Jay Mariotti asks “who does Ricky Rubio think he is?”  I ask “who does Jay Mariotti think he is?” because competent, dutiful writer does not seem an adequate description.

Mariotti rails against heathens who compare NBA prospect Ricky Rubio to Pete Maravich.  “They” make him cringe.  Mariotti uses the impersonal third person plural pronoun, because he cannot furnish a single example.  Not one quote.  Mariotti could be lazy or he could be inventing opposition to feed his contrarianism.  Either way, the only one disparaged is Jay Mariotti.

He accuses Rubio of being a “brat” for not wanting to play in Minnesota.  We could revel in the blatant hypocrisy of Jay Mariotti terming anyone else a brat, but there is a more important point, what is wrong with Rubio’s position?

Rubio already plays professionally in Spain.  An NBA team drafted him.  He has no obligation to move immediately at 18.  Should he come to the NBA, he must pay most of a $6.6 million buyout.  Why would he pay to play for an inept franchise in Minnesota that would hamstring his success both professionally and for marketing purposes?

Ricky Rubio is using his leverage to further his self-interest.  That’s not being “a brat.”  That is functioning effectively in society.  It is behaving as a normal human being would.  Perhaps, that explains Jay Mariotti’s misunderstanding.