It was an incredible regular season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Led by guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and big man Evan Mobley, the Cavs finished with the Eastern Conference’s best record at 64-18 and obliterated the Miami Heat in record fashion with a 4-0 sweep in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Then, the Cavs then ran into the Indiana Pacers, who made quick work of the top-seed, sending the Cavs home in just five games.
Although the Cavs have shown great improvement and progress over the last few years, they have still not been able to advance beyond the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That has led many to speculate what kind of changes the Cavs could make to get over the hump.
Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic Have ‘Framework of a Deal’ Involving Darius Garland, Jalen Suggs
Whether or not Mitchel and Garland could co-exist has been a question since the Cavs put the two together in 2022. Obviously, it looked like they may have finally gotten the answer they were looking for prior to the postseason.
However, after their defeat at the hands of the Pacers, trade rumors are once again swirling around Garland. One team that has been mentioned for over a year in connection with Garland is the Orlando Magic, who have seemingly needed a point guard since Jameer Nelson’s injury during their finals run in 2009. According to Cavs Insider Chris Fedor, the two teams could potentially make a deal involving Magic guard Jalen Suggs.
“I think there’s a framework, and I say framework because salary stuff becomes very difficult for the Cavs,” said Fedor. “So you’re just talking about the general framework with an understanding that other pieces are probably going to have to be involved.
“Maybe a third team is going to have be involved. Matching salary becomes very, very difficult when you’re talking about the Cavs and the salary situation they’re in. But I think there’s a framework of a deal between the Cavs and the Magic that would involve Darius Garland and Jalen Suggs.”
Suggs is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which involved removing a cartilage fragment and repairing the trochlear joint surface using a mosaicplasty back in March, which could make the Cavs (or any other team for that matter) hesitant to make a deal.
When healthy, Suggs is known as a defensive stalwart and someone you can trust to put on the opposing team’s best guard, the type of player that could help any team. Suggs played in just 35 games and averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.
The Magic, one of the league’s best defensive teams, could obviously use another piece on offense, and Garland, who averaged 20.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game last season, would obviously help in that department. Garland also shot 40.1% from beyond the arc last season, which is perhaps the Magic’s biggest weakness. Acquiring Garland to put with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner could also give the Magic their own Big Three.
Suggs signed a five-year, $150,500,000 contract before last season and is set to make $35,000,000 for the 2025-2026 season. However, that salary does go down in each season before he becomes a free agent in 2030.
Garland, who signed a five-year, $197,230,450 deal before the 2023-24 season, is set to make $39,446,090 next season.
