ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shared some insight into the Cleveland Cavaliers offseason and the trade rumors that have surrounded point guard Darius Garland.
According to Windhorst, Garland never asked for a trade from the Cavs, but he may have considered doing so.
“I do think there was a time where Darius was seriously considering whether or not he should try to press the issue with a trade,” Windhorst said. “And this is all – again – buried in nuance. Did he ever ask for a trade? To my knowledge, no. Was there an indication that he might ask for a trade? Yes.
“So, he can look you square in the eye and say, ‘I love Cleveland. I want to be a Cavalier. I love Donovan Mitchell. I never asked for a trade. Let’s go Cavs, woo, woo, woo.’ And everything be true. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t on the table.”
Recently, it was reported that Garland was “pissed” about rumors that he’d request a trade if Cleveland extended Mitchell – the team’s All-Star shooting guard.
Mitchell was already under contract for the 2024-25 season entering this offseason, but he chose to sign a three-year extension with the Cavs to tie himself to the franchise for the long haul.
While the Cavs have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons with their duo of Garland and Mitchell in the backcourt, some of Garland’s numbers have taken a bit of a step back since the team acquired Mitchell – especially in the 2023-24 season.
After making the All-Star Game in the 2021-22 season, Garland has seen both his points and assists per game averages drop in two straight seasons. This past season, he averaged just 18.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Mitchell and Garland are both players who thrive with the ball in their hands. Plus, they are both smaller guards, which makes things a little tougher for the Cavs on defense against teams with bigger backcourt players.
Still, Cleveland improved in the 2023-24 season based on where it advanced in the playoffs, making the second round before losing to the Boston Celtics. In the 2022-23 season, Cleveland won just one playoff game and was knocked out in the first round by the New York Knicks.
It appears that Garland will remain in Cleveland as the Cavs look to turn over a new leaf with Kenny Atkinson as their head coach. Hopefully, Garland can return close to his All-Star form in his third season partnering with Mitchell in the backcourt.
