{"id":142473,"date":"2025-05-29T14:14:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T18:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=142473"},"modified":"2025-05-29T14:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T18:14:49","slug":"cavs-magic-framework-jalen-suggs-darius-garland-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/29\/cavs-magic-framework-jalen-suggs-darius-garland-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavs, Magic Have &#8216;Framework&#8217; For Blockbuster Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Amid whispers about the Cleveland Cavaliers&#8217; willingness to entertain trades <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Wh9aOM7N6wo&amp;t=542s\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">involving their core players<\/a>, Cleveland.com&#8217;s Chris Fedor has cranked up the volume. &#8220;I think there&#8217;s a framework of a deal between the Cavs and the (Orlando) Magic that would involve Darius Garland and Jalen Suggs&#8221; the longtime beat writer reports (h\/t Legion Hoops on X).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cI think there\u2019s a framework of a deal between the Cavs and the Magic that would involve Darius Garland and Jalen Suggs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisFedor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ChrisFedor<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vBfvlHcdMh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/vBfvlHcdMh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LegionHoops\/status\/1928111866238116232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Given the respective needs of Cleveland and Orlando, such a trade would likely benefit both teams. Nevertheless, it&#8217;s a hypothetical blockbuster that needs serious inspection.<\/p>\n<h2>Cavs, Magic Have Framework For Darius Garland-Jalen Suggs Trade<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garlada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darius Garland<\/a>, now a two-time All-Star, was selected fifth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Cavs have invested plenty of resources in the skilled point guard, who has averaged 20.6 points and 7.4 assists per game over the past four seasons. One of the best snipers in the league, Garland&#8217;s already third in franchise history in career 3s (897).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_142478\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-142478\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-142478\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_23181161_168404789_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-142478\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">May 3, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) controls the ball in front of Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) during the first quarter of game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/suggsja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Suggs<\/a> was also a fifth overall pick, though in the 2021 NBA Draft. To this point in his career, he hasn&#8217;t earned an All-Star selection. However, he&#8217;s a stout perimeter defender, even getting a vote for Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24. As he&#8217;s grown more confident, he&#8217;s become a more impactful scorer, averaging a career-high 16.2 points per game in 2024-25.<\/p>\n<h3>Why The Cavs Make The Trade<\/h3>\n<p>Though Garland has taken strides as a defender, swapping him for Suggs still allows the Cavs to improve their point-of-attack in a meaningful way. He&#8217;s pressing up, moving players off their spots. Flying in for steals in blocks. Hustling.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Probably my favorite clip from Magic Exit Interviews<\/p>\n<p>Goga Bitadze:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur heart is still Jalen Suggs. He sets a different tone, almost forces you, you have no choice but to play defense\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2LPE12KkE5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/2LPE12KkE5<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Q3fzvb4u8L\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Q3fzvb4u8L<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Huncho Hoops (@HunchoHoops) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HunchoHoops\/status\/1918062775433105657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Suggs isn&#8217;t quite as potent a scorer, but that may not bother Cleveland as much as it would another team. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mitchdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Mitchell<\/a> has made a career out of being an offensive engine. 2025 Defensive Player of the Year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mobleev01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Mobley<\/a> has the potential to make more of a dent on the scoreboard. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/huntede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">De&#8217;Andre Hunter<\/a> is coming off of a career season. 2025 Sixth Man of the Year finalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jeromty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ty Jerome<\/a> could return in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>The ease with which opposing point guards have had success against them is still a weakness though and it just reared it&#8217;s ugly head in the playoffs.<\/p>\n<h3>Why The Magic Make The Trade<\/h3>\n<p>The Magic don&#8217;t have the luxury of a third option, which was their problem in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/anthoco01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cole Anthony<\/a> is a firecracker, but may or may not explode. More importantly, he&#8217;s a player whose future in Orlando isn&#8217;t secured. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/blackan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Black<\/a>, more of a defensive specialist, is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/13\/magic-anthony-black-career-game-regular-season-finale\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a work in progress<\/a>. Not only does Black need to grow more comfortable as a scorer, he needs to refine his guard skills. If that doesn&#8217;t happen, team leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/banchpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paolo Banchero<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wagnefr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Franz Wagner<\/a> aren&#8217;t left with enough support at that end.<\/p>\n<p>Garland would fix that. The hope would be that he retains his recent defensive intensity. Nevertheless, the need for a third option is so great that Orlando might be willing to overlook it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid whispers about the Cleveland Cavaliers&#8217; willingness to entertain trades involving their core players, Cleveland.com&#8217;s Chris Fedor has cranked up the volume. &#8220;I think there&#8217;s a framework of a deal between the Cavs and the (Orlando) Magic that would involve Darius Garland and Jalen Suggs&#8221; the longtime beat writer reports (h\/t Legion Hoops on X). [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":142479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4721,1608,9,62,3,17],"tags":[1937,3259,4774],"class_list":["post-142473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trade-rumors","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-nba","category-news","category-magic","tag-darius-garland","tag-jalen-suggs","tag-rumors"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142481,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142473\/revisions\/142481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}