NBA rumors: Cavs are ‘very interested’ in bringing back Ricky Rubio

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly interested in a reunion with Ricky Rubio, after trading him away to the Indiana Pacers last season.

Just four months after trading him to the Pacers for Caris LeVert, the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly interested in bringing back Ricky Rubio, who is set to hit free agency in the coming days.

The Cavs are coming off of a season in which they surprisingly found themselves improving by 22 wins (44 total on the year) and competing in two Play-In Tournament games, with playoff aspirations. The team ultimately failed to make it past the Play-In games but were undoubtedly able to plant a seed of hope amongst its fans for the near future.

Rubio, 31,  was off to a red hot start with the Cavs last season before going down with an ACL injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He ultimately wound up with just 34 games (eight starts) under his belt, posting 6.6 assists per game and13.1 points per game, a career-high for the Spanish point guard albeit a small sample size.

Ricky Rubio was a game-changer for the Cavs before his ACL injury

The aforementioned ACL injury is the second of his career and will keep Rubio out of action to begin the season, unavailable until around January. Should the Cavs bring him back, the club is currently slated to roll with LeVert and Collin Sexton in the backup point guard spot until Rubio is ready to return to game action.

Sexton is set to hit restricted free agency himself and is no sure thing to be brought back by the Cavs, though, as the team is reportedly not actively looking to add many more pieces to its current roster. He made only 11 appearances for the Cavs down the stretch and wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting gig anyway if he remains with the team.

While bringing Rubio back into the fold would help the Cavs long-term, their hands would be tied if they let Sexton walk in free agency and are stuck waiting for Rubio’s return from injury. He may be brought back and Sexton may walk, so look for the Cavs to make another addition to the point guard spot on their depth chart to fill in until Rubio is set to return.