The Cleveland Cavaliers traded away Darius Garland at the deadline this past season, but apparently, this move was in the works as far back as 2024. That season, Garland broke his jaw and had a tough time finding a rhythm next to Donovan Mitchell. That year ended in an anticlimactic five-game series loss to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
After that series, The Athletic reported that Garland’s agent, Rich Paul, “would have conversations with Cavs officials on potentially finding a new home for
the one-time All-Star.”
Garland ended up staying with the team and vehemently denied any reports that he was possibly unhappy in Cleveland by the time the next season rolled around.
“I told [Koby Altman] I wanted to be here,” Garland said during media day before the 2024-25 season. “I really don’t know [where the rumor came from], it came out and it was definitely false.”
He went on to say that he was happy that the Cavs committed to Mitchell that summer and that they have a great relationship off the court.
Earlier this week, Paul said on the Game Over podcast that Garland “wanted to get out” of Cleveland back in 2024 and the San Antonio Spurs were an option before they traded for De’Aaron Fox.
“[Garland] was flustered, he was frustrated and he wanted to get out,” Paul said. “We were having a conversation, and I said to him at the time, you got to get somewhere…I don’t want you to take a dip. And the Spurs, before they got the second pick, they needed a point guard. And I thought next to Wemby, with shooting and all that. And then things changed and he was fine.”
As a point of clarification, the Spurs had the second pick in the most recent draft, not the one before. Based on when the Fox trade happened in Feb. 2025, presumably Paul is talking about the 2024 draft when San Antonio took Stephon Castle number four overall. This also lines up with when Garland was disgruntled.
The Cavs were able to work things out in the 2024-25 season as Paul alluded to. Garland played the best basketball of his career, and the Cavs looked like a threat to win the Finals. Then, that all went away after Garland injured his toe that spring.
Last February, it seemed like the Garland trade for James Harden came out of nowhere. Looking back, it’s clear that this has been brewing for a while. It was just a matter of when, and not if.
