The Cavs’ Ricky Rubio question: Trade, keep or extend?

The Cavs’ Ricky Rubio question: Trade him

Pros: Ricky Rubio’s value is higher than it has been in years, since he first signed that free-agent contract with the Phoenix Suns. He is playing exceptionally well to start the season, including a career-high in scoring and an outsized impact in plus/minus. That the Cavs are playing well only cements his value as one of the key offseason additions to help drive that.

Rubio is 31, with a long track record of injuries. Trading Rubio now means getting ahead of his next injury, moving him before Rubio starts missing games and losing effectiveness. The Cavs are playing well this season, no question, but they aren’t a contender. They need to be focused on building the best basketball team two and three years from now, and odds are that Rubio will not be playing this well at that point.

Moving him for better future value — be that a young prospect or draft capital — is a way to build that better team for tomorrow, on a timeline better suited for Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. In the immediate term Kevin Pangos is a solid backup point guard who hasn’t played many minutes outside of blowouts but could step into a small backup role with Rubio off the team.

Cons: The Cavs are playing awesome basketball right now, winners of four straight. Rubio is clearly a major part of that, and the way he sets up the Cavs’ bigs for success is special. Move Rubio, no matter the return, and this team almost certainly becomes much worse this year.

Are the Cavs truly in a position to snuff out the excitement of this team, the first true excitement in years? Making the best long-term asset play can work out, but basketball is not a cold, clinical transaction game. Any return for him is also likely to be something of an unknown; is a future first-round pick and a backup wing really worth more than Rubio’s combination of on-court play and veteran mentorship? That’s a difficult question to answer.