An encouraging 64-win season for the Cleveland Cavaliers ended in a disappointing second straight semifinal round exit, despite the 2024-25 vintage of the team wielding homecourt advantage against the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers this spring.
The team was beset by injury issues, which cost All-Stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley games (two, in Garland's case), and saw reserve forward De'Andre Hunter miss a contest due to a health problem, too.
Heading into the summer, the big question facing this team is simple: is Cleveland's "core four" of Garland, Mobley, All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, and All-Star center Jarrett Allen good enough to win it all?
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works between Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) and Jalen Suggs (4) in the first quarter at Target Center.
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
A new trade pitch from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com sees the Cavaliers swapping offense for defense, and bringing on some high-upside youth, while ditching one of the more movable pieces of this core.
Fedor proposes that Garland be moved to the Orlando Magic, who finished with a 41-41 record and the East's No. 7 seed this year, in exchange for All-Defensive point guard Jalen Suggs and rookie wing Tristan Da Silva. Fedor notes that he had already pitched this deal on his Wine And Gold Talk Podcast.
"One of the primary questions about Garland’s playoff viability centers on his defensive limitations and how much those become magnified sharing the backcourt with 'undersized' Donovan Mitchell," Fedor notes.
"In more than 2300 regular-season minutes, the Cavs had a 113.4 defensive rating with Garland on the floor," Fedor adds. "In 1650 minutes without him, the Cavs got better, with a rating that improved to 106.6 — a number on equal footing with the top-ranked Thunder."
Garland is all of 6-foot-1, while Mitchell is listed at 6-foot-3, although he looks a bit shorter to this writer. Neither is a terrific defender. While Mitchell has a solid 6-foot-7 wingspan, he cedes significant height as a two-guard.
Cleveland is reportedly amenable to trading Garland, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
"It isn’t hard to see him fitting on this Cleveland roster and surviving — probably thriving — in a playoff environment," Fedor writes of Suggs. "It’s also fair to wonder how much better Suggs would look in a more free-flowing, player-friendly system outside of Orlando."
The 6-foot-5 Suggs, meanwhile, can play both guard positions, and has plenty of room to grow on offense at just 24.