Every time the Cleveland Cavaliers struggle or come up short, Darius Garland finds himself in trade rumors or has his importance questioned. Despite the Cavs never showing real interest in moving him, these conversations have been persistent.
Even Garland himself has said that he loves the city of Cleveland, and calls it his second home. This is a guy who is the team’s longest tenured player and has been through a rebuild. He’s been an All-Star twice, and is steadily building his legacy as one of the better players to don the wine and gold.
Cavaliers need the best version of Darius Garland to realize their championship dreams
Those around the NBA understand Garland’s importance to the Cavs’ success. As good as Donovan Mitchell is, Garland is the engine of Cleveland’s offensive identity: pace, space, and ball movement. Take him out of the equation, and the team is not the same.
The Athletic’s Fred Katz outlined as much on an appearance on The Zach Lowe Show. He called Garland the brain of the Cavs’ offense and that they are their best version when he is healthy.
The numbers support this as well. Since December 22nd, Cleveland is fourth in offensive rating and are 7-4. During that span, Garland is averaging nearly 19 points per game and seven assists on 63 percent true-shooting.
In his first 13 games, his true-shooting was down at 51 percent and his points and assists were at 16.9 and 6.5 respectively. He wasn’t creating his usual burst, but he has regained his form since then.
The signature bounce in his step is back. His ability to attack mismatches and get to the paint has been revived as well. He looks much more confident in his surgically repaired toe.
Garland’s teammates and coaches acknowledge this reality as well. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said that they need Garland to be elite every night to win games and that it finally feels like he is getting back to his All-Star form.
If Cleveland wants to be a contender, they need Garland at his best every night. Trading him now wouldn’t give the Cavs players back that could fill his role or upgrade them at a certain spot in a meaningful way. They need DG the PG at his best in order to maintain the offensive identity they have spent years trying to build. Garland needs to be the one to raise the ceiling of this team.