As the Cleveland Cavaliers battle the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, a third Central Division team is now sitting at home watching from afar and pondering its future.
The Milwaukee Bucks were summarily dismissed in five games by the Pacers, and lost more than merely a playoff series. They have lost their way as a title contender, with ill-fitting parts forced around superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and a star wingman in Damian Lillard who never clicked and is now out for a year with an Achilles tear.
Rumors have only intensified in the days since that the biggest trade the NBA has seen since...well, perhaps February, could go down in the coming months. Whether Antetokounmpo, who has consistently said he wants to be on a team that is contending, asks for a trade or whether the Bucks look at their grim future and decide the only viable path forward is trading the two-time MVP, one of the league's five best players could be hitting the trade market this summer.
On the surface, the Cavaliers are not a team that should be in the market for a significant trade. They won 64 games, are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and have a legitimate shot at winning a championship. Add in that there is not a bad contract to be found on the roster, limiting the matcing salary for a deal, and the Cavaliers should be the last team in the mix for a blockbuster trade.
Except...this is Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the three best players in the NBA. The Cavaliers have a phenomenal team, but they don't have a Top-5 player on the roster. As good as their four stars were this season, and as well-fitting and versatile as their bench players are, and as potent as their No. 1 offense is, at the end of the day the best recipe to winning a championship is having all of those things built around a Top-5 player. Cleveland doesn't have one of those.
Could they acquire one? Is there a path to a trade that brings Giannis Antetokounmpo to northern Ohio?
If so, Darius Garland is likely the best centerpiece to build a trade around.
Could the Cavaliers trade Darius Garland for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Garland had a career year this season, making his second All-Star team and scoring at elite efficiency levels. While no one would suggest he is the Cavaliers' best player, he had the best offensive season of anyone on the team. His value around the league at only age 25 is extremely high.
At the same time, his value to the Cavaliers is a step below that. He is not exactly critical to the team's success, as outlined in this piece. The overlap between Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome means the Cavaliers don't rely on him the same way another team might if they were building a backcourt around Garland.
Few trade packages, if any, would contain a player as good as Darius Garland. Most teams trading for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo would need to keep their All-Stars to pair with Giannis or it wouldn't make sense to trade for a win-now superstar. Putting him on a roster that isn't ready to contend isn't any different than his situation in Milwaukee now.
Could the Cavaliers build a package around Darius Garland that entices the Bucks? Perhaps, built on the fact that Garland is the crown jewel and holds a lot of value himself. Yet they would need to find a pathway to increased draft capital to pair with Garland, as well as making the salaries work.
Yet this is the kind of foundation for such a blockbuster trade. It likely doesn't happen if the Cavaliers go deep into the playoffs and make it to the NBA Finals, win or lose. Yet if they stumble early and are contemplating what changes can help them take that next step, a massive swing for a Top-3 player in the league would be enticing.
There are very real barriers to such a trade, but it would also provide a way to a truly special and lethal roster with which to contend in the Eastern Conference. We will explore the concept further over the rest of this week.
On the surface, however, this risky and bold trade is one the organization would need to consider if the stars align this summer.