With the Cleveland Cavaliers currently slugging through a disappointing season compared to last year, it comes as no surprise that Cavs players, namely Darius Garland, are starting to generate trade buzz across the NBA. But teams hoping to pry a Cavs player or two by the trade deadline should pump the brakes just a bit, as per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
Despite the Cavs being 17-15 and nowhere near the level of play they sustained last year, there is reportedly no inkling from the team that they would be willing to entertain trade offers for Darius Garland or any other key piece on the team, Fischer reports.
Fischer suggests that much of the Garland trade rumors come from a couple of seasons ago when he reportedly was looking to be moved to the San Antonio Spurs to play alongside Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs eventually found their lead guard for Wembanyama in De’Aaron Fox.
However, while the Cavs have not indicated that they’re currently looking to jettison any key pieces by this year’s deadline, that might change in the coming offseason, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. During a recent episode of ‘ClutchScoops,’ Siegel suggested that once the season is over is when the Cavs could decide to make major changes.
“There’s no indication that they’re going to blow things up at the trade deadline,” Siegel said. “Looking ahead, I think the question for this team is not what moves they’ll make before the trade deadline necessarily, but what this is gonna look like in the offseason.”
It’s not surprising to see why a player like Garland would be heavily coveted by opposing teams. Despite some injury issues, he’s proven to be an All-Star caliber guard. He’s appeared in 17 games this season at a little over 30 minutes per game.
He’s been averaging 17.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists with splits of 40.9 percent shooting from the field, 37.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 87.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.