THE The Cleveland Cavaliers waived Ricky Rubio last January, and shortly after, the former point guard announced his retirement from the NBA.
But now the Cavaliers are making a historic move involving the Spanish legend.
Keith Smith of Spotrac reports that Cleveland has become the first team to use the extended grace period for a released player, which is a feature of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement.
The Cavs took $1.3 million in dead money for Rubio and extended him to $425,000 per year over the next three seasons.
As a result, the Cavaliers are now $10.6 million below the luxury tax without factoring Isaac Okoro’s qualifying offer into the equation. If Okoro accepts his $11.8 million qualifying offer, Cleveland would then be about $1.2 million above the tax.
Either way, this Rubio trade opens up some monetary relief for the Cavs, who aren’t exactly in the best financial position heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
Rubio played two seasons for the Cavaliers in 2021-22 and 2022-23, appearing in a total of 67 games between the two campaigns.
The 33-year-old’s most productive year in Cleveland came in his first season with the club, as he averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 28.5 minutes per game while shooting 36.3 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from three-point range and 85.4 percent from the free throw line.
Rubio also played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns throughout his 12-year NBA career, recording lifetime averages of 10.8 points and 7.4 assists per game.