Cavs get Ricky Rubio in trade with MIN; bringing stability to backup PG

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a promising young lead guard in Darius Garland, who had 17.4 points and 6.1 assists in a bounce-back campaign in 2020-21, and he looks to be just scratching the surface.

It has been clear though, whether or not Collin Sexton ends up being traded, as he has been in rumors throughout this month, that Cleveland needed to get more legitimacy at the backup 1 spot.

The likes of T.J. McConnell and Alex Caruso have been rumored to be potential free agency targets in that realm, and I’d have been on-board with either. Perhaps the 2021 NBA Draft could’ve led to a pickup for that too, if the Cavaliers were able to/can snag another draft pick via trade.

That said, to me, it’d have been sensible to look to add a veteran for that, to ease the burden on Garland. Fortunately, the Wine and Gold look to have done just that.

The Cavaliers reportedly acquired Ricky Rubio via trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards, and cash, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski seemingly just made a typo regarding the 2022 second and cash considerations, and Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com clarified in a report.

This Rubio trade acquisition should bring stability game-to-game at the backup point guard spot for the Cavs.

Rubio is not a player that Cleveland will be relying on to shoot it in a similar way to Garland, off-the-catch/in pick-and-roll a bunch, albeit Rubio will be a solid veteran playmaker for Cleveland in his minutes off the bench.

We could perhaps see some Garland minutes where he’s able to play some off-ball with Rubio, in fairness.

In any case, while Rubio is not a floor spacer really, he has always been a very productive passer that can get others involved. Last season, even with D’Angelo Russell injury issues playing into it, Rubio did have 6.4 assists per outing and in the previous three seasons with the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns, had 6.6 assists per contest, and did at least have 12.9 points per game.

Rubio can make a variety of passes to get a variety of Cavs involved, similarly to Garland, and if he’s around still, Sexton should get his share of quality looks from Rubio in stretches, to go along with perhaps 2021 NBA Draft pick Evan Mobley, for example.

Generally speaking, this trade acquisition of Rubio should bring stability to the backup point guard position for the Cavaliers for next season. And considering how last season that wasn’t the case with Matthew Dellavedova dealing with injuries, and others at times, this was a nice move.

Now, Rubio isn’t the cheapest backup point guard, albeit that was not Cleveland’s doing (the Suns previously overpaid for him); he is due to be expiring at $17.8 million for 2021-22, either way.

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Regardless, while he’s not going to be a floor spacer (32.5 percent from three-point range in 10 NBA seasons), he can hit mid-range pull-ups at times to keep defenders honest for pick-and-roll situations, and he can knock in floaters in the lane against dropping bigs. For a backup 1 primarily, that’s fine.

In addition, Rubio is still a competent defender against 1s and 2s, which is a plus, and he is an alert rotator.

That should make him be able to help Cleveland’s defense in stretches he’s in there, one would assume, and that’s a plus for Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and company.

So, all things considered, while I thought Prince did a nice job when he was available for the Cavaliers post-trade acquisition from the Brooklyn Nets, and hit 41.5 percent of his threes, he had issues staying healthy. He is reportedly progressing well from ankle surgery in late April, on a positive note.

Either way, it was understandable for Cleveland to move Prince, particularly to help fill their backup point guard position, and with how Prince was expiring, and with factoring in other Cavs wings, I give the Cavs their due for getting this done.

Now, will the 30-year-old Rubio be potentially traded at some point by Cleveland by the 2022 deadline, with him expiring himself? I wouldn’t anticipate that with the Cavs looking to compete next season, and with how he can help ease pressure on Garland; we’ll have to see how things shake out during next season, though.

But if this works out well with Rubio, which I believe it can, Rubio could provide an added mentorship presence for Sexton (if he’s here) and Garland, as Dellavedova did before, and perhaps Rubio and the Cavaliers could agree on a reasonable next deal.

And lastly, as far as the 2022 second-round pick via the Wizards is concerned/the cash involved, a sweetener in this case I can’t blame the Cavs for putting in, even with the Wolves getting some notable cap relief. While that could feasibly be a good pick, and with Russell Westbrook seemingly in the process of being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, per Wojnarowski, in that regard, it was still a future 2nd; Cleveland general manager Koby Altman’s rationale was sensible.

Moreover, as we’ve alluded to, this Rubio trade acquisition from Minnesota was a smart one for Prince, and it should bring stability to that backup 1 spot. Rubio (who is currently playing for his native Spain in the Tokyo Olympics), if needed, given Garland’s injury troubles last season and previously, could be a viable starter at times, too.

This one gets a thumb up from me.

In relation to other potential trades/factoring in rumors, perhaps the likes of Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman and maybe Sexton could be on the move with 2021 NBA Draft night almost getting under way. I’d very much prefer Sexton not be though, and Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Zach Lowe themselves on a recent draft special did express their doubts about Sexton being moved potentially for young players/picks.