If you have been watching the NBA lately, you’ll know that Darius Garland has been a huge question mark for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Many people have taken to social media to suggest different moves that involve trading Darius. Today we will be looking at three of these through grading, how likely, and if this trade would even work. Let’s get started.
Darius Garland for Malik Monk and a salary filler: D+
This is an obviously bad trade for the Cavs, as they would be trading for someone older and with less output. While Monk does have great shooting percentages with 45.7% fg, 44.6% 3pt, and 87.5% ft, it does not tip the scales enough to make up for his lack of scoring. This is a crucial problem as Garland’s role is to be another threat alongside Donovan and Mobley. By taking away that third offensive threat, you are allowing the defense to experience less stress. This trade is very unlikely to happen and on the financial side, would be a headache to figure out due to the second apron tax. Overall this trade gets a D+.
Darius Garland for Lamelo Ball: C
A one for one trade between the Hornets and Cavaliers seems good at first glance until you go into the roots of it. As of late, Garland has been injury prone, as has Lamelo. The Cavs would be trading for one question mark for another. Also, the playstyle of Coach Kenny Atkinson would not fit well with Lamelo. However, Lamelo’s chemistry with his brother lonzo and his production rate would complement the team. This trade is more likely to happen than the previous but isn’t too likely. However, with the Hornets front office not in a good relationship with Lamelo, they may decide to move off him. Again however this trade, due to the second apron, is a financial nightmare. All in all this trade gets an average C.
Darius Garland for Ja Morant: F
This trade has to be one of the worst, Ja Morant is too ball dominant to be next to Donovan and Mobley. He also is a liability to miss games due to suspensions. His negative attitude and persona would be detrimental to the chemistry in the locker room. Also the cavalier’s 3pt style of play would really be a bad fit for Ja. His lack of self control and lack of respect for others would really hurt the team. This trade would and should never happen. It gets the low grade of an F.
Conclusion
Overall, with the financial rules that the Cavs would have to deal with, and the stellar performance from DG against the pacers, Garland is most probably here for the long haul. He won’t be able to put up the same numbers from last year right away. We need to remember that the kind of injury he got impacts his exact style of play. He is still a core piece of our puzzle, just let him shake off the rust.
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