Prior to the calendar officially turning over to the 2024-25 NBA season, Cleveland faced an apparent dilemma. Donovan Mitchell was coming off of an incredible playoff run and was extension eligible, but their star quartet still hadn’t performed as hoped in the postseason aside from his individual exploits in a second round appearance. Reports quickly emerged that Darius Garland’s representation at Klutch Sports would ask the Cavs to move the former All-Star guard if Mitchell returned, hoping to find him a place to be the lead ball-handler.
After firing J.B. Bickerstaff and hiring Kenny Atkinson, the Cavs went ahead and re-signed Mitchell to a 3-year max extension (with a player option in the third year), but have mostly stood pat since. It seems they’ll see if the coaching change can bring more out of their core four before making any rash decisions, which naturally raises questions about how Garland feels about the whole situation.
We got that answer on Sunday, when Chris Fedor of cleveland.com spoke with Garland in Las Vegas and got him to state on the record that he doesn’t want to be traded, shooting down the previous rumors of possible discontent.
“I don’t want to be traded,” Garland told cleveland.com during an exclusive interview before exiting the arena late in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon. “Those are just rumors.”
“It’s always good to see one of our guys get the money they deserve and know he’s going to be back with us for a while,” Garland said. “I was excited. I was excited for him.”
Garland had a rough 2023-24 season, as he never seemed able to get into rhythm after suffering a broken jaw and missing time. However, the year prior, he and Mitchell seemed to fit well offensively and catapulted the Cavs into the top half of the East before an extremely disappointing playoff performance in a first round exit against the Knicks. This year figures to be a determining one for the Cavs, as they’re banking on a new system being able to get their star guard duo rolling together — and figure out how to make Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley work together inside. If they can’t, with Mitchell’s deal only really being for two years, the deadline will feature more trade rumors and if they have another early postseason exit, next offseason would almost surely feature the big moves they put off this summer.