Rubio to make long-awaited NBA debut vs. Jennings, Bucks

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- For two years, Ricky Rubio has been little more than a myth for the Minnesota Timberwolves and their success-starved fans.

They salivated over grainy YouTube clips of Rubio's fancy passing in European games, nervously read reports that the young Spanish point guard did not want to play in Minnesota and fretted over his paltry statistics for Regal Barcelona last season.

And even when Rubio finally announced that he was coming to the Timberwolves two years after being chosen No. 5 overall, everyone in the Twin Cities had to wait even longer. The lockout delayed the start of the season by nearly two months.

Now it's time to finally start seeing what all the fuss is about.

The wait has only seemed to ramp up the anticipation. By Friday, the Wolves had sold 15,000 tickets for Rubio's preseason debut on Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, despite the fan-alienating labor dispute. It was the highest number of tickets for a Wolves preseason game since 2004-05, the year after they reached the Western Conference finals.

The Wolves sold less than 20,000 tickets for two home preseason games last year combined.

The transition has been smooth so far, with Timberwolves coaches and players raving about Rubio's vision, passing and ability to pick up coach Rick Adelman's new offense.

"It's been amazing," Rubio said of his first few practices in training camp. "Playing basketball, I feel so good. Outside the court, I have a lot of people who help me and people in Minnesota have been so nice with me. I feel very good."

Rubio has been playing professionally in Europe since he was 15, and that experience appears to have served him well as he makes the move to the best basketball league in the world.

"I heard all the talk," Adelman said. "Until you see him on the floor you really don't get a feel. He's a smart young guy on the court, very coachable, wants to be a player. I think he's going to be fine."

When the Timberwolves chose Rubio in 2009, he was billed as a point guard prodigy with the kind of innate unselfishness that make others want to play with him and the flash and flair that makes fans want to pay to see him. There have been signs of both in a condensed training camp that Adelman has filled with scrimmaging in an effort to get his team into playing shape and better evaluate who plays the best together.

"He sees everything," swingman Wes Johnson said of Rubio. "Stuff that we probably don't see when we're cutting, you've got to make sure to keep your eye on the ball or you're going to get hit upside the head with it."

He's done it all with a youthful exuberance and wide-eyed naivete that has endeared him to the team, even while he has quickly asserted himself as a vocal leader on the court who hasn't hesitated to direct traffic and tell his teammates where they should be.

"I've been pro since I'm 15 so I catch the things like I did before," Rubio said. "In Europe we have a lot of systems too. It's a little different from here, but to be able to run the system, the point guard has to know which play to run."

Of course, doing it in scrimmages and practices against what was one of the worst defensive teams in the league last year is a lot different from doing it in actual games.

His first chance comes on Saturday night against the Bucks and Brandon Jennings, the point guard who skipped college in favor of playing in Europe before going pro in the NBA. Jennings played against Rubio overseas and created a stir before the 2009 draft when he said that Rubio was "all hype."

Jennings was drafted 10th overall that year, five spots behind Rubio, and went on to win rookie of the year. Rubio declined to discuss Jennings' comments this week, preferring to focus on the excitement of his first game in front of his new fans.

"He's a natural point guard," Adelman said. "He picks things up so easily, whatever he should be doing on every play. He's got that IQ."

Still, every rookie struggles in the NBA, especially those who come from overseas. The Timberwolves know there will be some tough days for him, and they're ready for that.

"He's going to make a few mistakes early on and you have to expect that but we think that he's going to take this period to really grow and make leaps and bounds," All-Star forward Kevin Love said. "He's going to have a lot of forward progression and forward momentum and we're happy to have him here."

It all starts on Saturday night. The first glimpse for eager fans who want to see who Ricky Rubio is, and get an idea of the kind of player he could one day become.

"He's going to have games where he's probably going to turn it over just like anyone else just because he's creative and he's aggressive," Adelman said. "As long as he learns from it, it's all right."

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Timberwolves welcome guard Barea to Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- J.J. Barea is ready to team up with Ricky Rubio and add a little spice to the Minnesota Timberwolves' backcourt.

Barea signed his four-year contract with the Timberwolves on Wednesday, and the flashy combo guard will be expected to help the slick-passing Rubio make the transition from Spain to the NBA, as well as provide some veteran leadership and direction for one of the league's youngest teams.

"It's been a tough couple weeks," said Barea, who was hoping to return for another title run with the Dallas Mavericks before being told he was not in their long-term plans. "I just wanted to find a team. I'm excited to be here in Minnesota. I'm here to help this team as much as I can, bring my energy and passion to the game and my competitiveness, help my teammates, my coaches, whatever I have to do for this team to win basketball games."

After losing 132 games over the past two seasons, the Timberwolves can use all the help they can get. As much as they look forward to his playmaking ability and scoring off the bench, coach Rick Adelman and team president David Kahn were equally eager to add a veteran with playoff experience.

"He's a proven leader on the floor and off and I think he can help us in ways well beyond the basketball court," Kahn said. "I think he will be a tremendous help in our locker room in terms of rallying the guys. The coaches need help with that."

Barea averaged 9.5 points and 3.9 assists for the Mavericks last season and emerged as a key cog in their run to the franchise's first NBA title. He formed a formidable pick-and-roll combination with Dirk Nowitzki and gave the Lakers and Heat fits with his jitterbug style of getting into the lane and floating his tear-drop shots through the basket.

"He worked himself to a spot where he was a key player for them," Adelman said. "I think that experience alone is going to help, that he's been through it. You would think our young people would recognize that fact and listen to the things he has to say or follow the way he plays."

If Barea had his choice, he would have returned to the Mavericks to try to defend the championship. He was deeply disappointed when owner Mark Cuban declined to make him a long-term offer.

"I didn't understand why he was going the way he was going," Barea said. "I thought he won and that's what everybody dreams about, winning a championship. So I thought we were going to try to do it again with the same teammates, but it happens so you just have to forget about it and keep going."

Barea did thank Cuban for taking a chance on him as a little-known prospect out of Northeastern University by way of Puerto Rico six years ago.

"I'll use it a little bit but I also have to give him credit for everything he did for me in the last five years," Barea said. "But it hurt a little bit. But we keep it moving."

The Timberwolves have a need for another ball-handler to help stabilize a team that turned the ball over way too many times last season, and has picked up where it left off in training camp. Adelman cracked that he petitioned the league to give them a point for every turnover.

Barea is expected to back up Rubio at point guard, but Adelman said he would also use him and point guard Luke Ridnour occasionally at shooting guard alongside Rubio. Adelman has a history of playing small, from pairing Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson in Sacramento to using Kyle Lowry and Aaron Brooks together in Houston.

"The way we're handling the ball, I need ball-handlers on the floor, guys who can make plays," Adelman said. "So we're going to try. We're going to get hurt, but that's my plan."

That's fine with Barea, who played in the same backcourt with Jason Kidd for stretches of the Mavs' run to the title. The Spanish-speaking Barea will also help make the transition more comfortable for Rubio, who moved to Minnesota from Spain just two weeks ago.

But Adelman has a rule - only English on the court. The veteran coach has worked with international players for years, including Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic and Hedo Turkoglu in Sacramento, and Yao Ming and Luis Scola in Houston. Now he has Rubio, Barea and Eastern Europeans Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic in Minnesota.

"I'm trying to deny them speaking anything but English," Adelman joked. "I want to know what they're saying. Same with Darko (and Pekovic). I had to do that with Vlade and Peja. You speak English out here. I know we had them talking behind my back or whatever."

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Timberwolves officially sign top pick Derrick Williams

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves have finalized their contract with No. 2 overall draft pick Derrick Williams and signed him to his rookie deal.

Williams participated in the first three days of Timberwolves training camp despite not officially being signed. The paperwork was completed, but had yet to be formally entered in by the league. The process was finished on Monday morning.

The versatile forward from Arizona is expected to get plenty of minutes in a frontcourt that also includes Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph.

Minnesota's second-round pick, UCLA shooting guard Malcolm Lee, is participating in training camp so far without a formal deal. Lee is hoping the impression he makes in camp will help influence the team to sign him.

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Timberwolves' Love voted league's most improved player

(Reuters) - Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has been voted the NBA's most improved player for the season after leading the league in rebounding, the NBA said on Thursday.

Love, 22, set career highs of 20.2 points and 15.2 rebounds per game, and produced the NBA's first 30 point/30 rebound game since 1982. He had 31 points and 31 rebounds against the New York Knicks in a November 2010 game.

He also recorded the league's longest double points-double rebounds streak since 1974, collecting at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in 53 consecutive games between November and March.

LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers finished second and the Golden State warriors' Dorell Wright third in voting by U.S. and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters.

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