Ricky Rubio is overpaid. Sorry.
We want to start by saying that everyone at King James Gospel is in full support of Ricky Rubio stepping away from basketball to see to his mental health. We are thankful that stigmas around mental health have eased enough for a player to take this bold step, and also that Rubio has made enough money in his career to afford stepping away from his career. We hope and pray that this time, whether it’s temporary or permanent, helps Rubio be a healthier person and better interact with and care for the people in his life.
The rest of this slide is no fun to write, but that doesn’t make it less true. Unless the Cavaliers get definitive word from Rubio that he is retiring, they will be keeping Rubio, his roster spot and his $6.1 million salary on the books. For a player who may not play at all this season that is, by definition, an overpay.
Rubio didn’t provide much on-court value last season either recovering from an ACL tear, and the hope was that he could step in fully healthy after an offseason of rehab and be a player similar to what he was to start the 2021-22 season. That seems less and less likely now, although we also don’t know how long of a break Rubio is planning to take from basketball, or whether he will ultimately be stepping away for good.
Everyone in the Cavs organization loves Rubio, and they will likely wait as long as possible to keep open his roster spot. From a pure value standpoint, however, the team isn’t getting production for that amount of salary.