The Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves have decided to get in on the draft day trade action. The Cavs are sending Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick, and cash considerations to the Wolves in exchange for point guard Ricky Rubio. It’s a trade that brings on money for the Cavs by acquiring Rubio, but it also adds some much-needed backcourt depth, especially if they eventually look to move on from Collin Sexton before he is eligible to discuss a contract extension.
ESPN first reported the deal between the Cavs and Wolves.
So what does this mean for Cleveland in a very key offseason? What do the Wolves get out of shedding some point guard depth? Let’s grade it out!
Cavaliers receive Ricky Rubio
The Cavs have been kicking around the idea of not being the ones to commit to Collin Sexton on a big extension off his rookie deal. But regardless of whether or not they decide to move on from him in the near future, the Cavs needed to address backcourt depth. Cleveland received a huge boost from Darius Garland in his second season. He went from looking like an overmatched rookie in 2019-20 to lightning in a bottle in 2020-21. Garland’s jumper was as good as advertised. His feel for the game was better than expected at this point in his career. We saw a fun pairing with him and Sexton on the court together, even if it wasn’t yielding a lot of team success.
