Darius Garland made it clear during the Cleveland Cavaliers media day that the rumors of him wanting a trade out of the team after Donovan Mitchell signed a contract extension are false.
The one-time NBA All-Star said that when the word got out, he immediately went to Cleveland Cavaliers president Koby Altman to deny the rumors.
“Had a talk with Koby, and he was pretty upset about it,” Garland said via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I told him that I wanted to be here, and he knows that as well, so it wasn’t a really long conversation. I really don’t know (where the rumor came from), but it came out, and it was definitely false.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t trade Darius Garland this summer. Instead, their front office maintained their core of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Isaac Okoro by giving the latter four multiyear extensions.
Darius Garland shares his outlook for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2024-25
Darius Garland is excited for the new season to start because he believes they can make noise in the Eastern Conference, with him and Donovan Mitchell leading the way.
“We’ve been together three years, and we’ve made a jump every year,” Garland said. “A lot of people don’t see what we have outside of the court. We have a real relationship off the court. that’s my brother.”
Furthermore, Garland wishes for a healthier campaign since he only played 57 regular season games and struggled in the postseason due to the jaw and knee injuries he sustained.
“I was playing catchup the entire season,” Garland said. “Being down 15 pounds going into the playoffs wasn’t the best way to go about it. I really wasn’t myself.”
