The U.S. Women's roster for the World Championships was officially set yesterday. The Lynx Big 3 - Moore, Augustus, and Whalen - made the team. You can check out the final roster here.
In NBA news, Michael Beasley was signed by the Grizzlies to a non-guaranteed contract. Super Cool Beas will look to make the team as a backup power forward during training camp. Beasley worked out with the Spurs last week and many onlookers, some sarcastic and some not, expressed jubilation over the idea of a Popovich-Beasley marriage. Oh what could have been (basically a synopsis of Beasley's career)!
In case you missed it, former Wolves shooting guard Wayne Ellington signed a contract with the Lakers on Monday. Ellington is entering his sixth NBA season, but will reunite with former coach Byron Scott in LA. He discusses his fit with the Lakers here.
Best of luck to the shooting guard formerly known as "Make it Wayne" (or at least that's what I called him). He signed a one-year, $1,063,384 contract with the Lakers, but has no pre-season guarantees according to Eric Pincus.
A quote from Milt Newton
"I feel optimistic," Newton said. "Knowing Ricky the person, he wants to be here. We just have to deal with his agent." - Newton's response to the negotiations surrounding Ricky Rubio's contract extension, as seen here.
That sounds a lot like, "Rubio will sign for a reasonable number, but Dan Fegan will not."
In any case, the contract negotiations will be something to monitor throughout the early part of this season.
In terms of the negotiations, the Wolves hold all the leverage. It doesn't necessarily matter if Fegan wants a max deal for his client, or something close to it. Rubio will be a restricted free agent this summer if he doesn't get an extension done before the October 31 deadline and the Wolves will have the rights to match whatever contract a team potentially offers next July.
Is there really a team out there willing to give Rubio a max deal even if he breaks out this season? I'm inclined to say no.
Now, if Rubio wants to sign a 4-year, $42 million contract - as speculated here - that's fine. But the Wolves don't need to rush to overpay when they hold the power. I'm as optimistic as any person about the future of Rubio, but anything over $52 million, at this point, has to be highly considered.
While we're talking about the Spanish Unicorn, I might as well share one of my favorite Rubio games of all-time. Last year in Dallas he dominated the Mavericks (with the help of Kevin Love) and looked the part of a top point guard.
The two-man game by Love and Rubio was ridiculous that night. Ricky finished with 22 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and 4 steals, while Love tallied 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Wolves won in OT.
Have a nice Wednesday. Before you leave, seriously try not to smile while watching this: