Grading the Ricky Rubio deal with Cavs from all angles

Grading Ricky Rubio deal with Cavs: Final Grade

The Cleveland Cavaliers did not have a lot of ammunition heading into NBA Free Agency. If they planned to bring back Collin Sexton, they were limited to the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception and a couple of minimums. That isn’t enough to entice another star to town.

Therefore it’s hard to see how the Cavs could have done better than Ricky Rubio. The Cavs know he fits well in their system, and he elevates the play of the entire team. He was a major part of not just Darius Garland’s breakout year, but in particular Kevin Love bouncing back and being a highly valuable bench player.

The off-court realities are even better. Rubio is a major culture-setter, an excellent locker room presence and the kind of infectious personality that will help this group of players continue to grow as a team. When healthy, his value on-the-court is worth well more than the taxpayer MLE. Off-court he will start earning his money even before his rehab is done.

There is downside risk here, as Rubio is 31 years old and could begin to decline. A player like Tyus Jones brought the same defense and passing but with a more reliable 3-point shot; he signed for well over twice what Rubio did, however. If the Cavs hadn’t also signed Raul Neto is would have been a slightly more suspect move, but in tandem it was something of a slam dunk signing.

Grade: A