5 potential Cavs free agency options for backup PG and backup C

The Cleveland Cavaliers appear largely set at a number of positions now that the dust has settled from the most recent NBA draft in which they added four new faces including Kansas alum Ochai Agbaji who is sure to see a ton of action from jump street. He will likely satisfy the team’s need for a 3-and-D wing.

Among the team’s other additions are Isaiah Mobley, brother of Rookie of the Year finalist Evan Mobley and a player who will reportedly likely be on a two-way deal, Khalifa Diop, a to-be draft-and-stash selection, and last but certainly not least is Perth’s Luke Travers, who will also remain overseas for now.

With that said, the Cavaliers have yet to address their need for both a backup PG and a dependable backup 5 off the bench. The Cleveland-based team is armed with very little in terms of cap space and its’ best asset may be the non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception which is valued at about $10.2 million this offseason. That begs the question, what should be addressed first?

There are no shortage of options at this moment and with this being the case, let us examine 5 potential free agent options at each position starting with five of the best options at point guard.

5 Cavs potential backup PG options – #1: Ricky Rubio

The Cavs could opt to bring Ricky Rubio back after trading him in a mid-season deal that netted them the services of Caris LeVert but because of his injury, even if they were able to do so, they would likely have to manage without him until midway through next season at the earliest. We already know what kind of impact a healthy Rubio can have on the team as he is a steadying presence in the best way imaginable for such a young team.

When Darius Garland left the court, the drop-off was minimal and we’ve seen that they can operate well together. He allows for more off-ball opportunities for Garland and can create for others. His shooting splits from this season weren’t anything to get hype about but he certainly held his own and played better than they suggest. In just 34 games with the Cavs (8 starts) Rubio averaged a career-high in scoring at 13.1 PPG on 36.3 percent from the field but it often didn’t seem to matter.

He had full command of the offense at times and wasn’t afraid to let it fly from range. His 6.6 APG were second to first-time All-Star Darius Garland and his 5.1 triples attempted per game ranked fifth on the team behind aforementioned Garland, Kevin Love, Lauri Markkanen, and Cedi Osman.

It was clear how good of a fit he was with the team but the problem is health. Rubio may not be available for the first few month’s of the 2022-23 season and that could scare the team away from bringing him back.