Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 goals for Ricky Rubio in 2021-22

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Then-Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio brings the ball up the floor. (Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a quality move in trading Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards and cash to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Ricky Rubio a few hours before the 2021 NBA Draft.

I thought Prince did a nice job for Cleveland last season following his then-trade acquisition from the Brooklyn Nets, and he knocked in 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts mostly off the bench.

Even with that being the case, Prince was seemingly rumored to be a possible trade candidate, and with the lack of true backup point guard option behind Darius Garland, I can’t blame Cleveland for dealing Prince for Rubio. Along with that, Prince couldn’t remain healthy nearly enough last season, and with him set to be expiring after next season, I understood Cleveland’s decision.

Rubio is set to be expiring as well, but for next season at least, I do believe he should provide a great backup 1 option, and with Garland’s shooting abilities, those two could get some playing time together.

I wouldn’t expect that with Collin Sexton in those instances, though Rubio could mesh very well in stretches with Sexton, as an aside. Rubio has always been a terrific passer that has excellent timing and feel for getting his teammates involved, and he can be productive in pick-and-rolls with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

So what should Cavs fans look for the club to get from him game-to-game next season, and what would be a successful 2021-22 campaign for the veteran lead guard?

In that realm, we’ll touch on two goals for Rubio for the Cavs in 2021-22.

First, we’ll give our suggestion for his potential playmaking splits for next season.