Suns, Magic Tried Trading for Cavaliers Star

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 5:18 PM ET

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season. They swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs and looked primed to compete for the championship for the first time in the second post-LeBron James era.

However, the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round in five games. The Pacers won all three games on the road against the Cavaliers, who haven't advanced past the conference semifinals since acquiring Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in 2022.

After the 2025 playoffs ended, Cleveland starting point guard Darius Garland had surgery on his left big toe. The two-time All-Star is expected to miss four to five months.

Garland's injury, though, didn't stop rival teams from calling the Cavaliers about a trade.

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic tried to trade for Garland, who has spent his entire career with the Cavaliers.

The Suns and Cavaliers spoke about a Garland-Kevin Durant trade before Phoenix agreed to trade Durant to the Houston Rockets.

Garland played in 75 games for the Cavaliers in 2024-25. He averaged 20.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 47.2% from the field, 40.1% from 3 and 87.8% from the free-throw line.

The Cavaliers drafted Garland with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Garland could miss the first 10 games of next season because of his toe injury.

Garland's surgery was performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: