3 increasingly bold Darius Garland trade proposals Cavaliers have to consider this summer

Trade Proposal No. 3 - Cavaliers and Magic take the next step, Nets finally rebuild

The Cleveland Cavaliers already have an elite frontcourt with Jarrett Allen's career season and Evan Mobley's growing offensive prowess. In a Darius Garland trade, the Cavs should prioritize rounding out their starting five with a dominant forward. As the Brooklyn Nets teeter on the verge of a total breakdown, the Cavaliers do not have the assets to complete a direct two-team deal for Brooklyn forward Mikal Bridges. If they add in the Orlando Magic, another team ready to make the next leap toward the Finals, Cleveland could land Bridges and more.

In a blockbuster three-team trade, the Cavaliers send Darius Garland and Dean Wade to the Orlando Magic and receive Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets in return. The Nets take back a massive star-level deal from the Magic, adding three young talents and a wealth of first-round picks.

The Orlando Magic have an existing young core with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but they lack a true point guard to facilitate their offense. If the Magic want to take that next step, Garland is the perfect option. The Cavs, though, would hardly consider taking any deal centered around draft picks when they want to win now. Entering as the third team, the Nets may have no choice but to rebuild after years of disappointing seasons in NBA purgatory.

Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith are two players who would instantly make the Cavaliers better. They both are lethal three-point shooters and defend at a high level. Bridges takes a massive portion of the scoring load off Mitchell and is known as a prototypical ironman, never missing a regular season game in his career.

Every team will be chasing down Bridges if he becomes available, but the Cavaliers have a difficult yet realistic route to add him. As the NBA's parity grows and navigating the salary cap restrictions only becomes more strenuous, complicated multi-team trades for star players will hardly become unordinary. The Cavs added Jarrett Allen to the team in 2021 from a convoluted James Harden trade. As bold as this type of deal could be, Cleveland could make it happen.

With all this being said, any Darius Garland trade is months away at the earliest, and these conversations may be entirely null and void by the time Cleveland's postseason run ends. Garland is a truly special talent with an infectious positive attitude. The Cavaliers would truly miss his presence, and the fans would, too. Even if the team gets better, a Garland trade is not a fun idea. If the Cavaliers do reach a point where they have to look at moving on from Darius Garland, however, these three proposals could make a path for both Garland and Cleveland to benefit from it.