Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland has been the subject of trade rumors since their season came to an end in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
In fact, pretty much the Cavaliers entire roster has been involved in trade rumors. That includes fellow guard Donovan Mitchell, who is likely set to enter the final year of his contract.
Cleveland’s brass is set to break up the star backcourt tandem. It just remains to be seen who will be moved.
We have somewhat of an update on this.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that teams are cooling on Garland after Cavs front office head Koby Altman pushed back against the narrative that they’ll move on from the All-Star.
“There are now teams that are sort of backing off, saying well maybe Garland is not gonna be available,” report on Darius Garland.
Altman recently indicated that moving Garland this summer might not be in the cards.
“I don’t see why we should,” Altman told reporters. “And the same thing goes [for the] fit of the Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen. There’s a depth of talent here that’s really, really good. And when you look at the landscape of the league and how long, like 82 games, we can’t discount [the impact of] injuries.”
Related: Updated NBA trade rumors
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Previous indications were that Garland would request a trade if the Cavaliers retained Mitchell this summer. Though, the guard has not spoken on that.
Garland, 24, is coming off a down 2023-24 season that saw him average 18.0 points and 6.5 assists on 45% shooting. From 2021-23 with the Cavaliers, the former top-five pick averaged 21.6 points and 8.2 assists on 46% shooting from the field.
He has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, among other teams, on the NBA trade block.