Cleveland Cavaliers

A Ricky Rubio Trade That Will Make Both Sides Happy

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:21 a.m. ET

Fansided, Quenton Albertie/FanSided via King James Gospel

The Minnesota Timberwolves may finally trade Ricky Rubio. The Cleveland Cavaliers need to make a trade for the best point guard on the market and Iman Shumpert is at the center of that trade package.

Timberwolves get G/F Mike Dunleavy Jr., G Mo Williams, G Iman Shumpert

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t just in two different basketball cities, they’re in two different places as basketball clubs. The Cavs are a veteran-laden team in the middle of a quest to repeat as NBA champions while the Timberwolves are a young, talented, up-and-coming team looking to make their first playoff appearance since the 2003-2004 season.

However, both teams have point guard conundrums and a collaboration between the two franchises could get both clubs closer to having the type of team they want on the floor.

In this proposed trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves exchange Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic for Iman Shumpert, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Mo Williams.

This trade should be fair value for both sides as the Cleveland Cavaliers receive a the backup point guard they covet and the Wolves acquire two versatile players and three-point specialists. One with the veteran leadership the Wolves will need as a young team going through the growing pains of an up-and-down season. The other with the youth that will allow him to be a part of the team’s core going forward.

However, there’s more than those reasons to make a trade.

Dec 21, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) shoots over the defense of Milwaukee Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic (35) during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Why the Minnesota Timberwolves Make The Trade

To put it simply, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a point guard issue but it’s not that they don’t have enough, it’s that they have too many. They also have a non-scoring point guard in Rubio who is having one of his worst shooting seasons in his career and that’s saying something for a player who’s converted 36.8 percent of his field goals for his career.

This season, Rubio is shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 24.0 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, Kris Dunn was selected fifth overall in the 2016 NBA Draft and has shown flashes of being a promising player for the Timberwolves. Tyus Jones, who has played the best basketball in the Wolves point guard guard unit, is on a cap friendly contract.

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Meanwhile, the struggling Rubio will earn $13.4 million for the next three years. That, combined with Pekovic’s salary of $12.1 million makes it $25 million the T-Wolves are devoting to players who don’t plan to be there for the long-term. Pekovic is an injury-prone center who, after this season, will only have played in 43 games over three seasons. Rubio has said he would want a trade if the Wolves weren’t in playoff contention and early on this season, the Wolves aren’t. Add in Rubio’s comments about the Timberwolves playing with no heart and it’s probably time for the franchise to trade Rubio before he becomes even more disgruntled.

In return for two players who aren’t a part of the team’s future, the Cavs can exchange Dunleavy Jr., a player that will space the floor for a team that is near the bottom of the league ranking in three-point attempts per game with 23.1. On these attempts, the Wolves are only converting 34.5 percent of their attempts. Dunleavy, who had a slow start to the season, shoots 37.5 percent from long-range over his career and has made 50.0 percent of his threes in December. The Cavs also give the Wolves the 26-year-old Shumpert, a player they’ve openly coveted and has become as good a three-point shooter as a defender. This season, Shumpert has made 41.9 percent of his threes and significantly boosted his trade value.

Dec 6, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) dribbles in the second quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Why The Cleveland Cavaliers Make The Trade

The Cleveland Cavaliers need a player who can set up the second unit and that player is Rubio who is a premier passer in the league and averages 6.9 assists per game. Without LeBron James or Kyrie Irving on the floor, the Cavs second unit finds it hard to generate points as they’re all essentially three-point specialists.

Rubio’s ability to push the pace and find the open man fits the Cleveland Cavaliers style in the open court and what the second unit needs. Especially for a team on a championship run that needs to rest James and Irving consistently. Rubio is also a player who, at 6-foot-4, can play beside Irving and James and set them up for the easy looks that they’ll need to score as efficiently as possible. Just think of Rubio as the Cavs’ version of Shaun Livingston. Rubio’s not a shooter but he has amazing court vision and plays intelligent defense to make up for his athletic limitations.

In trading away Shumpert, the team loses a piece of it’s playing and emotional core. However, Shumpert can be replaced. The team can opt to give DeAndre Liggins some of the minutes that Shumpert leaves behind or James Jones, as Liggins is already in the rotation. Jones has been shooting a sizzling 73.7 percent on three-point attempts in limited time this season but as he shoots 40.2 percent from long distance over his career, it’s safe to say he’ll be an effective three-point threat. Without J.R. Smith in the starting lineup for an indefinite amount of time, there is also a lack of volume shooting on the perimeter. The Cavs can remedy that with additional playing time for Jordan McRae in the second unit, assuming Liggins still starts in his absence.

To sum, the Cavs are replacing Shumpert with Rubio and McRae in the second unit. While this trade may not be optimal for the Cavs perimeter defense, the defensive drop-off will end when Smith returns. Adding a point guard would likely have pushed Liggins out of the rotation if Shumpert was still on the Cavs roster. Thus, with Smith out, the Cavs are down a defender. However, when he returns, Liggins is essentially Shumpert’s 3-and-D replacement.

Until then, the Cavs will have to win with Liggins starting and McRae taking Shumpert’s spot in the second unit. Again, there will be a difference in the style of play as Rubio and McRae like to penetrate the lane and aren’t spot-up shooters like Shumpert. Nonetheless, that may only mean more three-point attempts for Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Jones and Smith. All three are more reliable shooters than Shumpert.

Nov 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kay Felder (20) receives some coaching on the sideline by head coach Tyronn Lue in the second half of the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-93. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Looking At The Bigger Picture

The Cleveland Cavaliers likely will be giving up a player they don’t want to trade in Shumpert yet the same can be said of the Minnesota Timberwolves sending off Rubio. The Cavs will also be taking back $12.1 million in salary for a player that won’t be playing at all this season. While the Cavs can waive Pekovic, they’ll still have to pay his salary over the next two seasons. Nonetheless, with James in town there are many players willing to sign for the league minimum that can help the team.

With at least one roster spot available, the Cavs will likely sign a center with a backup point guard finally set on the roster. If the Cavs waive Pekovic, they can resign a player like Dahntay Jones. Jones had memorable moments for the Cavs in last season’s playoffs, is a decent shooter and defender and a veteran voice in the locker room.

Here’s a look at a potential depth chart for the Cavs:

Kyrie Irving/ Ricky Rubio/ Kay Felder

J.R. Smith/ DeAndre Liggins/ Dahntay Jones*

LeBron James / Richard Jefferson/ Jordan McRae

Kevin Love/ James Jones/ Chris Andersen

Tristan Thompson/ Channing Frye/ Eric Moreland*

An additional benefit of this trade is that the Cavs will be able to keep their first round pick and can still look forward to the potential of Cedi Osman, who will make the jump from the EuroLeague to the NBA next year. The Cavs, who have a lot of veteran players, don’t have many avenues to acquire young talent. Developing Osman and a future first round pick beside Kay Felder and McRae will greatly aid the Cavs in the future as Jefferson and Jones are set to retire in the next two seasons. Andersen and D. Jones are on the last leg of their career.

In order for this trade to work, the Cleveland Cavaliers have to use $4.5 million out of the $9.6 million trade exception they received when they sent Anderson Varejao to the Portland Trail Blazers.

For the team to make another championship run, Rubio isn’t necessary. He just makes the path a lot easier for the champs to repeat.

Do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers would make this trade? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.