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Scotto: Cleveland has continued to tell teams they’re not trying to move Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, league sources told HoopsHype. Koby Altman talked about the plus/minus ratings with those guys. They still think Darius is an All-Star-caliber player. He’s young and under contract for the next four years. It would really take a lot for them to move him.
Allen, while I understand they want to keep him, I think he’s an interesting one. They’ve got to figure out if Evan Mobley is going to be the long-term four or five. They’ve made Mobley a franchise cornerstone above Allen in the pecking order.
There’s been some chatter about whether Cleveland would have interest in Brandon Ingram, but I’ve gotten the sense from talking to league sources that Cleveland isn’t enthralled with the idea of trading for him and then having to pay him a ton of money after his contract season. I’m quite confident that New Orleans looks at Garland and values him if they were going to part with Ingram, but I’m not sure that would be a fit (for Cleveland) based on the intel I have.
Fedor: I think they’d have to be blown away for them to consider it (moving Garland and Allen) on both fronts. They’ve gotten offers in the past for Allen specifically. Teams have been poking around on Allen for the last couple of years. There has been interest in Garland. I think there are teams that make sense for Darius who could use him. San Antonio comes to mind certainly, but if they’re not going to give the Cavaliers either Victor Wembanyama or Devin Vassell, what are the Spurs going to offer the Cavaliers that Cleveland would be willing to say yes to?
Scotto: I’ve also heard San Antonio to your point because they need a true young point guard to pair with Wembanyama going forward. Would Cleveland be interested in the No. 4 and 8 overall picks in this draft? I don’t think that’s the move when you’re trying to win now, but I’ll float the question your way.
Fedor: Only if Cleveland felt there was a pathway – because when it comes to trades, it’s not necessarily the move itself. It’s the next move after playing the game of chess. What can they do with those assets after that? If the Cavaliers felt like picks No. 4 and 8 could then be turned around and turn it into something of more value and reconfigure their roster, then I think they’d consider that. I don’t know if there’s that star player out there that fits Cleveland’s timeline and fits the current roster construction by using the No. 4 and 8 picks. I think if they were to move those guys, they’d want more win-now players and a better fit next to Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
The Cavaliers didn’t have a season where they’d consider it a failure. They were one of eight teams to make it to the Conference Semifinals. It’s not a situation where they’re coming off an embarrassing playoff exit like they were against the Knicks, where it was clear that they had to make significant changes to the roster and enhance it.
The front office likes this roster and believes in the core four of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen, and they don’t feel like they need to break up those guys.
