Denver Nuggets: 5 way too early mid-season buyout candidates
By Alex Murray
Denver Nuggets buyout candidate #5: Ricky Rubio, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
A ten-year NBA veteran, Ricky Rubio was just shipped out to the Cleveland Cavaliers last month from the Minnesota Timberwolves (who seem to be in self-implode mode now) and it seems highly unlikely that the young Cavs have intentions of keeping the Spaniard around for the long haul.
He’s in the final year of his contract, so he’s a prime buyout candidate, and if anything were to happen to Monte Morris, who always manages to be an excellent passer while taking great care of the basketball, Rubio could be the perfect guy to step in for him.
Even if Monte stays healthy, Rubio could be a great backup as well as a mentor and veteran presence for the rest of the inexperienced youngsters in the backcourt. Morris was tops in the NBA last season with a 4.41 assist to turnover ratio, so it would be hard to replicate that…
Unless, of course, you’re a 30-year-old vet that had the fourth-best AST-TO ratio at 3.90 last year. Rubio used to be known for being reckless and committing a lot of turnovers, but last season he averaged just 1.6 giveaways, the lowest mark of his career by a very wide margin.
He has never won a playoff series in the NBA, so Rubio definitely has a chip on his shoulder, and he could be a great veteran voice to have in a locker room that is still finding a way to mesh together.