The Cavs must make 1 deal with the 2025-26 NBA trade season

The The Cleveland Cavaliers are even. Although expectations weren’t high for them after their second-round playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers, their .500 team about one-third of the way through the season seemed impossible. But the Cavs, coming off a 136-125 loss to the Chicago Bulls that marked their second straight loss to Chicago and their third loss overall, fell to 15-14 on the season – a far cry from last campaign’s 64-win powerhouse.

The 2024-25 Cavs lost their 14th game of the season on March 21, 2025; the 2025-26 Cavs done on December 19 of the same year. Something is going very wrong for the Cavs, and with them being the second team with barely a few moves left in their arsenal to help improve the team, they must be feeling very desperate to turn things around.

Now, it must be noted that the Cavs have not been healthy all season; Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen have routinely missed time with injuries, Evan Mobley is currently nursing a calf strain that will keep him out for several weeks, and even Donovan Mitchell, their undisputed best player of the season so far, is starting to miss games. (He he missed the Cavs’ loss to the Bulls on Friday with illness.)

Reports indicate that the Cavs are unlikely to make it this season, preferring to explore that possibility when they fall early in the playoffs once again. But this list can be a sunk cost and it may be time to change it.

Here’s the trade the Cavs must make to try to turn the tide of their 2025-26 campaign.

The Cavs are breaking out the Donovan Mitchell-Darius Garland backcourt

Cavs acquire: Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, 2028 MIN first round pick swap

Timberwolves pick up: Darius Garland

It’s no secret that the Timberwolves are looking for a point guard amid Mike Conley’s decline and Rob Dillingham’s inability to get the starting point guard to spot his own. Throughout the season, Minnesota relied on Anthony Edwards to be the point guard, splitting playmaking duties with Donte Di Vincenzo.

Minnesota’s quarterback situation became so dire that they were too relying on Bones Hiland to record some key minutes for the team lately. Now Hiland has been good so far this season. But he’s a small point guard who works hot and cold, and he doesn’t have the best record. As a bench, he is just fine. As a starter, he might be stretching himself too far.

Minnesota has reportedly kicked the tires on potential trades for the likes of Ja Morant and James Harden, of whom their teams could be available amid their struggles. But the Memphis Grizzlies have been playing better lately, with Jaren Jackson Jr. in particular resurgent, while the Los Angeles Clippers likely won’t just play the season because they owe an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Now, it’s unlikely the Timberwolves will simply throw caution to the wind and pull off a blockbuster trade for the star guard. They’ve made it to the Western Conference Finals two straight seasons, and what’s helped in that regard is that they hardly have any defensive commitments in the rotation. Smaller point guards become targets in the playoffs, which could force Minnesota to avoid targeting smaller players in a trade.

Still, if someone like Garland could become available at a discounted price, then maybe The Timberwolves would like to pounce.

Given how the Cavs are cannot aggregate contracts in any trade due to being in a different apron, they will have to take less money in any Garland trade. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves could package Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller to make the salaries work in any potential trade for the Cavs.

The Timberwolves have long coveted Garland dating back to the 2019 NBA draft.

For the Cavs, firing Garland will be painful. He is the local star after all — the first of their foursome to make the team. He blossomed into a 2022 All-Star and is one of the best pick-and-roll masters in the association. But a backcourt of him and Mitchell, with two smaller guards, was always going to have a short shelf life.

Opposing teams can pick that backcourt apart in the playoffs, and the Cavs are seeing firsthand just how limited the ceiling is when two undersized guards are the team’s two most important players.

Cleveland has some options at guard anyway Garland should have left. Craig Porter Jr. has always been good whenever he gets minutes. Lonzo Ball remains a defensive ace even if his offense comes and goes. Mitchell could also become the team’s de facto point guard, with Cleveland choosing to surround him with three-and-D wings instead. In this scenario, Randle could help Mitchell with the playmaking.

There will be a question of downtime in the Cavs frontcourt. But having Randle around, a bruising presence who can dominate the glass, could make Cleveland feel a lot more confident with Mobley as the permanent center — making Jarrett Allen one of the best situational players in the league or a trade tool to bring in a 3-and-D player who fits better alongside Mitchell.

It’s becoming obvious that the Cavs need a change. It will be painful to say goodbye to Garland, but it’s even more painful for fans to witness a powerhouse in the East turn into a shell of themselves.

A trade like this might not happen until the offseason, but if the Cavs get desperate enough, then nothing can be ruled out.