“Just write us off again… We go to work. We get better. And we’ll come back stronger next year.” That was Darius Garland’s defiant message after the Cavaliers’ shocking second-round exit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. A top seed with three All-Stars — Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley — the Cavs had every reason to expect a deep run. Instead, they’re headed for another offseason of soul-searching. And according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, one of those All-Stars might be where Cleveland needs to start making changes, because the jury’s still very much out.

Things looked like the Donovan Mitchell show in the Pacers series. But after two 40-point explosions from him proved futile, it’s abundantly clear that the man needs more help. And Windy thinks putting players like Issac Okoro and Dean Wade on the chopping block could help the Cavs in acquiring said help. He revealed that the Cavs have actually begun looking at the market for who they can trade for:

“Do I talk to people who say that they may trade Okoro, they may trade Wade? Yes, that is definitely something that I have heard. The Cavs have investigated that…I would be surprised they would be able to offload Okoro, especially without incentivizing. What I mean by that is giving something else because he’s got, you know, a fair amount of money left. And, if you’re not sending anything back, if you’re just straight absorbing the contract, I’m not sure that team would do that. I think you could do that with Wade because he makes considerably less,” Windy told ESPN Cleveland.

Issac Okoro has 2 years, and nearly $22.8 million left on his contract. So getting a team to cough up the money for him? Now, that won’t be easy, like Windy said. But the Cavs could trade for another player using Okoro as an add-on to help make offloading him easier. On the other hand, with only a year left on his contract that will see him net a payout of $6.6 million, trading Dean Wade will be significantly easier.

But what the Cavs are facing with these two is still simpler than the Darius Garland situation. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a call to make about the All-Star after he underwent surgery on his toe. See, even with him on the shelf, the trade rumors continue to swirl. However, an insider has revealed that the Cavs want to wait before pulling the trigger.

Cleveland Cavaliers stare down huge Darius Garland decision in the offseason

A few days ago, Grant Afseth of RG.org reported that the Sacramento Kings have “identified” Garland as a trade target. As we alluded to, this is in spite of Garland undergoing surgery on his toe — an issue that bothered him during the postseason. But it seems the Cavs aren’t actively looking to trade Garland.

Per Cavs insider Terry Pluto, the Cavs want to see what he looks like after recovering from his surgery before they make a call. “If the Cavs do decide to trade Garland, it perhaps would make more sense to first see how he performs when he is back on the court. Coming back from surgery and having three years and $127 million left on his maximum contract is why the Cavs aren’t receiving any eye-popping offers for the guard,” wrote Pluto on Cleveland.com.

Darius Garland’s sizeable contract certainly adds a layer of complexity to any trade discussions—but the Cavaliers may have good reason to hold onto him. As veteran reporter Terry Pluto noted, Cleveland sees real value in what Garland brings, especially after their playoff loss to Indiana. “The Cavs believe the loss to Indiana in the playoffs showed the need for Garland to handle the pressing defense,” Pluto wrote.

Garland was limited by injury during the series, “A lot of y’all wouldn’t have been out there. Everybody’s gonna have an opinion. I know what I was going through physically. So, like I said in Indiana, a lot of y’all don’t know what I was going through physically.” But the front office believes a healthy version of him is essential to navigating elite pressure defenses in high-stakes games.

With the Cavs 2-0 down, Darius Garland battled through injury to help the Cavs to a 126-104 win. And even with a compromised version of him, the Cavs looked like a different team. However, owing to his injury, he was unable to impact the next games the same way. Subsequently, the Cavs crashed out of the Playoffs.

It’s virtually a guarantee that these things are a huge factor in the Cavs’ reluctance to trade Garland. After all, injuries notwithstanding, he is undoubtedly an All-Star level player. And if this postseason showed anything, it’s that the Cavs need more of players like these — not less! (Lest Donovan Mitchell pull out his hair in frustration)