Cavaliers have a path to acquire James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Evan Mobley by trading Darius Garland originally appeared on The Sporting News Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
When news broke that the Cleveland Cavaliers might trade James Harden, the whole situation changed.
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The Cavaliers will no longer be a team with a long runway to compete. They’ll be a team that makes a big shift or two in order to win a championship as quickly as possible.
This got us thinking: why stop there? Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the trade block. LeBron James becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Can the Cavs get it all?
And, technically speaking, there is a way.
More: Here’s what a James Harden-for-Darius Garland trade would look like
First up is a Harden trade, which the Cavaliers could accomplish by matching salary with Darius Garland (perhaps Cleveland would get a draft pick or two for taking the elder Harden).
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The Giannis deal is tricky because Cleveland is on the second apron, so by rule the salary cap cannot match Antetokounmpo’s salary.
But the Cavaliers could flip Lonzo Ball below the second apron line through salary and then combine Evan Mobley with a few weaker players and draft picks to land Giannis.
Then you could convince LeBron to sign a contract in the summer for well below market value to take another step forward in Cleveland.
More: Reggie Miller makes Kaitlin Clark’s weirdest NBA player comparison
Not everyone will be in their prime, but what about a starting lineup of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jarrett Allen?
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unrealistic? Yes. Impossible? No.
If the Cavaliers do trade Harden, it would change the perception of Cleveland’s contention window. This could open the door to other initiatives that no one saw coming.
