Darius Garland

Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Blazers, Garland, Wolves

June 3rd, 2025 at 9:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Aaron Wiggins had to wait until the 55th pick to be selected in the 2021 draft. The Thunder offered him a two-way deal and he wasn’t necessarily thrilled at the prospect at the time, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.

“We’re sitting there watching the draft and there was a lot of mixed emotions,” Wiggins said. “The second round started. There were a couple [draft] spots with teams that I thought I had good workouts with and I’m expecting to possibly be drafted and don’t get drafted. Then late in the second round, I get a call from my agent saying the Thunder are drafting me and want to sign a two-way [contract]. I wasn’t necessarily upset. I was happy and grateful to be blessed, but I wasn’t happy either. So, I was just glad to have heard my name and know that I was being given an opportunity.”

Wiggins has done the most with that opportunity. He eventually had the two-way converted to a standard deal and last summer he signed a five-year, $45MM contract. He appeared in 76 regular season games, though his playing time has dropped in the postseason.

“I’m just doing the same thing I’ve done for the last couple of years,” Wiggins said. “Trust in our coaching staff. Buying into the team first and understand that success will come. I trust in that and want to win first, celebrate my teammates and everything will work its way out.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

In their latest pre-draft workout on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers looked at Cameron Hildreth (Wake Forest), Ben Gregg (Gonzaga), Jamiya Neal (Arizona State), Mohamed Diawara (Cholet), Caleb Grill (Missouri) and Damari Monsanto (UTSA), Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. Grill, ranked No. 74 on ESPN’s Best Available list, heads that group of potential second-round selections.
How can the Trail Blazers upgrade their roster? Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (subscription required) believes there are several approaches they could take. The Blazers could add another frontcourt player to give them additional size and seek an upgrade at guard if they don’t think Scoot Henderson will ever live up to his draft status. They could also target a young player with high upside on a low-cost contract, similar to what they did last season when they acquired Deni Avdija from Washington.
Darius Garland might be an ideal backcourt partner for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. Garland would be the type of combo guard who could unlock more of Edwards’ two-way potential while taking pressure off him offensively, according to Rand. Garland has three years and approximately $126.5MM remaining on his contract. The Cavaliers aren’t looking to move their starting point guard, but are said to be more open to the idea than in the past.

Cavs More Willing To Discuss Garland, Allen Trades Than In Past?

May 29th, 2025 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

After the Cavaliers squeaked past Orlando in the first round of the 2024 playoffs and were defeated soundly by Boston in round two, there was a good deal of offseason speculation about the idea of breaking up their “core four” of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. However, Cleveland’s front office stuck with that group and was rewarded for its faith with a 15-game winning streak to open the season and a 64-18 overall record.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the major step forward they took during the regular season didn’t carry over to the playoffs. After sweeping Miami in round one, the Cavs were eliminated in five games by the Pacers in the conference semifinals earlier this month. Now, with Cleveland’s payroll set to soar past the second tax apron in 2025/26, the team is once again facing difficult roster decisions.

In the latest episode of the Wine and Gold podcast (YouTube link), Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said he believes the Cavs are still “committed to the core four” and would like to find a way to surround those four players with the “right pieces to compete for a championship.” But Fedor acknowledged that the Cavs’ cap situation and early playoff exit mean they’ll have to keep an open mind this offseason.

“They prefer to keep the core four together and see if they can build around them and find the right pieces around them, and see if there’s a viable way to do that, given the limitations that come with being a luxury-tax team and a second-apron team,” Fedor said. “In saying that, I think the two untouchables are Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.

“I have been getting the sense that the Cavs would be more willing to entertain and at least consider possibilities for Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland than they have in the past.

“Now, that all comes down to it’s got to be the right deal. It’s got to be the right pieces coming back that the Cavs believe would be a step forward, as opposed to just a lateral move or a step back. I don’t think they’re in a situation where they’re saying to themselves, ‘We’ve got to shed this salary. We need to find a dumping ground for Darius Garland’s contract or Jarrett Allen’s contract.'”

As Fedor points out, the conference rival Celtics decided to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and adjusted their core around those players in order to eventually win a title. In Cleveland, it sounds like Mitchell and Mobley are the two cornerstones, and while Garland and Allen could stick around too, their long-term future with the franchise is less certain.

Fedor added that he has been kicking around the idea of hypothetical trades involving Garland rather than Allen in his own work because he believes the market would be hotter for Garland and the Cavs could get more in a deal for him than they could for Allen.

“I’m not saying that the Cavs are going to go down this road,” Fedor continued. “But they’re going to get to a point where they’re going to have to balance out the roster a little bit more than what it is, and they’re going to have to balance the checkbook a little bit more than what it is.

“Nobody that you’re going to get back is going to be Darius in terms of pedigree, in terms of talent. He’s a two-time All-Star for a reason. He’s a max-contract player for a reason. He’s one of the best young point guards in the Eastern Conference for a reason. So are you going to get that back? No. But can you reconfigure your roster? Can you restructure your salary cap by using Darius and find multiple players?”

If the Cavaliers were to trade Garland, Fedor notes, it could mean a bigger ball-handling role for Mitchell and possibly running the offense through Mobley more often. If a deal sheds some salary and creates more spending flexibility to bring back Ty Jerome, he’s another player who could see his ball-handling responsibilities increase.

Fedor repeatedly acknowledges that a trade involving Garland or Allen this offseason is far from a given, but points out that the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t make it viable to operate over the second apron for long unless you’re winning titles.

“When you’re at a point that the Cavs are at with their roster, with the way the season ended earlier than anybody expected, and with their salary cap situation, you have to start considering some of these alternatives,” Fedor said. “And you have to start having very difficult conversations, conversations that are going to be painful. Maybe even subtractions for the roster that are going to be painful.”

Cavaliers’ Koby Altman On Roster: ‘I Love Our Foundation’

May 19th, 2025 at 3:39pm CST by Rory Maher

The Cavaliers had the second-best regular season in franchise history in 2024/25, winning 64 games en route to the No. 1 seed in the East. But injuries — including a toe sprain to Darius Garland — limited the team to some extent in the postseason, and Cleveland lost its second-round series against Indiana in five games.

At his end-of-season media session on Monday, president of basketball operations Koby Altman said that while the Cavaliers were frustrated by their playoff showing, there’s still an “internal belief” that the current roster — particularly the “core four” of Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — has an opportunity to contend for championships going forward, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“Obviously, we feel it. It’s raw for us. We’re disappointed how it ended. But it was a remarkable year on so many fronts and you guys were all invested in this. We’re not going to go anywhere. We’re going to keep fighting for that championship and this window is wide open, we believe.”

Here are a few more highlights from Altman’s presser, courtesy of Fedor.

On his confidence in the roster:

“I love our foundation. I love our core. Our starting lineup, the average age is 26.8. We have two All-Stars that are 25 (Garland) and 23 (Mobley), respectively, and they’re going through it, they’re going through these experiences, they’re going through these battles and we’re sustainable in a lot of ways, not just because guys are under contract, but our youth.

“Our belief in this group in a lot of ways, there’s a newness to this group as well in terms of our new head coach that’s been with us for one year. Us figuring out our offensive identity happened this year and so I’m really high on and optimistic about our future. That being said, it can’t just be 82 games. We have to figure out this next 16, we have to figure out how to get over the hump. But this group has shown they can play some of the best basketball in the world. It’s how do we do it on the highest stage and continue to keep pushing to get over that hump?”

On not overreacting to the playoff loss:

“If we were going to be reactionary, it would have been last year after everything that was written about that group, and all the rumors and all this and that and we stood pat and look what happened, right? I think the same thing now as you lean in even more to what we’re building, the culture that we have here, the internal growth, the youth, the sustainability of that.

“I think there’s a championship window that we have here that’s wide open and that’s one that we’re going to try to pursue next year and the year after and the year after and so forth. We’re not done by any stretch. But I would say if there was a time that we were going to crumble it potentially would’ve been last year, certainly not after what we’ve seen from this group this year is something where were we are going to break up a group that’s been together for three years and has accomplished what they’ve accomplished and is ready to take that next step. As disappointing as this ending was.”

On potentially re-signing backup guard Ty Jerome, who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting:

“Love to keep him. I mean, listen, we’re hopeful. I would say that I got to be careful ‘cause he’s going to be an unrestricted free agent, and he is ours, so we can talk about Ty in that vein. Part of (head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s) system, which is, again, we’re always going to be rooted in player development, which is great. And so when guys find that confidence in this system, their value gets driven up. Same thing with Sam Merrill. You want to call these guys end-of-bench players before that have become real rotational players and valuable within the ecosystem, not just us.

“I think the good news is those guys are going to be, they’re going to do really well for themselves. And the good news also is that we know because of our program, we’re going to be able to continue to develop our end-of-bench guys to become rotational guys. That’s going to be part of our evolution and also how we navigate some stiff penalty taxes. We have to continue to develop from within. And those two stories are incredible success stories from the development programs and putting them in a position to be successful. And so, yes, we’d love to keep Ty, but we’ll see what the marketplace holds.”

Altman said owner Dan Gilbert has given the front office “no restrictions in terms of going into the tax.” He added that Cleveland was willing to be a taxpayer and will operate over the second apron “if we need to go there” — the Cavs project to be over the second apron in 2025/26.

Altman also discussed how the Cavaliers can improve their individual and collective mental toughness, Gilbert’s “support” and “positivity,” why they’re likely to “run it back,” and defended Allen from the criticism he has faced for his poor showing at the end of the Pacers series.

Cavaliers Notes: Early Exit, Mitchell, Allen, Jerome, Garland, Atkinson

May 14th, 2025 at 8:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Mitchell was in a state of disbelief after the Cavaliers’ second-round flameout.

“I love playing in that (bleeping) arena,” Mitchell said of Cleveland’s Rocket Arena after the team’s Game 5 elimination by the Pacers on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “That energy, that crowd. We were 0-3 at home, let the city down. This place is special. This place is really special and we didn’t get it done.”

Mitchell said the early exit will provide extra motivation heading into the offseason.

“We’ve had a lot of positives,” Mitchell said. “But we didn’t capitalize. Now we’ve got to use this motivation. Everybody’s going to write us off.”

The Cavs became the fourth team in NBA history to win at least 64 regular season contests and check out in the first or second round.

“I do feel like we got better,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “From the team aspect and then we had a lot of individuals make a step, so I just want to make that clear. But the truth of the matter is we didn’t get to the level we wanted to get to. So, I’m not pleased with that. And we’re not celebrating the season, if that all makes sense. But I do think we made strides. I think we took a jump. Now we got to figure out this last piece, how to get over this hump. And I was quite honestly expecting more, especially coming off the [first-round] Miami series.”

We have more on the Cavaliers:

The Cavs’ lack of toughness was evident in the postseason, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic opines. They were pushed around physically, and overmatched and overwhelmed by what was supposed to be an inferior opponent. Jarrett Allen, in particular, has failed to provide a nasty streak in the interior during recent postseasons, Lloyd writes.
Cleveland is deep into the luxury tax and projects to operate over both tax aprons next season, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes. Re-signing second unit star Ty Jerome is a priority — they hold his Early Bird rights. However, Jerome’s salary would cost exponentially more due to luxury tax penalties. Adding a reserve big capable of playing rotational minutes and turning Jaylon Tyson into a rotational player are some other priorities, in Marks’ view.
Trading Darius Garland, who has three years left on his deal and is eligible for a two-year extension this offseason, might be the Cavaliers’ best option in a summer filled with hard choices, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes. That could potentially reinvent the team, ease some of their financial burden and keep the Mitchell-Evan Mobley core in title contention.
Atkinson won the 2024-25 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, which honors an NBA coach for his cooperation with the media and fans, as well as his excellence on the court, the Professional Basketball Writers Association announced in a press release. “Kenny has always brought great candor, humility and a sense of humor to the job, and to his regular sessions with the media,” PBWA president Howard Beck said. “He’s always eager to explain the nuances of the game and to discuss the bigger issues across the league.”

Injury Notes: Towns, Hauser, Garland, Dillingham, Tyson

May 11th, 2025 at 7:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to suffer a hand or finger injury in Saturday’s Game 3 loss to Boston, but he was a full participant in practice on Sunday and isn’t listed on the injury report for Monday’s Game 4, per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News and Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter links).

It’s positive news for the Knicks after both Towns and head coach Tom Thibodeau were cagey about the potential injury following Game 3. Towns is coming off his worst shooting game of the postseason, as he made just 5-of-18 field goal attempts on Saturday, including 1-of-5 three-pointers.

The only player on Monday’s injury report for either team is Celtics forward Sam Hauser, who has been upgraded to questionable after having been initially listed as doubtful and then downgraded to out for each of the past two games. While it remains to be seen if he’ll be active for Game 4, the new designation suggests he’s nearing a return.

“He’s getting there,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said on Sunday (Twitter video link via CLNS Media). “He’s getting better. He’s day-to-day.”

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

The three injured Cavaliers who returned for Game 3 – Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter – were no longer on the injury report ahead of Game 4 on Sunday evening. Although head coach Kenny Atkinson said the trio has recovered well in the past couple days, he identified Garland as the player the Cavs are still most worried about and whose minutes will be monitored the closest (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). “He’s doing what he can do. I’ll just put it that way,” Atkinson said of the point guard. “You saw it the other night. I got him in and out. It’s something he’s grinding through. There’s been a lot of stuff that’s gone into him playing.”
The Timberwolves‘ injury report for Monday’s Game 4 is clean, the team announced today (via Twitter). Rookie guard Rob Dillingham had been the only player listed on the injury report as of late due to a sprained ankle. He was upgraded to available for Game 3 and is now off the report altogether, though he’s unlikely to play outside of garbage time.
Nuggets forward Hunter Tyson, who has only played in garbage time during the postseason, was inactive for Game 4 on Sunday due to a right ankle sprain, according to the club (Twitter link).

Cavs’ Garland, Mobley Discuss Injuries After Game 3 Win

May 10th, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Rory Maher

After missing a little more than two weeks due to a left great toe sprain, All-Star point Darius Garland returned to action for the Cavaliers on Friday night in Indiana, playing an important role in a decisive Game 3 victory.

As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, Garland was clearly playing through pain and wasn’t at his best, registering 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting, three assists, four turnovers and four fouls in 25 minutes. However, his contributions went beyond the box score, as he handled the Pacers’ full-court defense well and took ball-handling and play-making pressure off Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland’s other guards.

After the game, Garland told Fedor the return timeline for his toe injury is typically closer to four weeks than two, but he was eager to suit up with the Cavs facing an 0-2 deficit.

“I just want to be out there for my guys,” Garland said. “Everybody put their bodies and their injuries on the line. We fought through it. Just going out there to win this series.”

Head coach Kenny Atkinson told Garland not to rush back from the injury, which sidelined him for past the four playoff games leading up to Friday’s contest. But he was thrilled the 25-year-old was able to play, even if it’s not a given he’ll be ready for Sunday’s Game 4.

“(Garland) is just playing through a lot of pain, quite honestly,” Atkinson said. “To get him to play this game, let’s just say there’s a lot that goes into it and he’s kind of taking one for the team here. I think he had to push through a lot. Hopefully, he recovers. Even if we get 15, 20 minutes from him, we need it. We need another ball-handler. He can create separation. He can create advantages, even if it’s not going to be perfect with the way his health is right now.”

The Cavs also had Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and forward De’Andre Hunter (dislocated right thumb) back for Game 3 after they both missed Game 2. Hunter continues to deal with pain and swelling on his palm, particularly when catching passes, Fedor writes.

As for Mobley, he looked the closest to 100% during the victory, finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks in 35 minutes. That wasn’t the case earlier this week though, as Mobley said he was wearing a walking boot and was unable to put weight on his ankle prior to Game 2, when he was listed as questionable before being ruled out.

“I really wanted to play (Game 2), but definitely couldn’t,” Mobley said, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. “But after that loss, I wanted to get back as soon as possible and get out there. So I was just basically day to day seeing how it felt, how quickly I heal. Normally heal pretty quick, and from there just played it by ear.”

While the Cavaliers were pleased to win the game, they recognize they still have to dig themselves out of a hole to win the series.

“We haven’t done anything,” Garland said, per Fedor. “We’re still down a game, so we’ve got to come in here Sunday with the same attitude, same mindset, and same physicality that we played with today. Just bring it again on another level.”

Cavs’ Mobley, Garland, Hunter Available On Friday

May 9th, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Rory Maher

5:59 pm: All three injured Cavaliers will be active for Friday’s Game 3, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Head coach Kenny Atkinson said during his pregame media session that there wouldn’t be a set minutes limit for Garland, Mobley, or Hunter, but that the team would make that decision over the course of the night based on “feel” and “communication” (Twitter link via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star).

8:28 am: The Cavaliers played without three of their best players in Tuesday’s Game 2, in which Cleveland blew a seven-point lead with under a minute remaining to fall in a 0-2 hole in its second-round series vs. Indiana. Darius Garland has missed the past four games with a left great toe sprain, while both Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and De’Andre Hunter (dislocated/sprained right thumb) were injured in the fourth quarter of Game 1.

All three of the injured Cavaliers are officially listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 3 in Indianapolis, just like they were for Game 2 prior to being ruled out. However, two league sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic that the Cavs are optimistic the trio will attempt to suit up tonight.

“They participated in the walk-through and we’re hoping for the best,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said Thursday. “I think it’s frustrating for all of us, right? It’s no indictment on anybody, it’s just, injuries are a tough thing and you don’t really know unless you experience it yourself.”

As Vardon observes, even if the three players are able to play, it remains to be seen how effective they’ll be. A source tells Vardon that the swelling on Hunter’s thumb has decreased, but Mobley and Garland appeared to be hobbled during Thursday’s walk-through.

Sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that Garland continues to deal with pain and swelling in his toe, which he aggravated in the team’s first-round series against Miami. The injury has made it “incredibly difficult” for the All-Star point guard to make any “sharp movements,” Fedor writes.

“He desperately wants to get on the court,” Atkinson said of Garland. “It’s just kind of in these situations I just kind of, I step back. I support him 100%, whichever way it goes. I think he’s probably like, ‘I’ve got to get to a certain point where I can compete at a high-intensity playoff level.’ That type of intensity is tough to simulate. I guess at some point hopefully he will get out there and try it. But obviously couldn’t run or anything.”

Mobley, Garland, Hunter Ruled Out For Game 2

May 6th, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter have all been ruled out for Game 2 of the Cavaliers’ second-round series against the Pacers, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.

It’s a huge dilemma for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as they try to avoid going 0-2 in the series on Tuesday.

Mobley sustained a sprained left ankle in Game 1. Garland will miss his fourth straight game due to a sprained big toe on his left foot that has nagged him since the end of the regular season. Hunter suffered a dislocated right thumb in the series opener.

During his pregame press conference, coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t confirm that the trio was out, but stated that he and his staff made preparations for all scenarios.

“We’ve got to be ready for plan A, B, and C,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got a great group. We’ve got great leadership. We’ve always responded. Great maturity, great professionalism, and this is part of what we figure things out as a group. These experiences make you better, make you stronger as a group and we obviously have to respond on the floor, but liked our approach leading up.”

Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade are some of the players who will have to step up with a pair of Cavs starters and a top reserve unavailable.

Cavs’ Garland, Mobley, Hunter Questionable For Game 2

May 5th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Behind an impressive, balanced offensive attack and full-court defensive pressure, Indiana won its series opener in Cleveland against the top-seeded Cavaliers. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes (subscriber link), the big question now for the Cavs isn’t necessarily how they’ll respond in Game 2 — it’s who will be available.

Point guard Darius Garland appeared in a career-high 75 games this season, but he aggravated a sprained left big toe in Game 2 of Cleveland’s first-round series vs. Miami and has missed the past three games, including Sunday’s loss to the Pacers.

“I know it’s a tough one, especially being able to stop and start (on the toe),” head coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Garland’s injury. “But we don’t want him out there (at) 60 percent, 50 percent the way they pressure the ball. It just doesn’t make sense.”

While Jared Greenberg of TNT hears there’s no structural damage to Garland’s toe and there’s a chance he could suit up on Tuesday (Twitter link), the two-time All-Star continues to deal with “significant pain and swelling,” according to Fedor.

Garland’s absence in Game 1 caused a “trickle-down effect” on the rest of the roster, says Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, particularly Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome, who put up 30 and 20 shots, respectively — more than half (5o) of the team’s overall field goal attempts (98). The Cavaliers will be under real pressure to play Garland in Game 2 after losing homecourt advantage, according to Lloyd.

“I know he’s desperate to play,” Atkinson said after the loss. “We need his speed and shot-making.”

Garland isn’t the only noteworthy Cavalier whose status for Game 2 is uncertain. Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley tweaked his left ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 1 after landing on Myles Turner‘s foot, while forward De’Andre Hunter sustained a dislocated right thumb on a dunk attempt mere seconds later. Atkinson was miffed that neither play resulted in a foul on Indiana, per Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I don’t think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed a line of physicality,” Atkinson said Monday. “That line we’ve kind of been talking about where it became excessive. I don’t think this is on Indiana; I have so much respect for how they play. But the fact of the matter, that’s on the referees. Maybe they weren’t missed calls, and maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules, but I have a problem when we got two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game. It’s hard for me to get my head around that.”

According to Fedor, Atkinson referred to Mobley and Hunter as both questionable and doubtful during Monday’s media session. When asked to clarify, Atkinson said they’d be listed as questionable, but there’s “real concern” about their availability for Tuesday’s game. Garland will also be listed as questionable.

“We just did shootaround today, so it was tough to really gauge kind of where he is,” Atkinson said of Garland. “So yeah, he’ll be questionable, too, for tomorrow.”

For what it’s worth, Hunter told Fedor after Sunday’s loss that he’d be ready to go on Tuesday, but Mobley was a little more circumspect about whether or not he’d be healthy enough to suit up.

Central Notes: Bulls, Garland, Haliburton, Pistons

May 4th, 2025 at 4:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After a third straight play-in appearance that fell short of a playoff berth, the Bulls face an interesting offseason, as NBA insider Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews.

Chicago guard Josh Giddey submitted an encouraging performance during his inaugural season with Chicago, just in time for him to hit restricted free agency this summer. Gozlan notes that a club with cap space, like Brooklyn, could potentially give Giddey an offer sheet, but the Bulls will have the rights to match it. Gozlan projects that Giddey’s play could fetch him a yearly salary in the range of $20-$30MM.

Standout guard Coby White, who will be eligible for a contract extension next season, could earn a significant annual raise if he forgos an extension and instead waits until he reaches unrestricted free agency in 2026.

As Gozlan writes, veterans Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, and Zach Collins are all on expiring deals, and many of those players could be moved in offseason trades rather than extended.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland is expected to be a game-time decision for the first contest of Cleveland’s second round playoff series against Indiana, reports Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. Garland sat out the final two contests of the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of Miami with a sprained left big toe. “We’re just in this kind of area where you just got to kind of see day-by-day and see how it feels tomorrow morning,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Saturday.
Cavaliers players are doing what they can to prepare for two-time Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “He always makes the right play and doesn’t really stat hunt,” sixth man Ty Jerome said. “He’s a winner. He takes and makes big shots. He leads that team. He’s a real definition of a point guard.” Six-time All-Star Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, meanwhile, respects Haliburton’s influence on his team’s offense. “He’s the head of the snake,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of respect for him and what he brings over there. At the end of the day, if people want to say that, they want to say that, but, you know, we don’t look at it that way. We understand how important he is to that group. He’s a threat, and we’ve got to make sure we try to find ways to neutralize him.”
The Pistons submitted an impressive bounce-back season in 2024/25 that included their first playoff berth since 2019, writes Omari Sankofa II Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Now, the club will see four veterans head to unrestricted free agency and also faces extension decisions on young former lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, who will be extension-eligible. Sankofa unpacks the potential fates of these contributors and addresses other burning offseason questions facing Detroit.

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