Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are the future cornerstones of the Cavaliers franchise, and on the third day of NBA free agency the Cavaliers locked part of that duo up.
The Cavaliers offered Garland a five-year max extension and he took it, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland has agreed on a five-year, $193M maximum designated rookie contract extension that could be worth as much as $231M, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. It is the largest deal in franchise history.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022
That $231 figure would be if Garland makes an All-NBA team next season.
While Garland’s game took steps forward each of his first two seasons in Cleveland, he made a leap last season, playing with more confidence and averaging 21.7 points and 8.6 assists a night while shooting 38.7% from 3. Garland became an NBA All-Star for the first time last season — getting to play the game at home in Cleveland — and he was third in the voting for the NBA’s Most Improved Player.
Garland is the point guard both of the present and the future in Cleveland (which leaves questions about what is next for Collin Sexton), and this is how you reward a franchise cornerstone. Pair him with the big lineup of Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Lauri Markkanen, and the Cavaliers had something that both worked now and they could build upon.
Whatever that buildout looks like, Garland will be part of it — and well paid.
