The Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers swapped players entering the final seasons of their contracts ahead of Thursday's NBA draft, with the Cavaliers getting veteran guard Ricky Rubio and the Timberwolves adding forward Taurean Prince, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
What was the motivation for both teams to make the deal? And which one got the better end?
Cavaliers get: Ricky Rubio
Timberwolves get: Taurean Prince, 2022 second-round pick (via Wizards)
Minnesota Timberwolves: A-
I suspect Jarred Vanderbilt's free agency was a key motivation for the Timberwolves to make this trade.
When Minnesota swapped James Johnson for Rubio at last year's draft, it provided a big immediate boost (Rubio played 1,772 minutes, more than 700 more than Johnson did for two teams) at the cost of adding an extra year of salary. That pushed the Wolves perilously close to the 2021-22 luxury tax, which could have cost them Vanderbilt if another team made an aggressive offer sheet to the restricted free agent after Vanderbilt started 30 games last season.
Turning Rubio's $17.8 million salary into Prince's $13 million (plus another $1.8 million in unlikely incentives) gives Minnesota more wiggle room. The Timberwolves are now $7.8 million away from the tax line, factoring in a contract for 2020 No. 23 overall pick Leandro Bolmaro and non-guaranteed salaries for Jaylen Nowell and Naz Reid.
That means Minnesota could match an offer to Vanderbilt starting at $6 million without going into the tax and has the flexibility to start a little higher and then get out of the tax at some point before the trade deadline.
The expected addition of Bolmaro also gives the Timberwolves more backcourt options. Bolmaro and Anthony Edwards would probably offer Minnesota enough playmaking to get by without a traditional backup to starter D'Angelo Russell. Re-signing Jordan McLaughlin, a restricted free agent who played the last two seasons on two-way contracts, is another possibility.
Prince hasn't really developed since averaging a career-high 14.1 PPG in his second season and has now been traded three times in the past three years. He joins Minnesota's flotilla of wings drafted in the first round still looking to establish themselves as rotation players, which also includes Jarrett Culver, Juancho Hernangomez and Josh Okogie.
For a bonus, the Timberwolves found a way to end up with the draft pick in this deal, a 2022 second-rounder from the Washington Wizards that looks likely to fall in the top half of the round.
Cleveland Cavaliers: C
Taking on Prince's contract was presumably part of the cost to the Cavaliers of getting Jarrett Allen in last season's four-team trade sending James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. Prince averaged 23.7 MPG in 29 games for Cleveland but seemed behind Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr. and Isaac Okoro in the Cavaliers' forward depth chart when healthy. There may be a larger role for Rubio, who can also be useful to Cleveland as a mentor to young guards Darius Garland and Collin Sexton.
As a player, Rubio showed signs of slippage last season at age 30. His 16% usage rate was the lowest of his NBA career and his .516 true shooting percentage his lowest mark since 2014-15. Rubio is still a terrific playmaker, of course, and his entry passing could be a boon for center Evan Mobley, the Cavaliers' draft pick at No. 3 overall.
Still, I'm not sure I understand why Cleveland is giving up a draft pick for the privilege of saving Minnesota money. This trade would make more sense if the players were simply exchanged straight up.