Golden State Warriors reportedly had interest in Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio has been a critical part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ resurgence. The veteran point guard, who has been a journeyman over the last few seasons, has been terrific for the Cavs, a team with one of the league’s best defenses.

Rubio was a target of the Golden State Warriors. Per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon and Kelsey Russo, the Warriors were “keenly interested” in Rubio if he were to hit the market. However, he never made it there.

The Golden State Warriors reportedly were interested in now-Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio prior to him being traded this past offseason.

Rubio was traded this past offseason to Cleveland from Minnesota. Apparently, there was potential for the guard to be bought out and not dealt, but the value must’ve been too much as the Cavs clearly wanted to give up something for him.

To make matters even worse, Rubio was traded for small forward Taurean Prince and a second-round pick which, in other words, means he was traded for pieces the Cavs likely didn’t really want anyway.

Rubio was on the Timberwolves, a team not close to playoff contention. However, he was owed over $17.5 million, so buying him out may not have made much sense.

They found a trade partner that worked for both parties, crushing the Warriors’ chances, especially with that contract. Trading for Rubio would’ve required Andrew Wiggins be dealt, and that certainly wasn’t happening.

This season, the 6-foot-2 31-year-old guard is averaging 13.6 points per game. While he has had a few eye-popping performances, he’s still hovering around 36% from the field which has been his Achilles heel for the past decade.

That being said, Rubio has been a great leader for the young Cavs backcourt and has stepped up when called upon. He’s drilling 1.9 threes per game and is shooting above his career average from downtown.

The Cavaliers are significantly better with him on the court, and given the Warriors need a backup point guard, they would’ve likely also benefited from having the veteran, especially last season. The Dubs still could use a steady backup point guard as it feels more like a role forward Andre Iguodala occupies.

Rubio would’ve been a terrific addition for Golden State. At the same time, seeing him thrive in Cleveland is good for everyone as well.