Thursday (Five thoughts about Ricky Rubio) edition: Wha' Happened?

We got him. The only questions now are what did we get, and when will we get to see it? With that in mind, here are five things we are thinking about when it comes to Ricky Rubio and the news that he has signed with the Timberwolves: 1) The excitement from fans is palpable. Ricky Rubio is the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter in Minneapolis (and he's No. 1 in Spain). Even with questions about whether Rubio has regressed -- a fair question to ask, but not a fair question to answer yet, given that he's only 20 years old and hasn't played yet in the league people say is best-suited for his talent -- he is the perfect storm for generating buzz. He's young. He's completely unknown. And he's not the other guys. Rubio is like a third-string QB with a starter's skill set. He and the Wolves should ride this wave.

2) Congratulations to David Kahn. He's said all along Rubio would be here. And, really, he's brought him over at the perfect time -- two years after drafting him, but still before a new CBA, which means he'll be under team control for four years (two guaranteed, two option years) at a set scale. Would you rather have paid Rubio two guaranteed years already while the Wolves were lousy and he was a teenager, or get him now, when he's 20 and theoretically has a better chance to grow and succeed over the length of the deal? While it's true Rubio might have added some spice to the past couple of seasons, he wouldn't have fixed 15- and 17-win teams and would be that much closer to free agency. Big-picture, getting Rubio over here has to buy Kahn at least one more year to see if the master plan of accumulating assets can translate into a genuine roster with potential.

3) Luke Ridnour. Jonny Flynn. Sebastian Telfair. Ramon Sessions. Randy Foye. Kevin Ollie. Mike James. Marko Jaric. Troy Hudson. Marcus Banks. Anthony Carter. Those are the fellas who have started games at point guard for the Wolves since Sam Cassell's one glorious year in 2003-04. If you're skeptical about Rubio, consider his competition.

4) Kevin Love had a series of Rubio-related tweets last night. A couple had to do with the idea of running a pick-and-roll with Rubio. Free marketing idea for the Timberwolves: When Rubio and Love (or another big-man) run that play, and it results in a basket, you play a quick clip of this. Guaranteed to become a classic.

5) Speaking of the pick-and-roll, many observers (and players) felt the Wolves ran far more pick-and-rolls in their early offense last season in Kurt Rambis' second year than they did in his first year. But first and foremost, he is associated with the triangle offense -- or at least key elements of it -- which is a system that doesn't exactly benefit (or even really demand) a free-wheeling, creative point guard. Is Rubio's signing another signal that Rambis' days are done? Well, that might be reading to much into it, considering Rambis was hired AFTER Rubio was initially drafted, meaning at least at one point Kahn saw a match between the system and the young guard. That said, if Rubio indeed is taking his talents to Ice Beach, it only makes sense to put him in the best position to succeed.