A quartet of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen has been the nucleus of the Cleveland Cavaliers since 2022.
Since inception, Cleveland's core four has accumulated a 184-100 lifetime record. The Cavs have held a top-four record in the Eastern Conference each regular season together, most recently reaching the first seed with a 64-18 record last year. Mitchell and Mobley earned All-NBA honors after last season, marking the first time two Cavaliers joined the list since the LeBron James and Kyrie Irving era.
Unfortunately, Cleveland's success through 82 games has not conveyed to the postseason. The Cavs hold a painful 11-15 record across three playoff runs. In each of the Cavs' losing rounds, they have lost in five games - once in the first round and twice in the second round.
With a rocky start to the 2025-26 season, Cleveland's core four has been covered in rumors and trade controversy. Garland has been subject to seemingly every trade proposal for opposing teams in need of a lead guard, often discounting his impact on the Cavaliers' offense. Allen is facing a questionable future with an inflating salary next year and a mixed bag of results this year.
Rival front offices have been watching for the Cavaliers to make a decision about the core. Teams eventually started calling about Mitchell, too, hoping that Cleveland may wane on their loyalty to the All-Star guard.
The Cavaliers aren't tearing down (just yet)
As expected, the Cavs are expected to stand firm on their position with the core again this trade deadline.
Earlier this season, Cleveland was struggling with injuries from the top to the bottom of the depth chart, never yet seeing a healthy team together. The core four hardly saw the court together with Garland's surgery recovery and untimely injuries to Allen.
Now that the core has been healthy, the Cavs have reclaimed some level of conference dominance, earning a 6-4 record over the last 10 games to grab the sixth seed in the East. In that time frame, the Cavaliers finally rediscovered some of their most potent offensive weapons, shooting fifth-best in the NBA at 39.1 percent.
With renewed efficiency and a winning record in the latest stretch, the Cavaliers are seemingly refusing to hear trade offers for any core player. According to Marc Stein of HoopsHype, Cleveland is rebuffing any calls for the quartet and other key contributors, at least during this season. The Cavs seem to see the latest spike in production as a positive sign for a better second half of the regular season.
If the Cavaliers cannot find their stride in the postseason again, though, Stein believes their perspective could change, writing "The current belief among NBA executives is that the possibility of a Garland or Allen trade is more likely in the offseason if it’s going to happen at all."
Restructuring the core mid-season would likely leave gaps and bigger questions about the team's viability. While Allen's lack of physicality costs the Cavs' in the rebounding battle, dealing him now might only leave a larger negative impact on Cleveland's interior defense and rim deterrence.
Unless the Cavs find a perfect Jarrett Allen trade to add wing defense and maintain frontcourt excellence, few trades really make enough sense for the team to ignore their current hot streak.
Garland's impact is especially hard to replicate immediately. He is an offensive engine necessary to Cleveland's system, and while his early season struggles have left his overall net rating low, he is reclaiming his position as a top point guard across the Association.
This trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers' front office is weighing the cost and reward of each core piece. Whether the Cavs are makig the right decision to believe that not making trades will yield a better result than it has the last three times they have tried it is yet to be seen. This season will certainly hold more unease for fans' faith in a legitimate Finals run than the prior postseason after years of disappointment and frustration.