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

#2: Rubio’s floor generalship could have a lasting impact, and his defense will help set the tone for the Cavs

Secondly, while we touched on it a bit, Rubio should still be a key contributor.

Although it will end up being in a bench role, barring injury, he should be a great playmaker for Cleveland when he’s in there, and though Matthew Dellavedova was a highly capable passer, Rubio is much more durable and is far better in transition.

In settled offense, with him having a far better handle and at least being some of a scoring option/driving presence, that makes his playmaking game-to-game far more impactful, too.

Even with Rubio bouncing around via trade in recent seasons, he will help the Cavaliers in his time out there spelling Garland, and feasibly with him at times as well.

Rubio has had 9.1 assists per-36 minutes for his career, and though it’s unclear just how much he’ll play this season off the bench, his passing creativity, vision and overall floor generalship could have a lasting impact. And that falls in-line with the added leadership boost he’ll provide I’d imagine, and perhaps we could see him and Kevin Love, who he played with in his first stint with the Timberwolves, have a rekindled connection. That’d be in a bench sense.

KJG’s Billy Beebe suggested that following Rubio’s acquisition, and Rubio mentioned it in that presser, via Gabriele, who noted how the two “still remain friends.”

"‘”We had a really good relationship in Minnesota,” said Rubio. “We built really good chemistry on the court. But I think he and I have really grown up a lot – personally, but we’ve come a long way as players as well. I have a lot of respect for what he did – opening up to help others. And I was one of the ones who really looked up to him, (showing people): ‘If he can say it loud, I can do the same thing when I struggle.’ “I can’t wait to pick up our relationship again – on and off the court.”‘"

Rubio and Love at times giving the Cavs a lift could give the squad energy, and I’d think that with his pick-and-roll abilities, Rubio should clearly open up open looks for bigs such as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. His work in that realm could resonate with Garland and Sexton, and play into his leadership by example style, as a result.

Lastly, as part of the second way the vet’s leadership should aid Cleveland (it’s conjoined with the on-floor impact), with Rubio being a heady defender that is also multi-positional, he could be a defensive tone-setter. That’s at least to some degree for Cleveland in bench stretches.

His ability to cut off penetration still, remain active as a rotator, and with his feel for getting steals/deflections, to go with his defensive hustle, that should aid other Cavs on the floor for spurts/stretches with him, too. Rubio’s had 1.8 steals per outing for his career and still 1.5 per outing over the past five seasons, two of which were with Minnesota, two of which were with the Utah Jazz and one with the Phoenix Suns.

Moreover, when factoring in both the off-floor/mentorship and experience element and the floor generalship/defense on the floor, Rubio, who turns 31 next month, should be a crucial leadership presence for Cleveland. And as he alluded to in the presser, and as Gabriele emphasized, the vet will look to build on his amazing run in the Tokyo Olympics.

I’m looking forward to see how Rubio fares and how he can make an impact for the Cavs in 2021-22.