Cleveland Cavaliers‘ former All-Star point guard Darius Garland has been named as a potential trade target for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus linked Garland to the Lakers in his list of “1 ‘Realistic’ Dream Trade Target for Every NBA Team.”
Pincus wrote the Lakers “would probably offer both of their firsts” if the Cavaliers make Garland available. However, he noted that such a trade would be complex and would require multiple teams to consummate.
The 24-year-old Garland has four more years left on his five-year, $197 million rookie max extension. He has been long rumored to be a Lakers target because he is also a Klutch Sports client like the franchise pillars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Garland was an All-Star point guard in the East before Donovan Mitchell‘s arrival. His averages dipped from 21.7 points and 8.6 assists to 18.0 points and 6.5 assists between 2021-22 and 2023-24, while his usage rate also fell from 27.8% to 25.3%.
Darius Garland Denies He Wants to Be Traded
However, Garland flatly denied he wanted out of Cleveland despite the lackluster results of his pairing with Mitchell in the Cavaliers’ backcourt.
“I don’t want to be traded,” Garland said in an interview with Cleveland.com in July. “Those are just rumors.”
Garland’s denial came after months of speculation about his future in Cleveland. Not even his agent Rich Paul’s statement saying a trade hasn’t been discussed did not stop the rumors until it came out straight from the horse’s mouth.
“I think people have their own opinions of what works and what doesn’t work, Paul told NBA insider Chris Haynes in May. For me, I think people around the league know, and you definitely know this about me, I’m very matter-of-fact with my approach to everything. If there was something to be discussed, I would discuss it. As of now, there’s nothing to discuss on that.”
Mitchell, was initially reported by ESPN as one of the Lakers star trade targets, but that was before he signed a three-year, $150.3 million extension to remain in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers, like the Lakers, made coaching changes to change their fortunes despite having the same roster as last season. If the Cavaliers get off to a slow start, expect the rumors about breaking up the Garland-Mitchell backcourt to spring back to life.
Lakers Aggressively Seeking Upgrades
The Lakers had a quiet offseason but it did not mean they were not active as Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said during their rookies Bronny James and Dalton Knecht’s introductory press conference.
“We’re going to always be aggressive to trying to make roster upgrades and we’ll be relentless to continue to look at what we can do,” Pelinka told reporters.
The Lakers have their 2029 and 2031 first-round picks at their disposal, along with young players on rookie deals such as Knecht, Jalen Hood-Schifino and mid-size contracts (Max Christie, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent) and the expiring salaries of D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood and Cam Reddish.
They also have five second-round picks from next year’s draft until 2031 at their disposal.
However, the new, restrictive Collective Bargaining Agreement has made trades more difficult to execute.
“If the right deal comes and we have to put in draft picks, we will,” Pelinka told reporters. “We are now in the apron world.”
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
