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Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio agrees on $55M extension with T'wolves

Jeff Zillgitt
USA TODAY Sports
Ricky Rubio just began his fourth season with the Timberwolves.

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio on Friday agreed to a four-year, $55 million deal with the team, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

With $250,000 bonuses each season, the deal can top $55 million for the fourth-year guard from Spain, who averaged 9.5 points, 8.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals for Minnesota last season.

There was some question whether both sides could come to an agreement before the rookie deadline for extensions expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday.

"I am happy to be staying with the Wolves and look forward to many successful seasons in Minnesota," Rubio said in a statement issued Friday night. "Our fans have been great and I am excited to be able to play in front of them for many years. I will continue to work hard to improve my game and help our team get better."

Timberwolves president and coach Flip Saunders secured his point guard for the future as Saunders tries to turn the franchise around with a group of young players, including Rubio, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Chase Budinger, Zach LaVine, Nikola Pekovic and Shabazz Muhammad.

All things T-Wolves: Latest Minnesota Timberwolves news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

"He came to us with such high expectations and he immediately proved why we were so high on him," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said. "Unfortunately he got hurt at the end of his rookie season, but he has worked so hard to come back and we believe he has a long and successful career ahead of him. He's a great foundation for our franchise and we're very happy to keep Ricky here long term to work and grow with the young nucleus that we have."

Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt. Contributing: Associated Press.

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