East Rumors: Cavs, Hornets, Miles Bridges, Bulls, Zach LaVine

Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have no intention of trading guards Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“First off, the Cavaliers are not trading Darius Garland,” Windhorst said during an appearance on ESPN Cleveland. “They’re not trading Donovan Mitchell. … I didn’t realize saying outlandish was such a trigger word [after describing the Cavaliers’ plans this summer]. From now on, I will be very careful to be very bland. I will be extremely bland when I say the Cleveland Cavaliers are not trading Darius Garland.”

• Windhorst added he doesn’t think the Cavs will be able to get another “gigantic star player” in free agency. “They’re going to try to add a couple of role players,” Windhorst said. “They need to add a wing very badly, and they’re gonna try to get that done. It’s going to be a challenge.”
• The Cavs very well could get outbid for some of the free agents they’re looking to land, Windhorst added. “The Cavs are not searching for a star,” he said. “They have their stars. … But they are gonna be improving on the role-player level.”

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— Darius Garland (@dariusgarland22) June 28, 2023

Hornets

Forward Miles Bridges is likely to be back with the Hornets after being suspended last season, Windhorst suggested, echoing previous similar reports

The Hornets made a qualifying offer to Bridges on Wednesday, making him a restricted free agent, as we relayed here.

While there is some outside interest, Bridges may not be able to be involved in a sign-and-trade scenario, Windhorst added. Bridges’ season-long suspension would be the reason why.

Bulls

• The Bulls continue to explore trades on guard Zach LaVine, though they would be seeking a major haul in return, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
• That, combined with the fact LaVine is entering the second season of a five-year, $215 million contract, could make a trade difficult, Fischer noted.
• As an aside, one source told Hoops Wire the Bulls have not made calls on potential LaVine trades, only taken them. In other words, they don’t seem to be aggressively shopping him by any stretch.