Darius Garland, Cavs agree on rookie max extension, set as engine of O

Darius Garland had a breakout season in 2021-22 with 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per contest for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was a heck of a follow-up to a bounce-back year for him in 2020-21. After an underwhelming rookie campaign, for a number of reasons, when he had 12.3 points and 3.9 assists per outing, in Year 2, he responded with 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game.

We saw Garland look far more comfortable in his second year, when he didn’t have his prior meniscus injury in the back of his mind, of which he reportedly did in Year 1, and he seemed far less hesitant.

In his third year, he really came into his own, too. Garland’s playmaking, vision, dazzling handle, quickness, deep range and wide-ranging feel were all on display often in his third year, and he, along with Jarrett Allen, repped the hometown Cavaliers in the 2022 All-Star Game.

The Cavs unfortunately did not end up making the postseason, partially because of injuries, but there were plenty of positives throughout the campaign, of which Garland’s performance was seemingly at the forefront. Despite Cleveland’s late-season slide, Garland was still fantastic, and he broke Mark Price’s Cavaliers record for assists in a calendar month in March with 170, for instance.

Looking onward, based on what he’s shown the past two seasons, it seemed apparent that he’d be a player the Cavaliers would want to keep around for the long haul, and he could very well be on the path to superstardom in coming years.

With those things in mind, and with how he can make other guys around him better, while filling it up himself as well, it wasn’t necessarily surprising that it’s often been rumored that Garland would be set for a rookie-scale max extension this offseason.

That reportedly likely scenario would play out on Saturday afternoon. Garland/his representation in agent Rich Paul and the Cavs agreed to terms on a five-year, $193 million maximum extension, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. That will kick in beginning in 2023-24, and the deal could reportedly end up being as much $231 million, and as Wojnarowski stated, it was the largest deal in Cavs history.

The Cavs solidified Garland as their primary leader moving forward it seems, and I get the rationale here, given all he means to the team as their engine.

For months, it’s seemed as if the Cavs were going to sign Garland long term via rookie max extension, as that’s often been a rumored scenario to play out. The aforementioned report from Wojnarowski was just stamping that firm, if you will; it will not have a player option for Year 5, either.

As we’ve emphasized, Garland followed up what was a bounce-back campaign for him in 2020-21 with an All-Star and breakout season in Year 3. He, along with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, were the key cogs for the Cavaliers in a season where they had a 22-win turnaround, and Cleveland’s 44 wins were their most as a team without LeBron James on the roster since 1998.

Other guys, such as Ricky Rubio before his season-ending injury in late December, and Kevin Love, who was outstanding in his move to a bench role, were crucial as well. I give Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro their share of credit defensively, too, and Lauri Markkanen got better as the season wore on.

It had been rumored that Rubio could very well be returning to the Cavaliers this offseason, as a side note, and he agreed to terms on a three-year deal on Friday. His recovery from ACL surgery would maybe not enable him to be back until seemingly mid-season in 2022-23, though, and it was understandable that Cleveland signed Raul Neto via one-year, veteran’s minimum deal, regarding that.

Circling back to the Garland extension, however, to me, a key takeaway from this rookie max extension is that this ensures that Garland is the primary leader for this team looking onward largely, and he’s their offensive engine.

Other guys will of course factor into the leadership element for Cleveland, and we’ll have to see about a potential LeBron return, which could play out eventually, hypothetically. But generally, this extension for Garland solidifies him as the long-term leader for the Cavs.

He looks to likely be the engine of the Cavaliers offense for the foreseeable future, and while Evan Mobley could establish himself as the centerpiece for the team in the near future, Garland will still likely be the straw that stirs the drink. And that’s both from an on-floor element as one of the best young lead guards in the league, and playmakers as well, and as a locker room presence.

Now, I do hope that the Cavaliers can also come to an agreement on a long-term deal for current restricted free agent Collin Sexton, which would be great news for help around Garland on the perimeter. We’ll keep on the lookout for that possibility, which I do believe will play out eventually, especially given the lack of rumored possible suitors for him addressing scoring guard in the draft and via trade of late.

It’s something to watch still, though, and whether or not a potential sign-and-trade could still play out, perhaps. Sexton’s representation is the aforementioned Paul, Klutch Sports’ CEO, as well.