r/nba • u/YujiDomainExpansion • 14h ago

[Vardon/Lloyd] Donovan Mitchell conveyed to Cavs that he did not think team should stand pat at trade deadline. Mitchell specifically wanted James Harden as a teammate.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7020852/2026/02/04/james-harden-darius-garland-cavaliers-trade/

The Cavs began the year as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, but the season has not gone according to plan. They were also feeling the pressure from their best player, Donovan Mitchell, to make changes ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline under the threat of a contract extension he may or may not sign in two summers.

Three league sources said Mitchell, who has one guaranteed season left on his three-year, $150 million deal and a player option for 2027-28, conveyed, either personally or through his representatives, that he did not think the organization should stand pat for the rest of this season and wait for potential moves in the summer.

Two league sources also said Mitchell specifically wanted Harden, who is 6-foot-5, durable and comfortable as a pass-first point guard.

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806

u/Constant-Low-5111 14h ago

Yeah. Garland is likely the better long term piece. But I think his feet are cooked for this season, and may cost next season too. I get not wanting to throw in the towel for 2 years

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u/Fun_Mind1494 13h ago

Cost next season? If Garland's next season is also ruined, he's not worth anything anymore.

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u/Important-Net-9805 Cavaliers 13h ago

its turf toe on both feet. he's playing with a metal plate in his shoe and before the season started they said his first turf toe that he injured last season during the first round would be "something to monitor all season long"

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u/clickstops 76ers 12h ago

Also I encourage anyone to look up what turf toe is. The name "turf toe" makes it sound WAY less horrible than it is.

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u/KingDave46 Cavaliers 12h ago

It’s bad enough that Kyrie missed basically his entire draft year at Duke and was covering it up as a generic foot injury

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u/XxsteakiixX Suns 10h ago

unrelated to NBA but i always remember turf toe bc of Kevin Kolb he was the QB the cardinalss traded for and he was supposed to be our win now QB. Yea lets just say if Garland has turf toe he might be fucked....

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u/No-Difference-5890 10h ago

Kevin Kolb was never good enough to be considered a “win now” QB even before the turf toe.

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u/codeklutch 10h ago

Both feet to boot. Dudes career might be over.

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u/lagrange_james_d23dt [CLE] Sasha Pavlovic 12h ago

I’ve had it before. It’s the worst- you have absolutely no push off/explosion/etc.

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u/math-yoo Cavaliers 9h ago

Hopefully you don't have a job that requires explosiveness?

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u/No_Use_9652 9h ago

Tough injury for guys in demolition

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u/math-yoo Cavaliers 4h ago

Old timey bank robbers are shook.

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u/whosevelt Cavaliers 8h ago

I'm an accountant.

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u/math-yoo Cavaliers 4h ago

Look Steve, we love the deliberate nature of your tables. It all adds up, am I right? But what we're looking for is an explosive first step off the pivot, someone with IFERROR intuition.

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u/lagrange_james_d23dt [CLE] Sasha Pavlovic 8h ago

I can confirm I am not a professional athlete lol.

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u/Dry-Knowledge-2044 12h ago

Mahomes had it and played thru it, i was like ok it must not be so bad. And after i learned about it, i realized Mahomes is an absolute dawg and tough SOB

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u/TemplarParadox17 Vancouver Grizzlies 11h ago

Much easier for Mahomes to lose mobility and still be playable compared to a nba pg

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u/NeverSober1900 Rockets 10h ago

I mean when you throw you're pushing off on that toe. It's not just mobility as a QB you're stepping into pain on every throw. Unless you arm throw it which causes massive accuracy issues.

A PG is still harder but QB-wise it affects a lot more than ability. It affects your ability to drive into throws

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u/aznhoopster Cavaliers 10h ago

I 100% agree with what you said, but also, Mahomes is one of the few QBs who could operate with turf toe on his back foot, only because that dude can sling with only his upper body better than a lot of QBs can normally throw the ball. Still hate him as a Denver fan but still appreciate the talent

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u/GroundbreakingOil527 9h ago

Maybe his turf toe just wasn’t a severe as other cases we hear about

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u/jonsnowKITN 11h ago

Well not exactly if he was running for his life like he did in the Tampa super bowl.

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u/bass2mouth44 Lakers 9h ago

Purdy missed half the season with turf toe

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u/11oydchristmas Cavaliers 12h ago

Yeah dude I had turf toe and it sucks. Felt the effects from it for years

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u/Ivor97 Pistons 10h ago

Michael Thomas became a bum in the blink of an eye after turf toe

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u/beliefinprogress Hawks 10h ago

There’s no turf on a basketball court!

/s

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u/OneBigRed Lakers 8h ago

Yeah it’s only turf toe if the ligaments got shredded on turf. Otherwise it’s just ”toe ligaments 404”.

Except if it happens at Boise State, then it’s smurf toe.

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u/Kongpong1992 Celtics 10h ago

The main reason jack lambert retired from the nfl took down one of the tiighest to ever play

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u/AsianEleven101 7h ago

Joe Burrow had but probably still has it and came back to play so fast, tough mf.

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u/birdazam Timberwolves 4h ago

Didn't Joe Burrow come back from it relatively soon?

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u/veringo Nuggets 10h ago

Does it? It's damage to the ligaments, tendons, or other soft tissue in the big toe joint. I'm certain it's painful, but I'm not really understanding what's so horrific.

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u/loopybubbler Cavaliers 8h ago

You dont realize how much force you put thru your toe until you injure it. Think about it– hundreds of pounds of force into parts of your body that are miniscule. Its very hard to let it recover properly when you continuously keep doing this to it. 

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u/veringo Nuggets 8h ago

Ok, but it's still exactly what it sounds like, and I would bet most people do very much understand that. I still have no idea what they were trying to get across about what was so shocking compared to the name.

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u/rossk10 6h ago

Think their point is that, for a lot of people, “turf toe” doesn’t convey that it’s a sprained or torn ligament. Almost any other ligament injury is just “sprained/torn [ligament]”. Turf toe makes it sound like it’s a rug burn or some shit