Cavs: Ricky Rubio will help Darius Garland’s growth as a leader immensely

When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Ricky Rubio, what was asked of him was simple. Rubio will give the Cavs a reliable backup point guard and fill a void left by Matthew Dellavedova as both a player and a leader.

The second part to that statement is what’s important as Rubio looks to be the “big brother” for the team’s young backcourt of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. Darius Garland, who has spoken glowingly about Rubio, has seemed to be affected the most by Rubio’s presence, using this opportunity to improve not only as a facilitator but as a leader.

Rubio can help Garland’s growth as a leader for the Cavs immensely, and appears to have already been doing so.

A mentor-mentee relationship goes both ways however and Rubio has been up to the task as he looks willing to help Garland be the best version of himself. Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff discussed how Ricky Rubio has made an “active effort” in creating and building a relationship with Darius Garland, via Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and the Locked On Cavs podcast.

Over the last few seasons, other teams have used Rubio in the same way as the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and potentially the Minnesota Timberwolves looked to Rubio for leadership as the young guards on those respective teams all looked to make the next step.

Donovan Mitchell became an All-Star and led his team to the best record in the league this past season and Devin Booker was an All-Star while playing with Rubio and led his team to the NBA Finals this past season. Time will tell how much of an effect Rubio had on Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves but history shows that things are looking up for not only Garland but Sexton as well.

Garland has looked to already take more of a leadership role himself this offseason, taking younger Cavaliers under his wing. While Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen were mentioned as doing so, too, Garland has taken Evan Mobley “under his wing,” per Mobley and via Dammarell. And according to Mobley, Garland has pushed him to “find his voice on the floor” so that he is able to become that leader defensively for the team, again, via Dammarell.

This has been an extremely big summer for Garland. It started off by receiving an invite to Team USA, having the ability to soak up knowledge from some of the NBA’s best. Getting praise from numerous outlets and writers, recently, a report from veteran reporter Jackie MacMullan on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” broke that Stephen Curry is very high on Garland, gaining even more praise.

All of the opportunities that were put in front of Garland over the course of a year have been absurd considering where he was as a player this time last season. With Rubio’s continued support, national hype ramping up, and the team looking to put him in the best position to succeed, next season should be a really, really good one for Darius.

When questioning the All-Star Game, the first name that comes up for Cleveland is Sexton but could Garland make a case as well? Only time will tell.