Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Darius Garland‘s future continues to be a discussion point for Cleveland Cavaliers fans and the media. The franchise sees the All-Star guard as expendable if it looks to improve the current rotation in search of a championship.
In a recent episode of “The Bill Simmons Show” podcast, the long-time NBA analyst floated the idea of sending Garland to the Brooklyn Nets. In return, Cleveland would receive Cam Johnson. The idea is that Cleveland would save a significant amount of cap space, while also getting a reliable player back in the deal.
The overall framework would look like this:
Cavaliers Get: Cam Johnson, the 7th overall draft pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and filler
Nets Get: Darius Garland
“I feel like Garland is going to be in play, and I think a lot of people in the league feel this way,” Simmons said. And now in the last week, there’s been some media people and there’s been some buzz about it. There’s a couple pieces to this, which is Cleveland, the second apron, the tax. They have some real money stuff.”
Simmons continued.
“So if they trade Garland, they have to go down a little bit. I was looking at Brooklyn for him, and that’s going to be my ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if’ team. With Brooklyn, if it was Garland and Okoro, Cam Johnson coming back to the Cavs with the number-seven pick and some other asset, because I think he’s worth more than that. But there’s something there.”
Johnson had a strong season for the Nets. He averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 47.5% from the field and 39% from 3-point range. He would add a new dynamic to the Cavaliers’ rotation, either as a starter or coming off the bench.
Garland Recently Underwent Surgery
According to a June 9 report from ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst, Garland recently underwent surgery on the toe injury that hampered his postseason.
“Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland had surgery Monday to repair the left big toe injury that troubled him during the playoffs and is expected to miss four to five months,” Charania and Windhorst reported. “…The procedure was performed by Dr. Nicholas Strasser at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in consultation with Cavaliers team doctor James Rosneck of the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Bob Anderson of OrthoCarolina.”
That injury could derail the Cavaliers’ chances of finding a willing trade partner for Garland. However, if the Nets believe he could be their long-term cornerstone, they may look past his current recovery period and look to make the deal anyway.
Cavaliers Could be “Open Minded” Over Garland
Brian Windhorst told ESPN radio on Thursday, June 5, that the Cavaliers will be “open-minded” regarding the guard’s future.
“The message was very hard out there. Koby [Altman] was on the record, I’m pretty sure, saying, ‘We’re not trading Darius Garland,’” Windhorst said. “A year later, I think there’s some belief that Darius Garland might be available under the right circumstances…I don’t think Darius Garland wants to go anywhere. I think Darius Garland is very happy with how things have developed in Cleveland, and he really likes it. He likes the role that he’s got.”
Garland’s future will undoubtedly be a talking point all summer. However, the fact remains that he is coming off his best season in the league. Therefore, Cleveland may be open to running things back with him and Donovan Mitchell leading the charge.
Whatever happens, the Cavaliers will want to improve on their postseason performance, and that means changes may need to happen. Where those changes come from, will be the interesting part of the summer.