Garland and the Cavaliers reach a five-year, $193 million deal.
CLEVELAND (AP) — The quick ascent to the NBA’s elite ranks by Darius Garland is complete.
Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the All-Star point guard for Cleveland, informed the Associated Press on Saturday that the player has agreed to a five-year, $193 million deal extension.
With this deal, which is the biggest in team history, Garland commits to the Cavaliers, who think he can help them return to the top of the league.
Garland, the fifth overall pick in 2019, has emerged as one of the greatest all-around guards in the league very fast. He averaged 21.7 points and 8.6 assists in 68 games the previous season, which helped the Cavaliers win 22 more games than they did the year before.
Beyond his statistical improvements, the 22-year-old Garland has developed as a leader for a Cleveland club that is on the rise and narrowly missed the playoffs the previous year. Along with forward Evan Mobley and All-Star centre Jarrett Allen, he is one of the team’s key players.
As most of the league’s offseason business got begun, Garland agreed to the same deal that Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant, another exceptional young guard, had inked earlier in the week.
According to Garland’s agreement, which starts in the 2023–24 season, he will make slightly more than $33 million in the first year and will gradually increase to $44 million in 2027–28.
The statistics increase even further, moving from “max” to “supermax,” if he is chosen to be on an All-NBA team for the upcoming season. To do so, he must rank among the top six guards in the league, unless the league modifies its voting procedures beforehand.
Garland would begin earning $40 million in 2023–2024 and be owed over $53 million in 2027–2028 under that scenario.
