Latest Darius Garland update hints that he's close to a return to Cavs

The Cavaliers received some promising news regarding their all-star guard this week while the team is on plays in their first stretch of away games.

Darius Garland was quietly assigned to the Cavaliers NBA G League affiliate Cleveland Charge this week while the team is away, which gives the team and fans hope that he could be nearing a return to the court sooner rather than later. 

Garland had injured his toe near the end of last season, which ultimately became worse during the team's playoff series against the Miami Heat. Garland did however attempt to play through the injury in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but didn’t quite play like the Darius Garland, many know him to be. 

It’s yet to be determined when Garland will return to the team and debut this season, but this news that he could see time at least practicing with their G League team gives a bit of insight into how close he may be to making his anticipated return. 

The Cleveland Charge are currently in their training camp phase of the season, with the team still a week or two away from their regular season opener. It’s likely Garland will only participate in their practices to get him up-to-speed and physically ready to play some decent minutes with the Cavaliers.

Atkinson commented on Garland’s rehab early in October as the team wrapped up their preseason schedule.

“We know that this is not an easy injury to come back from,” Atkinson said. “You see what happens in the NFL with this injury, it’s not linear usually in the return to performance. We’re hoping that it will be, and he’ll progress. But I side on the side of being conservative and making sure that this is a good step today. A small step, but a good step.”

The Cavaliers currently sit with a record of 3-1 as they head to Boston on Wednesday to take on the Celtics but could certainly use the presence of their athletic guard with the tough teams they face over the course of the next month. 

Garland was a part of a league leading offense for Cleveland last season, averaging 20.6 points per game along with 6.7 assists per game and shooting 47.2% from the field. While he did deal with the nagging toe injury to end the regular season into the playoffs, he was a large part of their three 12+ game winning streaks, two of which exceeded 15 games won in a row.

The Cavaliers are looking to start the 2025 regular season on a positive note, currently off to a hot streak with all of the injuries other top eastern conference teams are suffering from.