The San Antonio Spurs are reportedly one of several NBA teams that have done their due diligence on Cleveland Cavaliers floor general Darius Garland.
“Sources have informed NBA Analysis Network that the San Antonio Spurs are among various organizations that have conducted due diligence on Garland as a potential trade candidate,” Grant Afseth wrote. “The Spurs seek a talented playmaking guard to pair with Victor Wembanyama. Some within San Antonio’s organization are believed to have more interest in Garland than Trae Young.”
Garland is fresh off an underwhelming stint with the Cavaliers in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. He was able to avoid the injury bug during the team’s playoff run (didn’t miss a single one of Cleveland’s 12 games), but averaged just 15.7 points and 5.8 assists per contest on 42.7 percent shooting from the floor.
A good microcosm of Garland’s struggles scoring the ball came during Games 3 and 4 of the Cavaliers’ first-round series versus the Orlando Magic, which was arguably his worst stretch of basketball in the playoffs.
In Game 3, he scored a mere five points while converting just two of his 10 shots from the field. He followed up his rough shooting game with a quiet 14-point outing in Game 4. The Cavaliers lost both Games 3 and 4 by more than 20 points.
Despite averaging 18.0 points per game in the 2023-24 regular season, he reached his regular-season scoring average in just three of Cleveland’s 12 playoff games. He dropped 23 points in the Cavaliers’ Game 5 win over the Magic, finished with 21 points in a Game 6 loss a few days later and scorched the Boston Celtics for 30 points in Game 4 of Cleveland’s second-round series.
While the Cavaliers’ stint in the 2023 NBA Playoffs lasted just five games — as Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks eliminated Cleveland in the first round — it’s evident that Garland saw much more success on the offensive side of the ball in last year’s playoffs. After all, he averaged 20.6 points and 5.0 assists per game while knocking down an efficient 38.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Additionally, Garland scored 20-plus points in three of Cleveland’s five playoff games and dropped 32 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field in Game 2, which marked the Cavaliers’ only win of the series.
While Garland didn’t light up the scoring column all too often during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, he remains one of the more talented point guards in the NBA. Plus, his ability to shoot the ball from 3-point range and facilitate makes the prospect of him teaming up with Wembanyama in San Antonio intriguing.
