Ricky Rubio is set to make his return to the court for the Cavaliers on Thursday night with multiple outlets reporting that the point guard is gearing up to play against the Blazers.
Rubio has spent the past year rehabbing after tearing his ACL during a contract season with Cleveland last year. The Cavs traded Rubio to Indiana in the Caris LeVert deal last year and re-signed the point guard during the offseason. It’s unclear if Rubio will be under an initial minutes restriction, though the team has clear plans to make the veteran part of their rotation again.
Be happy, Ricky Rubio is returning! 🥰
🎥 @NBA pic.twitter.com/FIRBfh7PBd
— FIBA (@FIBA) January 12, 2023
Latest on Cavs’ Trade Talks
The Cavaliers have their eye on Tim Hardaway Jr., though he’s not the only wing on Cleveland’s radar. Saddiq Bey has some fans within the organization, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes while adding that Detroit still values Bey highly and it wouldn’t likely take the Pistons to lower their asking price for the Villanova product to come to Cleveland.
Gordon Hayward is another option for Cleveland, yet that would likely require Kevin Love to be included. Love was rumored to be available in previous seasons, though, since the acquisition of Donovan Mitchell and Love’s acceptance of a veteran role off the bench, there hasn’t been much in terms of rumblings about Love leaving the team. Fedor reports that while Love will be a free agent after the season, there’s mutual interest in the two sides extending their work relationship.
Other players that Cleveland could target include Dorian Finney-Smith (Mavs), Josh Richardson (Spurs), Kyle Anderson (Wolves), and Jae’Sean Tate (Rockets).
Fedor also makes a point that the Cavaliers are not interested in Magic guard Terrence Ross, noting that Cleveland could have acquired him multiple times if they wanted to.
