By james art The Cleveland Cavaliers won their season opener in emphatic fashion, crushing the Toronto Raptors by a score of 136-106.
That won’t stop people from bringing up the Cavaliers’ stars in trade speculation, though.
Both Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen were seen as trade candidates during the offseason, and Cleveland even received inquiries from teams about both players.
The Cavs chose to keep both stars, even extending Allen’s contract. But could the Cavaliers turn around and trade one of them before the February deadline?
Zack Buckley of Bleacher Report thinks so, placing Garland and Allen on his list of the top 10 trade candidates in the early stages of the 2024-24 NBA campaign.
“You may see this slide and wonder, Wait, didn’t Allen just get a contract extension? Well, yes, he did, but the three-year, $91 million deal signed in early August doesn’t necessarily tie his future to the franchise,” Buckley wrote of Allen.
In truth, the extension could actually do Allen more marketable as a club could secure him long-term on a very reasonable salary.
Buckley also sees a path to Cleveland, dumping Garland as well.
“Just like Cleveland’s frontcourt, there are some awkward cuts in this backcourt combination,” Buckley wrote. “Garland and [Donovan] Mitchell are both undersized for their positions, best with the ball in their hands and, to be fair, not super reliable defensively.”
Of course, things would have to really go south or horizontal for the Cavs to seriously consider such a drastic roster move, but it definitely doesn’t seem out of the question.