NBA Trade Rumors: Darius Garland Drew Inquiries from Spurs; Cavs 'Rebuffed' Talks

The Cleveland Cavaliers appear intent on at least starting the 2024-25 season with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland as their starting backcourt.

Per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, the San Antonio Spurs were a team that called Cleveland about Garland earlier this offseason. The Cavs "rebuffed any inbound trade interest" in the 24-year-old.

Garland is entering his sixth season with the Cavs. He averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in 2023-24.

An All-Star in 2022, Garland has taken a backseat the last two seasons playing with Mitchell. Garland and Mitchell have never been a perfect basketball fit—nor were centers Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley—but that was under former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

"They want me to (shoot more), so that's why they be patting me on my chest and trying to hype me up to shoot more shots," Garland, a natural ball distributor, told reporters during the playoffs. "That's the thing — they think I'm not as aggressive right now."

There were reports of Garland being unhappy with his role since Mitchell came to Cleveland. The Athletic noted Garland's agent, Rich Paul, was expected to meet with Cavs management if the team signed Mitchell to a long-term deal.

Mitchell wound up signing a three-year, $150.3 million extension in July. Mobley signed a five-year max extension on Monday. Jarrett Allen still has two years and $40 million remaining on his current deal.

Garland has four years remaining on the five-year, $197 million extension he signed in 2022. Cleveland is committed to this roster based on the contracts for Garland, Mitchell and Mobley, but things could change as the season goes along and new head coach Kenny Atkinson gets a chance to see which on-court pairings work.

The Spurs clearly made point guard a priority this offseason. They signed Chris Paul in free agency to at least stabilize the position if they couldn't find a younger player who could step in as a starter right away.

San Antonio spent much of last season using Jeremy Sochan out of position at point guard before abandoning that experiment.

Garland would have helped to provide steadiness while easing the burden on star Victor Wembanyama.

Instead, the Cavs will roll with Mitchell and Garland for now as they look to improve on last season's second-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics.