A Ricky Rubio return would be enticing, but Cavs can’t bank on encore

It’s uncertain when Rubio will really be back, and the Cavs can’t bank on an encore

Rubio could be back, best-case scenario one would assume, in November/December, but that seems overly optimistic. And Rubio tore the ACL in this same left knee back in 2012, in his first Timberwolves stint.

I don’t doubt that Rubio will continue to get after it in rehab, however, the dude will be entering his age-32 season ahead, and what will be his 12th season to come. So, needless to say, he could seemingly end up being back in January, or potentially February.

The Cavaliers would have to be realistic in their outlook here as well, in thinking it’d take Rubio a some chunk of playing to get back into game shape, no matter what role he has, and just generally, the team can’t expect a near-encore level of impact from him.

Maybe I’m wrong and being too pessimistic, and objectively, Rubio is not a player whose game is largely predicted on athleticism. That’s more of the rationale in regards to possibly why the Cavaliers should definitely bring Rubio back, feasibly via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception near $10 million/year annually for maybe two years, or part of that MLE.

I just have questions about how long it will take for Rubio to truly be back, and be able to establish a rhythm next season, and the Cavs can’t honestly be thinking he’ll have nearly the same impact as last year, albeit with more guys involved this go-round.

And if the Cavs do elect to bring Rubio back, the team would need to add a third lead guard presence, via the upcoming draft or maybe they consider bringing Brandon Goodwin, who was on a two-way deal this season, back in some capacity next season. I have my doubts on that, though, and Rajon Rondo won’t be back it seems, and could seemingly retire.

As far as the overarching point here, I’d probably rather the Cavaliers go a different direction for backup point guard than Rubio, but we’ll see.