A couple days after news broke that Ricky Rubio would be skipping out on the NBA to spend two more seasons in Spain, the 19-year old point guard was introduced by his new team, FC Barcelona, yesterday at a press conference.

“Going to Minnesota would have just complicated my life a lot. It was a risk and I didn’t see it so clearly,” Rubio said. “My priority was the NBA and it was impossible for the Minnesota Timberwolves to pay my buyout clause, so I wanted to stay home.”

He is seen here with Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, one of the best known franchises on the planet.

Rubo comes off a injury-plagued season, but did play 25 games in the Spanish League, and averaged 9.8 points, 5.8 assists and 2.2 steals.

Ballyhooed as a possible number one selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, and frontrunner for the second overall pick, Rubio’s stock dropped as rumors that his buyout with his old club, DKV Joventut, would be difficult to reconcile.

Despite the hype and the great potential in becoming one of those rare franchise players, Rubio fell, and ended up being drafted fifth by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Over the next few months, the Timberwolves, DKV Joventut, Rubio’s agent, and Ricky Rubio himself would all struggle dealing with the enormous buyout required by his Spanish club.  

DKV would eventually send his rights over to neighboring Barcelona, who agreed to pay $5.3 million to buy out his contract.

Rubio’s new six-year deal allows him to leave Barcelona for the NBA in two years time, but this time without a buyout clause.  So the earliest we will see Ricky Rubio in the NBA? The 2011-2012 NBA season.

The Timberwolves retain Rubio’s NBA rights as long as he continues playing professional basketball.

“I entered the draft with the intention of going to the NBA,” Rubio said Wednesday. “In the end it wasn’t to be.”