Ken Berger

It took David Kahn three trips to Spain to learn what he essentially already knew: Ricky Rubio will remain overseas for two more years.

That much seemed apparent on draft night, when Rubio expressed as little enthusiasm for playing in Minnesota as a human being could possibly express. Kahn, the house-cleaning GM of the Timberwolves, knew when he selected Rubio with the fifth pick that having him on the roster this season was a long shot. So it goes.

Yahoo! Sports first reported Monday night that Rubio and agent Dan Fegan have agreed to a six-year deal with Regal FC Barcelona. It was the Barcelona club -- and not Kahn's Timberwolves -- that after weeks of uncertainty was able to negotiate a buyout with Rubio's Spanish team, JKV Joventut, a high-level coaching source confirmed to CBSSports.com. Naturally, there is an out clause in Rubio's deal with Barcelona after two years. This means that the T-Wolves are going to have to do exactly what Kahn said on draft night he was willing to do: Wait until Rubio is 20 years old before seeing him in Minnesota.

So if nothing else, at least the Rubio situation is resolved. At least the T-Wolves can move forward with a perfectly good explanation for drafting point guard Jonny Flynn one pick after Rubio. Say what you want about Kahn -- and plenty have and will continue to -- but he didn't budge from his draft night premise that he was willing to wait a couple of years for Rubio. So Rubio will mature and get better -- albeit against sub-NBA competition -- and Kahn's team will begin the rebuilding process with a very capable point guard in Flinn. Can the two play together in the same backcourt in 2011-12? Time will tell. But in the meantime, Kahn moves forward with a formidable asset in Rubio. Even if he never plays a single game in Minnesota.

Kahn is quickly becoming the most mysterious executive in the NBA, tearing a page straight from the book written by his mentor, Donnie Walsh. He is humorless and needs to brush up on his people skills -- despite the fact that he's a former member of the media. (Maybe this explains why he is a former member.) But I'll give him credit for this much: It took a certain amount of gumption to welcome a controversy like this with the very first and most important decision of his regime. Whether it ultimately works out or not is very much an unknown. Say Kahn is in over his head if you want; you might ultimately be correct. But I have no problem giving Kahn credit for being unafraid of Fegan and all the contractual entanglements that came with Rubio. Enjoy Barcelona, Ricky. See you in 2011.