There has been a trade idea buzzing around NBA circles over the past week, and it has fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers divided. The framework of the trade is one that has been mentioned in the past, but was pushed to the forefront after Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor built an entire podcast around it.
The trade would involve sending Darius Garland to the Orlando Magic for a package built around Jalen Suggs. The value gap would be on the Cavaliers' side, so the Magic would need to send more assets along with Suggs to Cleveland to make the deal work.
The foundation for the deal is clear. The Cavaliers are considering big changes after this group of players fell short of the Eastern Conference Finals yet again in the playoffs. Fedor reported that Cleveland has never been more open to trading Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen. To move a player of Garland's ability, however, there would need to be a significant return coming back in return.
There are a small level of diminishing returns when pairing a small, defensively-limited guard like Garland alongside a small, defensively-average guard like Donovan Mitchell. Most teams built around a high-scoring guard in the modern NBA -- cue all four of the Conference Finalists this season -- have a high-end defender next to them in the backcourt.
The New York Knicks have Mikal Bridges next to Jalen Brunson, who is perhaps an even worse defender than Garland. The Indiana Pacers have Andrew Nembhard next to Tyrese Haliburton. The Oklahoma City Thunder don't have a weak defender in their rotation, but nominally it's Lu Dort beside MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Anthony Edward is the strong defender in the Minnesota Timberwolves' backcourt, one of the reasons that he is such a valuable player.
The Cavaliers are trying to match up with the best of the best and have two limited defenders together in the backcourt. A trade for Garland that brought back an elite defender, therefore, might make enough sense to get things moving.
Why the trade might work for both teams
The Orlando Magic can offer Jalen Suggs, one of the league's very best backcourt defenders. The 6'5" guard went just two picks after Evan Mobley in the 2021 NBA Draft and has had a somewhat surprising career arc. Rather than grow into a dominant on-ball playmaker and scorer, Suggs has become a premier defender and merely a high-level connective piece on offense.
Suggs ranked sixth among all guards last season in Defensive EPM (Estimated Plus-Minus). He was an All-Defense selection in 2023-24 in his third season before missing too much of last season due to injury to qualify. He is one of the league's best at generating steals while also tallying 1.2 blocks per game, a robust number for a player of his size.
The Cavaliers could certainly be taking a step down offensively by moving on from Garland, who was one of the best offensive guards in the league this season and arguably the best offensive player on the league's best offensive team this year. Yet Suggs would be such a defensive improvement that the tradeoff might be worth it, especially if Evan Mobley is ready to take on even more of an offensive role.
The Orlando Magic get an All-Star guard to pair with their star forwards, giving them a high-octane "Big 3" to pair with their defensive core of role players. They would instantly raise their floor and ceiling as a team. Given the rest of the size in their rotation, they may be able to better weather Garland's defensive limitations in a way that the imbalanced Cavaliers could not.
There are real roadblocks to such a deal. Suggs only played 35 games this past season due to injury. He is frequently missing time due to a variety of injuries, in fact, something that Cavaliers fans have been frustrated about with Garland. Can they rely on Suggs to be available to play when the playoffs come around?
There is also the question of how much more value the Magic would be willing to send to the Cavaliers. They value Suggs highly, so adding significant draft compensation to a valuable player may seem outrageous to them. How Koby Altman navigates the negotiation will require a careful hand.
This may not be the trade to pursue, but it clears enough bars initially to look more closely at. Tomorrow we will build out a potential deal involving a third team that could allow the Cavaliers to bring back four valuable pieces in a Garland trade.
This deal has legs. It's why everyone in Cavaliers world is so taken with the idea, for better or for worse.