No. 1 – Ricky Rubio, for SG/as a combo
Ricky Rubio tore his ACL last season, and chances are, he won’t be in the rotation for a good bit, but once he returns, he could start as the 2-guard for Cleveland, or as essentially a combo guard with Garland.
Per StatMuse, Darius Garland has a defensive rating of 107.5 with Ricky Rubio last season, while only having a 112.0 rating without him. Also, Rubio can offer some impactful secondary playmaking for the team while Garland can play more off-ball. Rubio also played 53% of his minutes last year at shooting guard, and boasted a solid plus-186 plus-minus, which is great considering he only played 34 games. So doing the math, the Cavs were about 5-and-a-half points better than the opposing team while Rubio was off the court.
Also, the Cavs’ defensive rating was a stellar 105.2 last season while Rubio was on the court, versus 114.8 while Rubio was on the bench. That’s almost 10 points worse. Rubio’s effect defensively on this roster shows.
Plus, take it into consideration that the one year Rubio played with Darius Garland, Garland became an All-Star, and finished third for the Most Improved Player Award. Maybe with Rubio next season, we will see Garland develop even more.