Spurs Interested in Acquiring Darius Garland

Highlights

The San Antonio Spurs see Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell as untouchable players this offseason.
San Antonio is interested in trading for Darius Garland, a playmaking guard to unlock Wembanyama.
Garland’s playmaking skills combined with his scoring ability could elevate the Spurs’ offense.

The San Antonio Spurs are coming off another season where they were near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Although their record wasn’t great, their future is very bright, especially with Victor Wembanyama at the forefront of their youth movement. The Spurs have recently revealed that Wembanyama and Devin Vassell are their only untouchable players heading into the offseason.

The biggest problem the Spurs had last season was getting the ball to Wembanyama, and many people in and around the NBA assumed they would try their best to acquire a playmaking point guard this offseason. There are potentially multiple players that would fit the Spurs plan of adding a player of that caliber. This morning, they were supposedly interested in adding Cleveland Cavaliers point guard, Darius Garland via Sam Amico of Hoopswire on X:

There have been reports that the Cavaliers are shopping one of their star players this offseason, and the backcourt duo of Garland and Donovan Mitchell hasn’t been what they once hoped. A report came out in May about Garland potentially requesting a trade if they decided to keep Mitchell. The Spurs being interested in Garland could be a fresh start for Garland and allow the Cavaliers to pivot in a new direction.

Garland Could Unlock Wembanyama

An elite playmaking guard could guide the offense

The Spurs struggled at the start of the year, but started to figure out how to play together toward the end of the season, winning games against good teams. They had the same number of wins in their last 27 games as they did in their first 55 games, clearly showing signs of a young team improving.

The Spurs ranked 23rd in the NBA in points per game despite being second in assists per game. Although they averaged so many assists, it was mostly due to their high number of passes made per game, which they ranked 7th in the league. They even led the league in potential assists.

Despite them ranking high in playmaking categories, they struggled at getting Wembanyama the ball at times. He clearly lacked a player who could consistently get him the ball in favorable matchups, as well as a good alley-oop passer, both of which would be roles easily filled by Garland.

Adding the one-time all-star to an already pass-first style of offense would elevate their offense to another level. Garland has shown an elite combination of playmaking skills and scoring throughout his five seasons in the NBA, especially when he was the captain of the Cavaliers’ offense before Mitchell’s arrival. Garland being sent to a team that has a need for his archetype could vault him back into the budding superstar he was when he made the all-star team in 2021-22.

Darius Garland statistics – All-star season vs last two seasons
Category	2021-22 season	2022-24 seasons
PPG	21.7	20.0
APG	8.6	7.2
FG%	46.2%	45.5%
AST%	39.9%	32.1%
USG%	27.8%	26.2%

Garland’s numbers haven’t dropped significantly since Mitchell’s arrival, but they are enough to where it has had a noticeable effect on the court. With the Spurs and their pass-first offense, Garland could return to his all-star form where he could thrive alongside Wembanyama and Vassell. Garland would easily become the Spurs’ best passer, and his elite outside shooting would be another dangerous addition to a team that ranked 28th in three-point percentage last year.