The Cleveland Cavaliers came very close to losing an All-Star player this summer.
Everything is hunky-dory now, and things are going so well in Cleveland that the drama of the summer seem like a distant whisp of a memory. This groups feels like it has always been together, always will be together, and are ready to take on the world together.
The Cavaliers have built something truly impressive this season. They are running away with the Eastern Conference and doing so on the backs of both their stars -- four All-Stars in their primes, including three this season -- and exceptional depth.
Darius Garland is the secret to Cleveland's success
The true secret weapon, the reason the Cavaliers so rarely stumble and are heading for one of, if not the best, regular season finish in franchise history, may not be the excellence of Donovan Mitchell -- as excellent as he has been, on pace to squeeze onto the MVP ballot -- nor the improvement of Evan Mobley -- who is on pace to win Defensive Player of the Year.
There are teams in the NBA who can match the Cavaliers at the top of their rosters. Mitchell and Mobley are incredible, but they aren't the only elite pairing. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the defending champions. LeBron James and Luka Doncic are perhaps the two smartest players in the NBA. Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler have been to eight of the last 10 NBA Finals.
Where the Cavaliers stand apart is when you now add Darius Garland to the mix. It's not controversial to say he is the team's third-best player, but at the same time he is probably having a better offensive season than Donovan Mitchell. Depending on your view of Chet Holmgren, Darius Garland looks like the best No. 3 guy in the entire NBA, and it may not be all that close.
The sixth-year point guard is having an incredibly efficient season, even if he has cooled off slightly in the last couple of weeks. He is averaging 20.9 points per game and 6.7 assists while shooting 40.7 percent from the 3-point line on robust volume. The Cavaliers have the league's best offense, and Garland has been the straw to stir the drink, just as much if not more than Mitchell or Mobley.
Yet all of this success, the chemistry, the comaraderie, the career year -- all of that almost didn't happen.
Darius Garland almost requested a trade
This past summer, Garland's representation -- a little someone named Rich Paul, of Klutch Sports, one of the most influential sports agents in the world now -- went to the Cavaliers seeking clarity. What would Garland's role look like moving forward? Was the organization choosing Mitchell over him? How could he flourish in Cleveland with so many other stars around?
To the credit of Koby Altman and the Cavaliers' organization, they were convincing in that meeting, laying out the vision that must have smelled something like what is happening this season, even if their success is outpacing even wildly optimistic projections. They told Garland that he could thrive in Cleveland, and thrive he has.
Yet if that meeting goes differently, or Mitchell's timeline is different, or another team made an aggressive offer -- suddenly the entire season changes for the Cavaliers. Garland is asking for a trade, the Cavaliers are fielding offers, and then Garland is throwing lobs to Victor Wembanyama or cutting to catch a LeBron James pass or becoming the Cleveland killer alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Everyone is feeling great now, so the reporting all points to Garland never considering a way out. That's fine - it's what you want everyone to say now. Saying anything other, no matter how true, is likely only a negative for team chemistry.
Yet everything the Cavaliers have accomplished, and everything they still hope to achieve, is built on the back of Darius Garland. No Garland, likely no historic season, no shot at a title.
What Ifs are often fascinating. For Cleveland fans, this one is terrifying.