{"id":78717,"date":"2024-05-24T14:37:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T18:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=78717"},"modified":"2024-05-24T14:37:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T18:37:08","slug":"cavs-rich-paul-addresses-darius-garland-trade-request-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/24\/cavs-rich-paul-addresses-darius-garland-trade-request-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"East All-Star\u2019s Agent Addresses Trade Request Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the Cleveland Cavaliers elimination from the 2024 NBA Playoffs, several problems that had remained hidden from the public eye began to surface.<\/p>\n

Their now former head coach<\/a> had long been on the hot seat, with Cavs general manager Koby Altman laying into him in mid-December. News of the incident spread throughout the organization, even seeping into the locker room. Donovan Mitchell<\/a> was particularly bothered by J.B. Bickerstaff\u2019s approach. However, his teammates also openly questioned him.<\/p>\n

Mitchell, who will discuss a contract extension<\/a> with Cleveland down the line, was acquired by the Cavs two years ago. With the Utah Jazz opting for a rebuild, the explosive guard took a flight to Northeast Ohio, where he would star alongside Darius Garland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, while the two have been friendly, it appears that Garland now wants to end that partnership. While the rumors haven\u2019t quite been confirmed, if Mitchell decides to stay in Cleveland, he\u2019ll leave instead<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rich Paul Addresses Darius Garland Trade Request Rumors<\/h2>\n

In a wide-ranging interview<\/a> with Bleacher Report\u2019s Chris Haynes, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul addressed the recent rumors that his client would seek a trade if Mitchell reached a contract extension with the Cavs. As usual, the longtime superagent was calculated in his response. Political, even.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not much to say,\u201d Paul says. \u201cI think people have their own opinions of what works and what doesn\u2019t work. For me, I think people around the league know\u2026 I\u2019m very matter of fact with my approach on everything. If there was something to be discussed, I would discuss it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of now, there\u2019s nothing to discuss on that,\u201d he reiterates. \u201cMy job is to evaluate every situation… It\u2019s a lot more to it than just negotiating a contract after four years\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

While extensive, his response was ambiguous, leaving Garland\u2019s future with the Cavs up in the air. As Paul continued speaking though, the motivations for a potential Garland trade became clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou try to position guys a certain way to continue to have value,\u201d Paul explains. \u201c… The league is one that is fluid. It doesn\u2019t stop for nobody. It continues to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026Having the talent they have, and the production, allows them to maintain value,\u201d he concludes, as he continues to key in on the underlying reasons behind Garland\u2019s rumored ultimatum. \u201cThat value transitions into compensation\u2026 Sometimes you have to protect that for as long as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forward-Thinking Floor General<\/h3>\n

With those words, it seems as if Garland is of the mind that his growth or production could be stunted if Mitchell remains in The Land. As Garland averaged 16.9 points and 6.3 assists alongside the five-time All-Star<\/a> in 2023-24, his concerns may be valid. In the season prior to Cleveland acquiring Mitchell, he averaged career-highs of 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game, earning an All-Star berth.<\/p>\n

Garland\u2019s star power, which indirectly affects voting for NBA awards and all-league honors, could also take a hit. Mitchell has overtaken Garland as the face of the Cavs\u2019 franchise, leading to the former fifth overall pick playing in his shadow.<\/p>\n

All of this could also have an impact on his next contract. Though he\u2019s under contract through 2028, at 24-years-old, his next deal should be his best one. He\u2019ll be in the theoretical prime of his career, when his athletic ability, basketball IQ and skill should all be peaking. If he\u2019s teamed up with Mitchell that whole time, his next contract may look far different than if he was the best player in the backcourt.<\/p>\n

There doesn\u2019t seem to be any personal problem between Garland and Mitchell. The young floor general is just forward-thinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the Cleveland Cavaliers elimination from the 2024 NBA Playoffs, several problems that had remained hidden from the public eye began to surface. Their now former head coach had long been on the hot seat, with Cavs general manager Koby Altman laying into him in mid-December. News of the incident spread throughout the organization, even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":78723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_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":[9,1608,62,3,4721],"tags":[1937,900,49128,4557,4774,2389],"class_list":["post-78717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cavaliers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-darius-garland","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-jb-bickerstaff","tag-nba-offseason","tag-rumors","tag-rich-paul"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78717","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=78717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}