Quick React: 2022 NBA Free Agency (or, In Rubio We Trust)

Well, it’s been about 30 hours of NBA free agency that’s transpired. Because of cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor and his intrepid reporting, the Cavs publicly telegraphed their free agency plan and it’s going according to form. The Cavs had three targets during the free agency period: a backup center, a backup point guard, and Ricky Rubio. They accomplished signing all three in about 24 hours. Let’s dive right in for some instant reaction…

1. In Rubio We Trust

In a move that was largely expected and desired, the Cavs brought Ricky Rubio back home where he belongs, on the shores of Lake Erie donning the Wine and Gold. When Rubio first arrived in Cleveland after last year’s trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, early reporting suggested that Rubio wasn’t sure about remaining in Cleveland in a rebuild situation and that the Cavs were open to using his expiring contract as trade bait for contending teams. What a difference a year makes. What actually happened was nothing short of magical. Rubio bought into the team, and help lead the young squad to their best season of the post-LeBron 2.0 era. Unfortunately, his season was cut tragically short because of an ACL tear. Fortunately, it appears that he’s on the path to healing and wholeness and now wants to finish what he helped start, which is a budding dynasty until cruel fortune interceded.

Rubio gave the Cavs a “hometown” discount of a three year, 18.4 million dollar deal, which allows the Cavs to maintain a bit of cap flexibility. There is also the chance that a sign and trade could be worked out with the Indiana Pacers so that the Cavs can retain use of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception (Disclaimer: CLF is not a cap expert, results may vary):

This has not yet been decided. It’s definitely an option tho. And it would greatly help with flexibility https://t.co/zQ49ztFQrf

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 2, 2022

The most heartwarming part about the Ricky Rubio reunion is how the Cavs seemed to make the effort to allow Rubio to feel comfortable. Fellow Spaniard José Calderón was hired by the Cavs as a special advisor just two weeks after Ricky Rubio’s injury. Calderón was not only a former Cavalier, but also Rubio’s teammate on the Spanish national team that won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In Fedor’s reporting, the Cavs certainly made Rubio a priority in free agency.

This move isn’t without risk of course. This will be Ricky Rubio’s second ACL recovery at the tender age of 32 come October. Conventional wisdom dictates that Rubio probably won’t return to basketball activities until December or January at the earliest. If one were to venture a guess at a target date of return, post-2023 All-Star Break would seem to make sense. And all that assumes everything just goes according to plan. But wouldn’t it glorious to see Rubio back with the squad, helping the post-ASB push to the playoffs and beyond? The Rick Roll the Playoffs Agenda begins now!

2. Cleveland a free agent destination?

Along with Rubio, the Cavs filled out their roster with solid, professional veterans in Raul Neto and Robin Lopez. Neto was a long rumored Cavs’ target, even going back to last season’s trade deadline when the Cavs were looking for help after the Rubio injury. With Neto the Cavs acquired a solid, if unspectacular, player that will defend, pass, and is very efficient shooting in the midrange game. It’s also easy to imagine that adding another international player to the bench will positively impact Rubio and Cedi Osman.

Robin Lopez also fits the mold of consummate professional veteran. While he’s on the tale end of his career, Lopez brings size and strength to the center position that Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley don’t quite have. Lopez also has a decent amount of playoff experience, which should help guide the young Cavs for their playoff push next season.

With the signings of Neto and Lopez, what stands out about those acquisitions from a narrative standpoint is that the Cavs were able to acquire players that are looking to win. Neto and Lopez don’t have much time left in the NBA, and they were obviously in situations where winning wasn’t as much of a priority. Those types of vets typically go to contending teams. The fact that Neto and Lopez chose Cleveland gives the impression that they believe the Cavs are poised to win and make some noise in the playoffs. These types of acquisitions feel better than a Kevin Pangos or Ed Davis because Neto and Lopez still look like they can play, as opposed to being unknown (Pangos) or resigned to cheerleader role (Davis).

3. Breaking News:

#Cavs All-Star point guard Darius Garland has agreed on a five-year, $193 million maximum designated rookie contract extension that could be worth as much as $231 million with escalators, sources confirm to @clevelanddotcom

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 2, 2022

Thank you Koby Altman for doing the right thing, collect your W.

4. Young Bull Watch

As Day 2 of free agency comes to a close, #Cavs are about $19 million away from the luxury tax. That doesn’t include Ochai Agbaji’s contract, which will be close to $4 million. That would make it more like $15 million below the tax when it comes to ongoing Collin Sexton talks.

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 2, 2022

A few notes on the Collin Sexton situation:

-Only Spurs and Pacers could offer him $20 million+ at this point.
-If Sexton signs an offer sheet, Cavs can match but NOT turn it into a sign-and-trade.
-Cleveland only projects to be $16ish million below tax line with Rubio + Agbaji.

— Greg Swartz (@GregSwartzBR) July 2, 2022

Fedor and Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report dropped some key pieces of information in the aftermath of the Rubio, Neto, and Lopez acquisitions. The Cavs have about $15 million left below the tax to extend Collin Sexton. The San Antonio Spurs are clearly in a tank/rebuild situation. It’s hard to see them having any desire to sign Sexton to a long term extension. Logic would dictate that they’re looking to use their cap space to take on contract dumps to collect draft pick assets.

With the Indiana Pacers, they appear to be executing the same type of plan as the Spurs, which is keeping cap space open to accept salary dumps to collect draft assets. They have already unloaded Marcus Brogdon’s contract to clear space, and there are plenty of rumors regarding a potential Myles Turner trade. That being said, it is conceivable that they could be interested in signing Sexton in a tandem with Deandre Ayton to form a young veteran core to supplement their key pieces Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, and Bennedict Mathurin. But that’s a remote possibility at best given what’s been reported so far.

.@wojespn with an update on the Pacers' plans:

"They're clearly moving into a full rebuild now. They're also engaged on Myles Turner elsewhere, too." pic.twitter.com/xEVvwNBSgg

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 2, 2022

So where does that leave Sexton? The CtB Commentariat should be well aware about how yours truly theorized that things were headed towards Young Bull commanding sixth man/backup combo guard money in the vein of Jordan Clarkson, Tyus Jones, or Kevin Huerter. While some fans may think that kind of money is an insult to Young Bull’s talents, it’s still top 100 NBA money and generational wealth for Sexton. For the Cavs, it’s a reasonable, calculated risk that Sexton can break out and become a star on a team-friendly deal. Sexton signing a 3yr/50m or 4yr/60m should be considered a win for all parties involved… so stay tuned!