Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland underwent successful surgery earlier today to repair a nagging toe injury, sidelining him for the next four to five months. According to sources that spoke to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst, Garland will “likely” miss some time at the start of the 2025-26 regular season.
“Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland underwent successful surgery today to repair his great toe injury,” the team wrote in a statement. “His status will be updated as appropriate, following a progression of treatment and rehabilitation in approximately four to five months. Garland is expected to make a full recovery and resume basketball activities by the start of training camp.”
Darius Garland was diagnosed with a left big toe injury on March 23rd, but he only missed two regular-season games. He aggravated the injury in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat, forcing him to miss four postseason games, including the start of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 9, 2025
“Definitely wasn’t myself. It was pretty uncomfortable but trying to do everything to win the game,” he said after the team’s series-ending loss to the Pacers. “It was frustrating because I wasn’t 100 percent.”
Darius Garland was the Cavaliers’ second-best scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs, earning him his second-ever NBA All-Star Game appearance. In five playoff games this season, he averaged 18 points, 5.2 assists, and 2.2 rebounds.
What does the future hold for Garland?
Had Darius Garland been fully healthy, it’s possible that the series against the Pacers might have looked a little different. Maybe the Pacers would’ve won in six games instead of five. But I imagine the result would’ve been the same regardless: Indiana beating Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
He’ll miss “some time,” which is incredibly vague and ambiguous, but I am assuming it’ll be a few weeks at the very start of the season. Four to five months from now puts us at October/November, and the 2025-26 NBA regular season begins on October 21st, 2025. The best-case scenario is that he doesn’t miss any time to start the regular season. The worst-case scenario has him returning around three weeks into the start of the season, which should be manageable for a team that just went 64-18.
The top 5 destinations for Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Stephen A. Smith 👀
KD: Greek Freak:
1. Knicks 1. Knicks
2. Rockets 2. Rockets
3. Timberwolves 3. Mavs
4. Pistons… pic.twitter.com/1eXM95deRy— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 9, 2025
The interesting thing to think about is how this missed time might impact Daris Garland’s trade value. The Cavs’ playoff loss was embarrassing for a number-one seed. Though it could be safe to just run it back with the roster as it’s currently constructed, Cleveland may want to trade Garland for a bona fide superstar. Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Zion Williamson, and Trae Young have all been identified as possible trade candidates by multiple media outlets. Maybe a package of Garland, Mobley, and some draft picks can land the Cavaliers Kevin Durant. That would improve Cleveland’s odds of making it past the second round of the playoffs astronomically.
This is the National Basketball Association, where global superstars are traded around all the time. We have to at least entertain the idea that somebody might want to trade an aging Hall of Fame player for a 25-year-old two-time All-Star.
This is all merely speculation, though. I’m just having some fun. In reality, I don’t think the Cavaliers have any intention of trading Garland and “blowing things up.” I think they’re happy to run it back another year older and more battle-tested, which is a reasonable thing for this franchise to do.