The Cleveland Cavaliers look to have a young lead guard on the rise in Darius Garland, who had a bounce-back campaign in Year 2. He showed out last season with 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per contest after what was a fairly underwhelming rookie campaign, because of a number of factors.
Garland appeared to be fully himself in 2020-21 though, and his handle, shiftiness and deep range were on display throughout this past season for the Cavaliers. His playmaking and vision were too, and with both his shot-making and passing abilities in mind, I’m pumped to see how he continues to take further strides for Cleveland next season and beyond.
But it was a priority for the Cavs to go out and get a quality backup point guard option this offseason, either via free agency or trade, and they did address that need.
A few hours before the 2021 NBA Draft, the Cavaliers sent Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards and cash to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Ricky Rubio, whose had plenty of success as a lead playmaker. He’s had 9.1 assists per-36 minutes for his career, for further context, and he is fresh off having an incredible run in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo for his native Spain.
With Garland being the future for Cleveland and coming off a de facto breakout year, Rubio is not going to typically be the starting 1, aside from potential injury absences. He’s going to be in his age-31 season in 2021-22, and Garland is a far better shooter/scoring option, but even so, I do still believe Rubio should have a crucial role in leading the offense off the bench.
Although D’Angelo Russell injury struggles did have some to do with it, Rubio did still have 6.4 assists per contest last year with Minnesota, and his passing acumen is still seen throughout games when he’s in there.
I do think with his outstanding vision and heady play, that Rubio can help out a number of Cavaliers players when he’s in games, to that point.
But three in particular, I could foresee him having good chemistry with practically from the jump, though.
Along those lines, we’ll take a closer look at those three Cavs players that could have a nice two-man game with Rubio nearly from the jump here.
One of those I could foresee being a cornerstone moving forward for Cleveland.
3 Cavs that could have good chemistry with Rubio from the jump: Evan Mobley
I would imagine that it wouldn’t take that long for Evan Mobley to end up starting for the Cavaliers, and we’ll have to see if Kevin Love and Cleveland do possibly negotiate a buyout agreement, maybe before next season. It does seem that Love could potentially come off the bench at some point if not next season, though, per a report/comments made by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic (subscription required).
Either way, I could see Rubio and Mobley getting their share of playing time together, with Mobley likely set to get his share of experience as a backup 5 behind Jarrett Allen anyway.
Considering that, I could see him and Rubio forming a nice two-man game in bench stretches, with Mobley being a polished roller/lob threat and interior scorer. And in pick-and-roll, I’d expect Mobley to get money opportunities via dropoff/pocket passes to get right into drives after deliveries from Rubio, who has always fed rolling bigs well.
Along with that, though it wasn’t seen much in his lone collegiate season at USC, Mobley could get some good chances to get right into short roll catch-and-shoot looks from Rubio, who is so crafty with his dishes to hit those on-time in mid-clock situations.
Those could be the types of looks that could get Mobley going in spurts in-game, and as a counter to those, Rubio could fake that pass, and then Mobley could cut toward the rim for a lob if rotators begin to overhelp.
From there, in the open floor, with Mobley running the floor so well, I’d think Rubio could get him some productive lead passes here and there too, where he could take advantage as a cutter and/or from getting early seals against smaller defenders at times.
And lastly, while I wouldn’t expect it as often, with Mobley being such a gifted passing big, I could see him hitting Rubio as a cutter on occasion when defenses are trying to take away perimeter shooting targets for Mobley such as Collin Sexton or Dylan Windler.
Rubio is a creative finisher with body control in those situations, and he does time those looks up well on the weak side, so keep an eye out for that.
3 Cavs that could have a good chemistry with Rubio from the jump: Dean Wade
Dean Wade is the second Cav I thought of in regards to a potential connection with Rubio.
Even with injuries Love and Larry Nance Jr. playing into it last season, Wade did knock down his share of catch-and-shoot three-point looks (36.6 percent on 3.4 attempts per outing), and his confidence as a shooter seemingly grew as the season wore on.
Granted, Wade’s contract for the next two seasons is non-guaranteed, so we’ll have to see if he does stick around. With what he provided last season as a bench bright spot though, I do believe Wade has a real case to get real rotational minutes, and could be a regular contributor from here.
And with that possibility, I could foresee Wade being a great target for Rubio next season for catch-and-shoot/spot-up looks from skip passes, ball reversals and in the transion game, where Wade showed he can knock down trailing looks last season.
With Rubio still being a player that likes to push pace, I could see him seeking Wade out as a cutter in those scenarios some as well, where he did also flash some driving capabilities to counter hard closeouts, too.
Along with those scenarios with Rubio, I could foresee those two being a great rotational pick-and-pop duo.
Rubio has always had the requisite feel to execute in those sequences, and while the volume wasn’t high, Wade did have a 57.9 percent effective field goal shooting clip as a roller last season, per Synergy Sports. So maybe we could see him utilized more in that way next season, with Ricky at the controls in a decent amount of those.
3 Cavs that could have a good chemistry with Rubio from the jump: Collin Sexton
Thirdly, I could see Rubio and Collin Sexton having a quality connection in stretches right away.
Sexton has been a key Cavs player mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, but he stuck around through the draft and it’s appearing less likely that he could be dealt. We’ll see with him potentially set to hit restricted free agency next offseason, and maybe he could be a deadline piece.
Sexton could very well stick around and could perhaps be with the Cavaliers for the long haul, though, and at least with next season in mind, in stretches when Darius Garland gets a breather, Rubio could form a good two-man game with Sexton as well.
The talented young guard had 24.3 points per contest last season, and his off-ball feel improved last season. Taking that into account, I could foresee Rubio looking to feed Sexton coming around screens, where he has shown progress as a shooter, and Rubio could lead him into in-rhythm pull-ups from there. Now, one would like to see Sexton get some more three-point looks too, as an aside.
That’s where I’d expect Sexton to be able to take advantage as a quality weak side option for Rubio to go to. Regarding those looks, Sexton knocked in 40.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot triple attempts last season, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data.
So I’d look to see that be a solid wrinkle for Rubio to hit Sexton on in-rhythm, and with rollers such as Jarrett Allen and Mobley, those looks could be there from time to time in spurts with Sexton with Ricky.
Plus, with Sexton showing encouraging signs as a cutter last season and some in the later stages of 2019-20, I would anticipate Rubio to look for him with some needle-threading deliveries in set situations and/or some in transition with Sexton’s speed.