The Cleveland Cavaliers apparently were in trade talks with the New Orleans Pelicans at some point in the 2023-24 regular season. Evidently, it didn’t result in any deal.
However, Christian Clark of NOLA.com expects the teams to re-engage with one another in the coming offseason, bringing up Darius Garland as a possible target for the Pelicans.
“The Pelicans had contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks before the trade deadline in February,” wrote Clark. “Expect those talks to resume this summer. The Cavaliers and Hawks have three All-Star guards between them in Darius Garland, Dejounte Murray and Trae Young who could be available.”
The Cavs have shown no indication that they are ready to disband their backcourt duo of Garland and Donovan Mitchell. But after a somewhat ordinary 2023-24 campaign that ended in a series loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs, the organization may have to think about how to proceed with the pairing.
Garland has been one of Cleveland’s most promising players at times during his stint with the organization.
After being drafted by the franchise with the fifth overall pick in 2019, he slowly emerged as a top-flight point guard in the league. His best season arguably came in the 2021-22 campaign, when he put up career-highs of 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game. The Vanderbilt University product also secured his lone All-Star berth and finished third in Most Improved Player voting that season.
Unfortunately, Garland had to endure injuries this season and saw some regression in his play. The playoffs also saw him struggle to find his footing, even if he still did record 15.7 points and 5.8 assists per game in 12 appearances.
It’s worth noting that there has been chatter about the possibility of Garland’s camp seeking a new home for the guard if the Cavs extend Mitchell.
Interestingly, the Cavs were also linked to the Pelicans earlier this month. They were named on a list of possible destinations for Pelicans star Brandon Ingram. One can only imagine that any deal between the two teams would involve Garland and Ingram.
It remains to be seen what Cleveland does in summer. Hopefully, it will make the franchise more competitive and help it keep up with other contenders in the future.
