NBA Coast to Coast: Rubio extension talks put Saunders in a quandry

Talks were tense and tempers flared as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio’s representatives tried to hammer out a contract extension before the Friday deadline, which isn’t all that uncommon with the kind of big-money deal Rubio received in the end.

What did make this process somewhat unique was Flip Saunders’ position in the middle of it all. As president of basketball operations, Saunders was in a somewhat adversarial role as he tried to negotiate the best possible deal for the team. At the same time, as the coach, he had to work with Rubio on the court through training camp and the first two games of the regular season.

The vast majority of NBA teams have one person as the top executive and one person as the coach. That arrangement allows for a good cop-bad cop situation where the GM can go toe-to-toe with the player’s agent and the coach can offer the court as a sanctuary during the tense moments.

Saunders joins the Clippers’ Doc Rivers, Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy and, to an extent, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich as coaches with final decision-making power. So he didn’t have that luxury. He had to tell agents Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana that the Wolves would not be offering the maximum contract the agents wanted while also convincing Rubio of his importance to a team in the middle of a remodel following the Kevin Love trade to Cleveland.

Everyone made it work in the end, with Rubio signing a four-year, $55 million deal with another $1 million in incentives on Friday night.

“Dealing with the GM, it’s always tough,� Rubio told the Associated Press. “But if you only see him in the office, that’s good. But then you have to see him in the practice, it’s a little tougher.

“But I think Flip handled the thing very well. He was not different, but when we’re out on the court, we were only talking about basketball. We didn’t talk about business in the practice facility. That helped me to feel comfortable.�

The Wolves initially offered Rubio a four-year, $44 million extension, urging him to take less money to give them the most flexibility going forward so they could build a team around him.Fegan and Akana knew the new $24 billion television contracts that are set to fully kick in in 2016 will change the economic landscape of the league. And with Love gone, Rubio was the new face of the Timberwolves, so they advocated for their client.

“We didn’t always see eye to eye, which is always good and the way it goes with agents,� Saunders said Saturday. “We worked hard because I think all parties involved knew that the No. 1 thing that Ricky wanted is Ricky wanted to be here.�

Rubio ultimately decided to take the security now and bring an end to what was a stomach-churning process for him.

“On the business part, I think (the owners) are more ready than the players and they try to take advantage of that,� he said. “At the end of the day, it’s business. You have to be ready and you have to take the challenge and be ready for that.�

Lee out indefinitely with concussion

Memphis Grizzlies Coach David Joerger says starting guard Courtney Lee will be “out awhile� with a concussion.

Lee will not play Saturday night at Charlotte, and Joerger said before the game he wasn’t sure who would start in his place.

Lee was injured in the first half of a 97-89 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Versatile reserve Tayshaun Prince played almost 18 minutes against the Pacers and had six points. Joerger says it is possible swingman Vince Carter could see more action against the Hornets.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Party Poopers

Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire, after New York beat the Cavaliers, 95-90, before 20,000 at Cleveland on Thursday in LeBron James’ first game since he returned home to Ohio: “I haven’t seen anything like that before. The city was on fire. It was great to kind of spoil the excitement. Great for us.�

Check your head

Detroit Coach Stan Van Gundy, displeased with his starters’ effort after a close game turned into a 19-point Minnesota lead in the third quarter: “It was a collective meltdown and a lack of fight, and that’s very, very disappointing. Right now, I’m just worried about the whole mental state of our team.�

Not dogging it

Larry Bird, Indiana’s president of basketball operations, on Paul George, seen in an Internet video playing one-on-one against his dog while the Pacers’ All-Star forward recovers from a fractured right leg: “He’s got a rod in his leg. Holding that bone together. And it’s gotta heal. Looks good against his dog, and while he’s standing out there in front of you guys it looks pretty good. Other than that, he don’t do nothin’.�

Bad apple

Knicks President Phil Jackson, to the media after New York was drilled, 104-80, by Chicago in both teams’ season opener Wednesday: “Not ready for showtime, were we, guys?�

GAME OF THE WEEK

Clippers at Golden State

Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. TV: ESPN.

It’s the first meeting of the season between two Pacific Division rivals with a deep-seated dislike for each other. Nine individual technical fouls were called in their four regular-season games last season, plus two ejections (Blake Griffin and Draymond Green), one flagrant foul (Green) and a confrontation between Griffin and former Warriors center Jermaine O’Neal outside the Clippers’ locker room. To cap it off, after the Clippers edged the Warriors in Game 7 of an outstanding first-round playoff series, the teams had a heated exchange of words in the hallway near their locker rooms.