Report: Vultures still waiting for ‘green light’ on Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen

Amid a nightmarish start to the 2025-26 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, there has been talk that Cleveland’s perceived “untouchable” players in trade talks are guard Donovan Mitchell and big man Evan Mobley.

That leaves floor general Darius Garland and big man Jarrett Allen, the other members of Cleveland’s “core four,” more vulnerable to trade buzz with the February trade deadline less than two months away.

But NBA insider Jake Fischer is reporting that “vultures” from other teams around the league are still waiting for the “green light” to make firm trade offers on either one of the two players, an indication that they aren’t currently available.

“There is always a lot of trade chatter surrounding [Ty] Jerome’s former Cavaliers teammate Darius Garland, but I can only disappoint those of you who have been regularly plugging his name into your favorite trade machine this winter,” he wrote.

“I just haven’t heard any credible rumblings about Garland’s availability.

“Maybe that changes as the Feb. 5 deadline draws closer. Vultures from other teams are certainly circling — well aware that the Cavaliers are carrying the league’s highest payroll and falling well short of expectations at 17-15 — but those vultures are still waiting for a green light to make firm trade offers for Garland or Jarrett Allen.

“My sense is that much of incessant noise pertaining to Garland stems from what happened a couple offseasons back, when Garland’s representation at Klutch Sports was said to be pushing for a trade that would have landed him in San Antonio as Victor Wembanyama’s running mate. There was considerable chatter about the aforementioned [Rich] Paul looking to park one of his All-Star-caliber guards next to Wembanyama — then-Klutch client Trae Young was also inserted often into this discussion — but all of that talk was hushed in February when De’Aaron Fox, with Paul’s assistance, was traded from Sacramento to the Alamo City.”

Allen and Garland are both effective players at their respective positions, and they could shake up the title race this season if they were to be traded to certain destinations.

Starting with Garland, while he can be injury-prone, few players in the league bring more to the table as both a scorer and facilitator when at full strength. He can score from all three levels and possesses great vision. Garland holds career averages of 18.8 points and 6.7 assists per game across 398 total regular-season contests.

Allen has a vastly different skill set than Garland. Although he isn’t without his flaws, he has been a double-double machine since he arrived in Cleveland, as he’s averaging 14.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game for his Cavaliers tenure. He’s also a very valuable defender and has finished in the top 10 in Defensive Player of the Year voting on multiple occasions at the NBA level.

Maybe the Cavaliers are just one more bad stretch of play away from making them both legitimately available. After all, they have just a 17-15 record this season after they won 64 games with largely the same roster in the 2024-25 season. Either way, the coming weeks are going to be an important time for the team.