Cavs: 2 key ways Ricky Rubio’s leadership will help the team

I was a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers acquiring Ricky Rubio a few hours before the 2021 NBA Draft via trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. That was in exchange for Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards and cash considerations.

I’m not going to say that Prince wasn’t a quality rotational shooter; he was for Cleveland, and he knocked in 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts with the Cavaliers following his mid-season trade arrival from the Brooklyn Nets. Prince was not able to stay healthy nearly enough for the Cavs though, and with him set to be expiring and previously having been mentioned in trade rumors, it was not surprising that he was moved.

With Rubio, that legitimized the backup point guard spot, and even with him set to be expiring, it does appear that he could be a notable contributor, and maybe he and Cleveland could work out a reasonable deal next offseason to keep him around. That’s if he plays well in that role this season, and we’d have to see if he could have interest, depending on how the year goes with the team/if they take strides.

It is apparent that Rubio, even with him getting up there now, will be able to ease the playmaking burden on Darius Garland, and Rubio is still a very good defender.

Overall, it’s nice to know that Rubio is leaning into a crucial leadership role for the Cavaliers, as was expressed in recent media availability, too, via Joe Gabriele of Cavs.com.

With that in mind, I thought it’d be meaningful to point out two ways that Rubio’s leadership will help the Cavs.

Firstly, we’ll touch on how that can aid the young guys behind the scenes.