San Antonio’s efforts were “rebuffed” earlier this offseason.
It seems as if the partnership between Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers is going to continue for at least this upcoming season. Garland has said that he “doesn’t want to be traded.” This came after reports earlier in the summer that his representation could push for a change of scenery if Donovan Mitchell re-signed.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the San Antonio Spurs were one of the teams that tried to pry Garland away from Cleveland. Fisher reports:
Before San Antonio brought Chris Paul to organize the Spurs’ offense around Victor Wembanyama, sources said San Antonio called various teams around the league exploring veteran guards who have still yet to enter their primes. Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland was another talented ball-handler the Spurs called about, sources said, although Cleveland has rebuffed any inbound trade interest for Garland to date.
Garland would be a natural fit in San Antonio. However, Working out a trade with the Spurs was always going to be difficult. Getting better-fitting pieces around Mitchell and the core would be the goal in any trade involving Garland. San Antonio has assets, but not any that would meet that goal in the upcoming season. Any deal that sent Garland to San Antonio would likely need a third team involved to reroute talent to Cleveland. That is something to keep in mind if a possible trade is revisited in the future.
For now, the Cavs seem intent on running things back with the core in hopes that a new voice in Kenny Atkinson is enough to raise this team’s ceiling and get Garland and Mitchell on the same page. Despite the level of success both have had the past two seasons, it has felt like they could’ve gotten more out of the pair of All-Star guards.
Atkinson acknowledged in his introductory press conference that getting the backcourt on the same page is what they’re paying him to do. “We got to make it work,” Atkinson said. “That’s part of the reason I’m here.”
Cleveland’s outlook next season will be determined by whether their core four can amplify each other’s skills in a way they haven’t been able to the past two years. Garland rebounding from a difficult season will go a long way in determining whether or not the group can work together.
