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

#1: How Rubio will help the Cavs’ young guys off the floor

Rubio has been around the block, and is set to be entering his 10th season in the NBA.

With what he’s experienced throughout his time in the Association, and since back in his professional playing days early on in his native Spain, he should certainly be able to pass down knowledge/advice to the likes of Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and others.

Along those lines, Rubio demonstrated how he can aid Garland in his growth, and how can he hopefully allow the young lead guard to get the team on the right path to success. Here was more on that, via Gabriele.

"‘”It takes a lot of energy to have the year (Garland) had last year,” said Rubio. “He had great, great numbers – a great year. But can that be translated to a winning team; that can be translated to helping the team to win. I’m going to have to challenge him in that area. I’m going to bring my experience the same way I did with Booker, the same way I did with Donovan Mitchell. “I think I can bring my experience to the table and challenge them.”‘"

Garland had a quasi-breakout season last year with 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per contest, and hit 39.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Sexton, who had 24.3 points and 4.4 assists per game, and him look to be a heck of a duo moving forward, too, and frankly, I believe they’re crucial players moving forward.

With other pieces around them, and improved chemistry with the likes of Jarrett Allen, and progression from guys such as Isaac Okoro, and if Evan Mobley can be the player many think he can be, the Cavs have plenty of reason to be optimistic looking onward.

But Rubio’s knowledge of the game on both ends of the floor, and with what he’s been able to do and with how he can help teammates still throughout games, I do believe he could truly invaluable for Garland, for one. That could end up being the case other young guys as well, though, such as Sexton, Okoro and perhaps Dylan Windler.

Having Rubio as a resource for Garland, in particular, should be awesome for his progression, and those comments above indicate that he’ll be taking that mentor role head on this season.

It’s not just the behind the scenes aspect, however, from a leadership perspective in regards to Rubio.