Trade chatter is usually just noise. Scroll, shrug, move on.
But when it comes from someone plugged into the Cavaliers, and when it actually lines up with roster reality, it tends to stick a little longer.
That’s what happened when Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor floated a hypothetical on Wine and Gold Talk that immediately made Cavs fans stop and think. A framework built around Darius Garland going to Dallas and Kyrie Irving coming back to Cleveland.
Not nostalgia. Not vibes. Timeline math.
From the Cavs’ side, the urgency is obvious. This is no longer a team inching forward. This is a team staring straight at a Donovan Mitchell window and knowing it doesn’t stay open forever. Development has taken a back seat to results.
“I do think it’s Finals or bust,” Fedor said. And that’s really the heart of it.
Garland is a very good player. But Cleveland already knows what it looks like when things bog down in the postseason. Irving, even coming off an ACL, brings shot gravity, late-game calm, and playoff scar tissue that the Cavs simply don’t have next to Mitchell.
It’s not about the past. It’s about ceiling.
And then there’s Dallas.
With the Mavericks increasingly orienting around Cooper Flagg, the timelines are harder to ignore. Garland is in his prime years. Irving is not. That matters if you’re thinking three to five seasons out instead of one.
“The trajectory of Dallas does not align with Kyrie anymore,” Fedor said. And that’s the cleanest way to put it.
There’s also the boring but important part: Money. Garland and Irving live in roughly the same salary neighborhood, which is not nothing for a Cavs team watching the second apron like a hawk.
Would it be risky? Of course. Would it be emotional? Absolutely. Kyrie walking back into Cleveland would come with all kinds of baggage.
But this isn’t about closure. It’s about leverage, timing, and whether Cleveland believes the current version of its core is enough.
Yes, this is just a thought exercise. But it’s the kind that doesn’t go away easily. Especially if the Cavs stumble again when it matters most.
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Cav’s could do much worse. Oh, wait a minute, they are.
For IT!
Either way — somethings got to improve,,, you can’t continue to have
your primary pt guard continually dribbling so much, burning clock, finally driving into the heart of a collapsing triple-team defense at the basket, jumping up in the air at the last second, going out of bounds trying to throw a pass to,,,, ah, no-one !
I wouldn’t worry about a D Mitch window and If I did I would look to trade him. He’s good, often great, but as a number one option of a team it’s a question whether we could even reach the finals. Cavs need to come to the reality that at least one other person will have to play a role as big as Mitchell. Mitchell is not enough alone. And as a primary option, I believe he’s less efficient than what he could be as a 1b or secondary option. He needs somebody to synergize with because watching him make spectacular plays is not a formula to go to the finals.
We need to be a full force as a team. Right now we play so top heavy with Mitchell. Teams can still load up on him because he’s predictable. That all needs to change somehow.
I am all for a changing of the guard. I love Kyrie. He is near retirement and coming off a severe injury however. So a straight up swap would be negligent.
Also could Fedor be hinting at the team, but have another player in mind too? With all the AD trade chatter, the Cavs seem like a team that is looking for a shakeup. And we’ve read on this site I believe that Dallas at one time had interest in Jarrett Allen.
Let’s swap both for both.. plus we should get a little more back for all the injury history and old age.