Ricky Rubio returning to Cavs due to “unfinished business”

Two seasons ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers saw a bad season turn worse in dealing with injury after injury to their point guard rotation, leading to players signing off the street and suiting up the next day. To address that, the Cavs made a trade for veteran point guard Ricky Rubio last offseason.

It was a move that worked out excellently at first, as Rubio was a seamless fit and helped propel the Cavs to a strong start. Then he tore his ACL in December, and suddenly a strength was a weakness. The Cavs traded him away at the trade deadline to add a healthy body, and it seemed like the successful partnership was at an end.

Not so fast. This summer, with Rubio a free agent and the Cavs in need of a backup point guard once again, the two sides reunited. Cleveland signed Rubio to a three-year, $18.44 million deal in free agency, and once again Rubio was a part of the Wine and Gold.

At the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Media Day on Monday, Rubio spoke to the media and answered a wide-ranging set of questions. You can check out his entire interview here. He spoke to his rehab, which is coming along nicely, and being around this team once again.

Ricky Rubio spoke at the Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day about why he returned to the Cavs, citing some “unfinished business” that needs to be settled

One key thing that Rubio addressed was the work involved with sustaining a winning culture. Rubio, an 11-year NBA veteran, has seen the best of times and the worst of times around the league. That experience is something he can bring to this young team, even if he’s not yet ready to suit up for games as he recovers from that torn ACL.

The most interesting part of Rubio’s availability was when he spoke about why he returned to the Cavs. Prompted by a question from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Rubio said that he was at a point in his career where he was comfortable in Cleveland, with the people in the organization and in his role. Coming back to the Cavs was comfortable, but it was also about some unfinished business.

Rubio felt that he was a part of building something real last season and he didn’t want to miss out on building on that foundation. So Rubio is back, hopefully in December but perhaps later, to help the Cavs propel forward.

What Rubio didn’t know when he re-signed was that he would be reunited with former teammate Donovan Mitchell, who Rubio characterized as “humble” and the exact kind of guy you need to win a championship.

The Cavs are deep this year and ready to weather the start of a season without Rubio, but when he is ready to play they will unquestionably get better. Then he and the Cavs can together keep building something special in Cleveland and settle this “unfinished business” Rubio has his sights on.