Cavs predicted to cut ties with $197 million superstar via trade to Nets

The Cleveland Cavaliers might be forced to break up their core this offseason.

Paying the star trio of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley isn’t a feasible long-term plan. The three players would be eating up $152.5 million of combined salary if they were still on the roster by 2027.

And if Cleveland doesn’t make a move, they will be. Don’t forget about Jarrett Allen, ballooning that 2027 figure to $182.7 million.

After a disappointing second-round playoff exit, the time could be ripe for Cleveland to re-tool and cut some costs.

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons suggested doing just that, predicting that the Cavs could trade Garland before the NBA draft.

“I feel like Garland's gonna be in play … there's been some buzz about it,” Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast.

“There's a couple pieces to this … (for) Cleveland: the second apron, the tax … they have some real money (concerns). … I was looking at Brooklyn for him … Garland and (Isaac) Okoro (to the Nets) … Cam Johnson coming back to the Cavs with the number seven pick and some other asset because I think (Garland is) worth more than that.”

Simmons meant to say the No. 8 pick, which Brooklyn owns in the upcoming draft.

“There's something there,” Simmons continued. “And then if you're Brooklyn, you're like, ‘We finally have our guy. This is one of the best 25 guys in the league. He's young … he can be our (Tyrese) Haliburton; we're gonna build an entire roster around everything that he's good at.”

“And then if you're Cleveland, it's like, ‘All right, we looked at the Mitchell-Garland thing for a while. We can't pay Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley. We gotta pay two of the three. We get to retool; we get another shooter; we get a draft pick. There's something about that trade that makes sense to me.”

Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp

Simmons might be slightly overestimating Garland’s value, but the trade idea is nonetheless intriguing. To Simmons’s point, Cleveland should move on from the Mitchell-Garland blueprint. 

Garland’s numbers would skyrocket if he became the No. 1 option on a rebuilding Nets squad. The 25-year-old guard averaged 20.6 points on 47.2 percent FG and 40.1 percent 3P in 2024-25 while sharing the ball with another alpha in Mitchell.

But would Brooklyn really view Garland as an asset worth investing $126.5 million in over the next three seasons? His scoring talent is undeniable, but he’s a liability defensively. 

There’s also the danger of forking over a top-10 pick to Cleveland in a loaded draft.

Brooklyn might want to hold onto that pick and save their big money for a two-way star.

More NBA: Mavs predicted to fire Nico Harrison, trade $175.4 million star to Hornets