Magic Trade Rumors: Cavs Have ‘Little Interest’ In Trading Darius Garland To Orlando

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly have “little interest” in trading Darius Garland to the Orlando Magic this offseason, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.

“For all the noise these days around Darius Garland in Cleveland, we’ve been reliably told that the Cavaliers and Magic have not held substantive conversations on a Garland deal … and that Cleveland has little interest in helping Orlando improve its standing in the Eastern Conference,” wrote Fischer.

Cavaliers Could Trade Darius Garland For Jalen Suggs

One report from Cleveland.com last month suggested a potential trade involving Garland and Orlando’s Jalen Suggs. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently explained why he believes such a deal is unlikely to happen.

“That can’t be the trade. Darius Garland is an All-Star; Jalen Suggs is not. So, there would have to be other aspects to that trade before I would consider it if I were the Cavs,” said Windhorst.

“If you were to say to me, ‘Is Jalen Suggs a player the Cavs should have interest in?’ I would say, ‘Yeah,’ because Jalen Suggs is from the same class of player that a guy like Jrue Holiday and Alex Caruso are.”

Cavs Are Deep Into The Luxury Tax

Financial complications would also prevent a Garland-Suggs trade.

“[Suggs] is about to start a big contract… You couldn’t trade those guys for each other, really until after July 1, and then once you’re getting to July 1, [the Cavaliers’] are in the second-apron,” Windhorst added.

The De’Andre Hunter trade and extensions for Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley have put Cleveland deep into the luxury tax and over both aprons.

The Cavaliers are $30 million over the tax and $13 million over the second apron. They will pay a projected bill of $57 million, the largest tax penalty in franchise history.

Cleveland cannot aggregate contracts, use more than 100% of the traded player exception, send out cash, or sign a player waived that had a preexisting salary of $14.1 million or more.

Magic Have Become One Of Cleveland’s Rivals

Another reason why the Cavs would refuse the trade is because the Magic have become one of Cleveland’s bigger rivals in the Eastern Conference after the two teams went seven games in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Other teams could emerge as possible trade candidates for Garland this summer. If not, Cleveland may decide to keep its All-Star starting point guard.

Garland has three years left on his contract and is eligible starting on July 8 to add two years and $128.4 million.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the first or second apron is triggered for next season even if the Cavaliers violate one of the restrictions before June 30.