Pros and cons of Cavs potentially signing Ricky Rubio in free agency

In the 2021 offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a trade for Ricky Rubio, giving up Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards, and cash considerations in a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. This trade was very beneficial for both sides, as Minnesota already has rotational guards in D’Angelo Russell, Patrick Beverley, and Jordan McLaughlin. For Cleveland, they already had a few forwards, in Cedi Osman, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, and Isaac Okoro, so they had an excess of forwards at the time.

In his 34 games for Cleveland this season, Rubio averaged 13.1 points, tying his career-best for points per game in a season, to go with 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per night. Rubio also shot 5.1 3 pointers per night and made 1.7 of them, both of those being career numbers. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) said that with Rubio’s relationship with the Cavs, that increases his chances of returning, and with one source in Fedor’s report maintaining that scenario is ‘highly likely.”‘

It seemed like Rubio loved playing for Cleveland, and it definitely seemed the players, coaches, and fans all loved Rubio and his play style. There are both pros and cons to Cleveland possibly re-signing Rubio in the offseason, and I will highlight both.

Pros

Let’s start with the positives. Ricky Rubio is a stellar playmaker. His assist percentage, or percentage of shots assisted by a certain player while he’s on the court, is 34.8%, which ranked 10th in the league with players playing over 10 games. His play on the court showed his value, as the Cavs won 20 out of 34 games when Rubio played this season, and he was a main factor in those Cavs wins.

During the 1st quarter, his offense and defense was amazing, having an offensive rating of 113.1 and a defensive rating of 90.6, and his net rating was a spectacular 22.4.

Also, Rubio is a tremendous leader on and off the court. Darius Garland also highlighted that to Draymond Green in an appearance on Green’s podcast, The Draymond Green Show, mid-season, regarding Rubio.

"“Ricky was the first person to get to me about leadership this year, and that really turned a page. Ricky was on me all the time about being aggressive, keeping everybody engaged and having that killer mindset. This is your team, this is all you.”"

Furthermore, according to a report from Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, a Minnesota Timberwolves coach said this about Rubio’s impact on Darius Garland and Collin Sexton before the season started.

"When asked what impact Rubio will have on Garland and Sexton now, the coach said: ‘Vet leadership. He will be vocal in games with young guys about good possessions, good and bad shots, time and score, when to push the ball, getting teammates involved. Coaches all preach this, but it’s so valuable when young players get it from a peer as well.”‘"

Obviously, Rubio probably helped Darius Garland reach All-Star status this season, and could have helped Collin Sexton be better if Sexton played longer. Rubio definitely has impacts on both on and off court, but let’s see what negatives he brings.

Cons

Obviously, Rubio is not a superstar, or anything like that. In an article I wrote previously, I mentioned this about Rubio’s shooting.

"“One thing the Cavs would have to worry about is his efficiency. During Rubio’s whole career he has never shot over 42% from the field or above 37% from 3-point territory.”"

According to NBA.com’s tracking data, Rubio shot an abysmal 16.7% from inside the paint, which is definitely not what you want. However, he only shot 0.2 shots from the paint in 34 games, so not that many shots, but even so, Rubio should be more aggressive driving in to the paint. On catch-and-shoot shots, Rubio shot 34%, which is not the best, either. From 15-19 feet, Rubio shot 30.0% from that area, making him not very efficient.

Also, Rubio is not the most clutch player in the world. According to NBA.com, Rubio shot 18.8% from the field in those situations, 10.0% from 3, 55.6% from the free throw line, and had a -1.0 plus-minus. So yeah, Ricky Rubio is not the kind of player you want taking a Damian Lillard-esque shot at the end of a game.

Basically, scoring and shooting are not Rubio’s fortes, but anything else he can do well. Playmaking? Check. Rebounding? Solid for a guard, so check. Defense? Check. Leadership? Check. All in all, should Cleveland try to go after Ricky Rubio? Absolutely. The fans love Rubio, and it seems like he wants to be back anyways, so sure!

The mid-level exception or a little above that should be warranted for him, perhaps on a two-year deal, considering he’s coming off of an ACL injury and probably will not be as good of a player right away as he was this season.