The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be ready to move on from point guard Ricky Rubio.

Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Cavaliers and Rubio have “begun discussing a potential parting of ways.”

Rubio is currently away from the team addressing his mental health, and it’s unclear if he will return this season.

Cleveland is 15-12 and currently sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. While that’s a solid place to be, injuries to Evan Mobley and Darius Garland cloud the immediate future.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that Cleveland would like to utilize his salary slot to improve the team, and solving that situation will precede any other additions.

“With seven weeks remaining before the league’s Feb. 8 buzzer, the only true trade development about the Cavaliers is the team’s attempts to find a partner that will take Ricky Rubio’s contract,” Fischer wrote. “So that next front office can work on a buyout of the veteran point guard’s two seasons and $12.5 million remaining on the three-year contract Rubio signed to return to the Cavaliers last July.”

Rubio signed a three-year, $18.4 million deal with the Cavaliers in July 2022 and is signed through the 2024-25 season. He averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 33 games in 2022-23 as he returned from a torn ACL and was set to play a reserve role behind Garland this season.

With Garland out at least four weeks after jaw surgery, finding a solid replacement will be necessary. Maximizing success while star guard Donovan Mitchell is still with the franchise is also of major importance, as he is set to hit free agency in 2025 and will presumably have a lengthy list of suitors.

Whether a trade for Rubio materializes or not, Cleveland will need depth players to step up with significant pieces missing over the next several weeks.