NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs Not Expected to Entertain Offers on Mitchell, Garland, More
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVJune 12, 2024
Don't expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to part with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley this offseason.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday that, "Despite a wealth of interest in both Garland and Allen on the trade market, Cleveland is not expected to entertain trade offers for any member of its core four at this time, sources said, while a league-wide expectation only grows that Mitchell will sign a contract extension with the club that acquired him from Utah back in September 2022."
There were rumors this offseason that Mitchell, in particular, could potentially be traded if he didn't agree to a long-term extension with the Cavaliers this offseason. That sort of talk has cooled, however, especially after former head coach J.B.Bickerstaff was fired.
That move, according to some NBA insiders, was done to appease Mitchell and keep him long term.
ESPN Cleveland @ESPNCleveland"The Cavs in their analysis here felt that keeping JB would not have been an asset in re-signing Donovan Mitchell," - <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WindhorstESPN</a> on how Mitchell fit into this coaching move. <a href="https://t.co/EXI98WFIse">pic.twitter.com/EXI98WFIse</a>
But there was still the matter of whether the rest of the roster works around him. Garland and Mitchell, for instance, haven't proven to be the most seamless fit. The two did have a 4.4 net rating when sharing the court together during the regular season, per NBA.com, albeit only in 36 games. That dropped to a disappointing minus-4.9 in 10 playoff games together.
And then there's the matter of whether starting two traditional bigs in Allen and Mobley makes sense. Might the Cavaliers be better suited with a long, two-way wing instead of a player like Allen?
The Cavaliers still managed to win 48 games in the regular season, earn the No. 4 seed and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs, where they were beaten by the Boston Celtics. Granted, Mitchell missed time in that series, but the team looked overmatched (and going to seven games in the first round against the young Orlando Magic was an indicator that perhaps the Cavs weren't firing on all cylinders).
The team continues to hunt for a new head coach as it looks to shake things up ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. But for now, it would appear the core four of Mitchell, Garland, Allen and Mobley are sticking around.
