Dalius Garland: Should the Cavaliers trade him?

Recalling the first major deal in the offseason this season, Bain, who is fulfilling the five-year contract in the second year of the Grizzlies, traded to the Orlando Magic, in exchange for Pope and Cole Anthony, with four first-round draft picks (plus a draft pick swap).

For both parties to the transaction, this is a transaction with extremely high upper and lower limits. The Magic took a big step in winning the championship, making up for the team's biggest shortcoming in the team's outside firepower and defender's ball holding point, while the Grizzlies have hoarded a large amount of future assets and replaced Bain with experienced veteran Pope, which can maintain a certain competitive foundation at least in the short term.

Amplify the value of this deal, and the winner behind this may not be the Orlando Magic or the Memphis Grizzlies, but may be the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Also an opponent team in the Eastern Conference, the Magic's reinforcement operation will undoubtedly make it more difficult for the Cavaliers to break out of the Eastern Conference next season, but from another perspective, this transaction directly raised the trading market of second-tier stars, and the Cavaliers may be able to get benefits from this.

Replicate the Grizzlies' route and find a new way out for Garland in advance?

As the number one team in the Eastern Conference this season, the Cavaliers' exit in the playoffs is naturally not the expected result. After being eliminated early in the season, rumors of trading around All-Star point guard Garland also emerged again.

Judging from this season, Garland just played a very outstanding regular season performance, averaging 20.6 points and 6.7 assists per game, and shooting percentages in the three events were 47.2%, 40.1%, and 87.8%, respectively, which is the key output for the Cavaliers to score 64 wins. However, in the playoffs, due to injuries, his personal data declined across the board, averaging 18 points and 5.2 assists per game, with shooting percentages of 42%, 28.6%, and 91.7%, respectively.

Although Garland is currently trapped by a toe injury, he is still one of the outstanding ball handlers in the league in health. But his advantages seem to be only on the individual. From the team level, if you want to find out the Cavaliers’ faults, basically all the shortcomings point to the problem of being too small in the backcourt.

The team's core player Mitchell is not very good at playing, and Garland's defense is the biggest problem. His size and strength are insufficient, so it is difficult to deal with switchovers on the defensive end, especially in a targeted series of games like the playoffs.

Of course, this does not mean that Garland is a low-level star, but the combination of him and Mitchell is indeed quite problematic, especially when the Cavaliers lack high-quality defenders on the wing, the team's shortcomings are becoming more and more obvious. Therefore, if the Cavaliers can use Garland as the main bargaining chip to exchange for several qualified role players, or even bring a large amount of draft pick assets to the team like Bain's trade, this may not be a suitable option.

Although it may not be sure that the team breaks through the East, this can at least bring rotation depth to the Cavaliers and solve the current backcourt defense loopholes.

Of course, simply giving up Garland does not necessarily make the team better, but if it can be exchanged for a backcourt partner with more stable defense and higher attendance, or a tall wing with more potential, plus a portion of draft pick chips to fight for Mitchell's offensive partner, it is indeed worth the Cavaliers to consider carefully.

Combined with Bain's trading market, the value of the two-time All-Star guard Garland should not be too bad, or even higher.

So, under the premise of Garland's trading, which teams in the market are likely to win Garland?

Before Bain was traded, Magic might be Garland's most ideal home to settle down. The Magic have begun to pursue record in recent years. They need to strengthen the offensive engine of the backcourt and also need a stable peripheral shooter.

As a rule of thumb, Garland was originally the candidate who could perfectly play this role, and the sufficient magical defensive resources could also cover up his defensive shortcomings. But now that the magic has taken action, it is naturally not under the consideration of the Knight.

But now more and more defenders have already belonged to them, and there are not many teams in the market that perfectly match Garland's strong offense and weak offense. His own problems are similar to the Cavaliers' own difficulties. If the team already has an offensive defender, Garland may find it difficult to match.

Despite this, Garland's offensive talent is still unquestionable, and his joining can make any offensive system more effective. And if the Cavaliers really choose to put him on the trading shelves, the market should not be deserted.