Garland underwent toe surgery Monday and he is expected to be sidelined four-to-five months. While the Cavaliers are reporting the guard is expected to make a full recovery and resume basketball activities by the start of training camp in October, ESPN’s Shams Charania is reporting Garland is likely to miss the start of the regular season.
Garland dealt with the toe injury during the playoffs and missed four straight games between the first and second round of the postseason. The guard returned and played through the injury after the Cavaliers lost the first two of games the team’s second round series vs. the Pacers, but Garland didn’t perform up to his standards, scoring 11 points or less in two of those three games.
Garland was clearly affected by the toe injury and his ailment certainly was one of the main reasons for Cleveland’s second-round exit to Indiana, which was a major disappointment for this Cavaliers team that led the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record in the regular season. During this terrific campaign for Cleveland, Garland averaged 20.6 points, 6.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game with a 27.2% usage rate, resulting in his second All-Star selection.
After the Cavaliers’ early exit from the playoffs, Garland has been a common name in trade rumors this offseason. Unfortunately for Cleveland, this news of offseason surgery and that the veteran is expected to miss the start of the season is an obvious hit to Garland’s trade value. On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Cavaliers carry the fifth-best odds to win the NBA Championship next season at +1100.
