The Cleveland Cavaliers made an offer for Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant before he was traded to the Houston Rockets.
Despite their flameout in the second round this spring, the expectation was that the Cleveland Cavaliers were comfortable with running it back with their roster. President of basketball operations Koby Altman said as much in his end-of-season presser. This meant that the core four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen were largely safe.
As we have all learned, no one is safe in today’s NBA and teams will explore every avenue to improve. Nonetheless, it was surprising to see the Cavs inquire about an All-Star forward who was on the trade market.
The Cavaliers called about Kevin Durant
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor reported that the Cavs offered Garland to the Suns for Durant, but Phoenix declined the offer. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst confirmed that report and also added that Cleveland was not on Durant’s list of preferred destinations and Houston was. The Suns were looking to do right by Durant and trade him to where he wanted to be.
It has been widely reported that the Cavaliers would not trade Garland unless they were blown away by an offer. In the wake of his toe surgery, teams have been looking to acquire the All-Star point guard at a bargain price, but Cleveland has rebuffed those inquiries.
A Durant trade would have been nearly impossible for Cleveland and Phoenix to complete, given the fact that both teams are in the dreaded second apron. A Garland-for-Durant swap would be illegal, so the Cavs would have to add additional salary to send to the Suns and bring in a third team as well.
The Cavs may be more active in the trade market this summer.
This shows that the Cavs may be more willing to make a big move to improve their team and give them a better chance at coming out of the East next year. With the conference in a weak state currently in light of the injuries to Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard, Cleveland recognizes that this will be their best chance to get over the hump. If it means giving up Garland or even Allen, then they have to consider it because if they don’t make a deep run next year, then the team will almost assuredly be blown up.
I have been on the record saying that the Cavs would be silly to trade Garland for the sake of trading him. Getting back someone like Jalen Suggs or Jalen McDaniels just would not make sense. If Cleveland were to get an All-Star back, then it would be something worth entertaining, like a Durant trade.
There were many hurdles to acquiring Durant given the Cavs’ salary situation, but their willingness to explore this avenue shows that the team will not leave any stone unturned this summer. Cleveland has already been shopping Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade around the league and now with their interest in Durant, expect them to remain active on the trade market.