The Cleveland Cavaliers swapping Darius Garland for James Harden was always a controversial move. And thus far, it’s worked out just as poorly as Harden haters envisioned for the Cavs. Yes, Cleveland broke through and made the conference finals, but they embarrassingly got swept by the New York Knicks, with all four losses coming by double digits. Regardless of what head coach Kenny Atkinson says about the expected outcome, it was a catastrophic series for the Cavs.
Furthermore, two seven-game series against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons proved there were flaws with the Cavs. Most importantly, regarding the Harden trade, he struggled significantly, averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 turnovers, on 41/29.9/83.1 shooting splits.
Harden’s lack of advantage creation, subpar defense, and inability to make proper reads as a playmaker were all contributing reasons why the Cavs lost. Expecting a 36-year-old who has never been known for his playoff abilities to be the team’s missing championship piece was always a risky proposition, especially since Garland is just 26.
I don’t think the outcome of the playoffs would have changed had they kept Garland. However, the Harden trade clearly shrunk the Cavs’ timeline, and they have no choice but to extend him this summer. With the need to level up, they’ll likely double down on this timeline, whereas they had a perfect pivot before.
The Cavs are now locked into James Harden’s timeline
To reach the next level, roster changes are clearly needed (especially with other teams in the East primed to improve), and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is expecting these changes to happen. Now, though, they are forced into a condensed window, and this could lead to some desperate moves, including trading Evan Mobley.
In fairness, the most likely scenario for Mobely to be traded is in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. I’ll admit that at the surface level, Giannis would move them closer to genuine title contention. However, it’s worth noting that Giannis is 31 with an extensive injury history. Even if they do pull off a trade for him, it’s unlikely that they could fill in their other roster flaws and ultimately reach their title aspirations.
Financially, the Cavs enter the offseason as a second-tax apron team. As such, they’ll need to match salaries in any trade. Giannis makes $8.3 million more than Mobley, which means the Cavs would have to make a move to free up cap space or make it a three-team deal in order to trade for Giannis. Jarrett Allen’s $28 million is the most logical salary to be moved. Trading Allen would also help the Cavs overcome the hurdle that their lack of draft capital provides them.
Giving up on a promising 24-year-old who has another level to reach offensively and is an elite defender for an injury-prone 31-year-old (even if it’s Giannis) is already rich. Adding Allen into the equation would be a pure desperation move to me, especially considering the modern NBA is all about depth.
Moreover, one of the Cavs’ most under-discussed yet glaring needs is on-ball perimeter defense. They had no natural matchup for Jalen Brunson and Cade Cunningham before him, and it hurt them. Trading for Giannis doesn’t solve this problem. Even if trading both Mobley and Allen opens up some flexibility, it will be hard to find an elite on-ball stopper that they desperately need.
Of course, a Giannis trade isn’t guaranteed, but now that they are locked into Harden’s timeline, a move for an aging star feels more likely than not. A reunion with LeBron James has been well-discussed, but he doesn’t want to give the Cavs a hometown discount. Thus, if they do bring LeBron back, it would likely involve a sign-and-trade with Allen.
As touching as LeBron returning might be, are we really going to sit here and act like that would move the Cavs to serious contention? While trading Allen wouldn’t be as disastrous long-term as trading Mobley, at 28, he still has plenty of strong years ahead of him.
If the Cavs don’t pull off a move for an aging star, they’ll still be stuck with a compromised window because they traded for a 36-year-old.
One way or another, keeping Darius Garland could have helped the Cavs reach their title aspirations
Maybe the core four of Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Donovan Mitchell would have never been able to get over the hump. However, had they kept Garland, they would have been more likely to pursue moves around the edges for an elite on-ball defender instead of a panic move for an aging star.
And if the Cavs had concluded that this core has reached its ceiling, trading Mitchell wouldn’t have been an awful idea; the Cavs may have even been forced to do so.
Yes, he’s a top-15 level player, and it would have ruined their title window in the immediate sense. Nonetheless, trading Mitchell could have given the Cavs a high-end young player to complement Mobley and Allen, along with some draft capital. In the end, this could have allowed the Cavs to win a championship down the road.
Mitchell said he wants to stay in Cleveland despite another playoff disappointment, which is great at the surface level. Regardless, if the Cavs double down on an aging timeline around him, I doubt they’ll truly be in the title mix, and it all goes back to the original sin of trading for Harden.
More NBA news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
