Tuesday (Ricky Rubio, floor to ceiling) edition: Wha' Happened?

For two years, we have been focused on one question when it comes to Ricky Rubio: When is he going to arrive in Minnesota, if at all? We finally have an answer to that question, of course; and the formal introduction of Rubio is this morning at a press conference (the informal introduction was the Rubio parade through the airport yesterday). In the wake of learning the answer to the big question, we are left wondering about a bunch of other questions. Let's take a stab at answering them with a little game called "Floor to Ceiling." With each category, we will try to envision the worst-case scenario (floor) and best-case scenario (ceiling).

*Career on-court contributions: Floor -- Jason Williams. You might remember Williams more fondly than his statistical record does. Williams was great at making the impossible pass. He was a far worse shooter than he fancied himself. He settled into a nice little NBA career, so this is hardly a knock on Williams. His career averages of 10 points and 6 assists, though? That should be about as low as Rubio ever winds up. Ceiling -- Jason Kidd. Yeah, this is unfair. All of this is unfair because the kid is 20 and hasn't played an NBA game yet. We're just matching skills and potential. We're not penciling in Rubio for the Hall of Fame. But we're also not in the business of managing expectations. Kidd was always a terrific passer with amazing basketball instincts (much like Rubio). He was also a terrible outside shooter initially (like Rubio), shooting 38.5 percent or worse each of his first three years in the league. But Kidd improved his shooting enough to be a threat from the perimeter, making him even more dangerous. If Rubio can refine his shot, look out. Because with his speed and his vision, he should at least do a good deal of damage in the NBA.

Immediate team impact: Floor -- Randy Foye. For a team searching for stability at the guard spot, Foye was certainly a decent fit for three years here. But even his functional play at a key spot couldn't carry the team over the hump. Ceiling -- Stephon Marbury. Talk about a shot in the arm. Marbury made everyone around him better and -- along with KG and Googs, of course -- turned a perennially losing team into a playoff team. Then he left and broke our hearts. But let's not think about that.

*Marketability: Floor -- Daunte Culpepper. An initially exciting player who makes enough dazzling plays to make fans love him, but also makes enough maddening plays to keep them guessing about whether they should really trust him. Skepticism doesn't sell jerseys. Ceiling -- Kevin Garnett. A franchise player who has the requisite charisma and charm on the court.

*Overall experiment: Floor -- Brett Favre, 2010. It was a gamble worth taking, but it didn't pay off. In fact, it blew up and took down the man who spearheaded it (Brad Childress) along the way. Ceiling -- Brett Favre, 2009. A crazy game of cat-and-mouse that not only ended with an arrival, but a big dose of the magic everyone was waiting for.