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.
#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.
#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.