BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland will always be Browns town, but for at least one day, the Cavs and the NBA can boast that they overshadowed the favorite child of most sports fans in their city.
The NBA rumor mill churned loudly on Tuesday, the same day the Browns held new head coach Todd Monken’s introductory presser. It was so loud, in fact, that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam even had to answer a question about the future of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee (Haslam and Dee Haslam, through their Haslam Sports Group, own a roughly 25% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks).
But by Tuesday evening, roughly eight hours after Monken spoke to local media, it was more than noise. The Cavs were fully in the spotlight, trading injured point-guard and longest tenured member of the team Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick to the Clippers for 11-time All-Star James Harden.
With the NBA’s Thursday 3 p.m. trade deadline approaching, the Cavs had largely been at the center of the rumor mill since 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, when news first broke about the possibility of that trade.
Sources told cleveland.com early Tuesday that the Cavs have expressed interest in Harden, who has helped the Clippers get back into play-in contention after a miserable 6-21 start to the season.
The Harden-Garland deal wasn’t the first trade Cleveland made ahead of the buzzer.
The Cavs acquired veteran point guard Dennis Schroder and rugged swingman Keon Ellis from Sacramento in exchange for De’Andre Hunter — part of a three-team trade that also included Chicago.
So while Monken was delivering his intro remarks in Berea on Tuesday afternoon, Cleveland’s sports fans were abuzz about the possibility of moving Garland, the longest-tenured member of the team (along with Dean Wade) and a member of the celebrated “Core 4,” which also features Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
In 26 games this season, Garland is averaging 18.0 points and 6.9 assists.
But following offseason toe surgery, Garland missed Cleveland’s first seven games. He has also been sidelined since Jan. 16 because of a sprained toe on his other foot and recently underwent re-evaluation that cleared the way for him to return to the court for individual workouts.
The reasons to move on from Garland would not only be related to injuries, but also his bulky contract (he’s owed $87 million the next two years) and his poor defensive profile. On the flip side, Harden has 173 career games worth of postseason experience, and can help to alleviate some of the playmaking burden for Donovan Mitchell.
It’s the kind of win-now move that is gutsy and big -- the exact thing it takes for the post-LeBron James Cavs to steal attention from the Browns. Big names, national headlines and a bit controversial in the eyes of many given Harden’s age (36) compared with Garland’s (26).
And as far as Antetokounmpo, he’s a global superstar. The fact that Haslam was coincidentally available right before the NBA trade deadline presented a prime opportunity that couldn’t be passed up considering how much smoke has surrounded the Bucks star.
For what it’s worth, here’s what Haslam said: “I would say this, Giannis is, I don’t know, top-three, top-four player in the world. He brought Milwaukee it’s the first championship in 50 years, several years ago. And he’s a really good person too. He’s no problem. He’s a great leader. Tries hard, and I think Giannis and the Bucks, and this goes back before we were involved, have always worked closely to see what’s best for Giannis and what’s best for the Bucks, and we’ll continue to do so.”
In short, it was the perfect storm that allowed the Browns to take a backseat this day and in this news cycle.
A world superstar with a random Cleveland connection? Check.
A trade involving a long-tenured member of the Cavs Core 4? Check.
That trade involving a controversial and aging All-Star? Check.
If you’re a Cleveland fan, all of the above is more appealing that worrying about the potential future pairing of Monken and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, or who is going to be Cleveland’s starting quarterback, at least for one day in February.
Of course, the Browns didn’t entirely disappear Tuesday — they never do.
They just faded into the background.
And in a city wired to obsess over football, that might have been the Cavs’ most impressive move of the season.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com's Browns reporters.