Darius Garland trade chatter intensifies with links to Western Conference teams

Trade chatter surrounding Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland has ramped up in light of recent rumors connecting him to two Western Conference squads in the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.

“The San Antonio Spurs are ‘very interested’ in trading for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, an NBA source told Hoops Wire,” Ashish Mathur wrote.

“The Spurs want to acquire a dynamic point guard and pair him next to Victor Wembanyama, the source said.”

San Antonio has supposedly thought long and hard about the possibility of trading for the 24-year-old.

“Although the Spurs have been heavily linked to Atlanta Hawks guards Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, San Antonio’s front office and scouting team have conducted ‘strong’ due diligence on Garland as a potential trade candidate, the source said,” Mathur added.

Additionally, according to Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid, the Pelicans are interested in acquiring Garland as well as Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen.

“So, poultry farming analogies aside, that means the Cavaliers will have to entertain moving Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen, two players that sources share the Pelicans are interested in acquiring, to get Brandon Ingram,” Dammarell wrote.

Last month, NBA insider Jake Fischer suggested that rival teams value what Garland brings to the table, as he said that plenty of squads will have Garland ranked above Young in trade talks during the offseason.

“I can tell ya, a lot of teams will have Darius Garland ranked above Trae Young on their board of wish lists just in the fact that he has been someone who’s even been agreeable to shift his role a bit depending on what type of players are coming in,” Fischer said. “And with Trae Young, you are, of course, trading for someone, in theory, who only wants to operate out of high pick-and-roll action play after play after play. So, put Darius Garland on the bingo card of potential All-Stars to be considered up for grabs this summer.”

Garland has spent the entirety of his NBA career with the Cavaliers and averaged 18.0 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent from deep along with 2.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per contest during the 2023-24 regular season.

He led the Cavaliers in assists per game and averaged the second-most points per game on the team, behind only Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 26.6 points per game.

Garland helped lead Cleveland to its second playoff appearance in a row in 2024, as the Cavaliers ended the regular season with a 48-34 record, good for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

But when the 2024 NBA Playoffs rolled around, Garland’s scoring production took a dip. He averaged just the fourth-most points per game of any Cavalier during the team’s playoff stint at 15.7, and his efficiently also took a bit of a hit. The floor general shot just 42.7 percent from the floor and 35.2 percent from 3-point range.

Cleveland’s run in the 2024 NBA Playoffs came to an end at the hands of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics in the second round.

Considering that Garland sometimes underperformed for the Cavaliers when they needed him most, perhaps it’s time for Cleveland to seriously consider moving on from the former Vanderbilt University star.