Cavs have not held ‘credible’ trade talks involving Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen

When a season starts to wobble, the noise always follows. Trade rumors pick up, rival teams start sniffing around, and big names inevitably find their way into conversations.

That’s been the case with the Cavaliers. But for now, at least, one name is notably absent from anything resembling real traction.

That would be Darius Garland.

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, there are no “credible” rumblings that Garland is being made available. That doesn’t mean there’s zero chatter. It does mean nothing has crossed into serious or actionable territory.

Fischer adds that rival teams remain in a holding pattern, waiting for what he describes as a “green light” before making firm offers involving Garland or starting center Jarrett Allen, two players who have lived on the rumor mill for years.

Between the two, Allen is the easier case to make. Injuries have interrupted his season, and his play has been uneven. Head coach Kenny Atkinson has leaned more heavily on Evan Mobley at center in key moments, and questions about Allen’s effectiveness against more physical frontcourts haven’t gone away.

Garland, meanwhile, has shown signs of life recently as he works his way back from toe surgery. But the broader numbers remain troubling.

According to Cleaning the Glass, Cleveland’s offense ranks in just the 38th percentile and its defense in the 16th percentile with Garland on the floor. The Cavs (17-16) are also roughly seven points worse per 100 possessions when he plays, the poorest on-off differential of his career.

That context matters. Even if teams were to call, the Cavs would almost certainly be staring at offers that amount to pennies on the dollar.

As a second-apron team, Cleveland lacks the flexibility to flip its roster for volume, and a Garland trade yielding multiple rotation players is unrealistic before the offseason.

In short, a Garland deal is either incredibly complicated, or deeply unfavorable. Most likely, it would be both.

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