Over the offseason, there were plenty of Cleveland Cavaliers fans who were overjoyed when the team and Ricky Rubio agreed to a return. Rubio was signed via three-year deal for $18.4 million, with the third season partially-guaranteed.
Cavs fans were excited to have Rubio back with the Wine and Gold based on how he performed last season, when he was a driving force behind the team’s hot start, and his leadership was invaluable. Rubio had 13.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per contest in his 34 appearances for Cleveland in 2021-22, following his trade acquisition in the 2021 offseason from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rubio was a significant piece to the Cavalier puzzle, even while mostly coming off the bench in his appearances. His elite passing timing, vision, pick-and-roll play and defensive playmaking were crucial in his time on the floor, and the team fed off energy he provides.
Unfortunately, it was a crushing blow when Rubio went down with a torn ACL in his left knee in late December of 2021, which was the same one he initially tore in 2012, back in his first stint with Minnesota. Realistically, some skepticism about how he’ll be this season upon his return would be understandable, given that Rubio is 32 and will be set to begin his 12th NBA season.
On the plus side, Rubio is reportedly close to a return, and is targeting around the first of the year for coming back, and his presence can still be a big lift for this Cleveland team.
With that in mind, brainstorming potential lineup ideas involving him wouldn’t be an unfounded exercise. We’ll examine that further here.
With that in mind, here, we’ll suggest three possible lineups the Cavs could deploy with Rubio when he’s back.
Getting things underway, next we’ll start with the first potential lineup featuring Rubio.