Darius Garland recently broke LeBron James’ record. Both of them started from the Cleveland Cavaliers and are represented by Klutch Sports. Garland is arguably one of the most promising players in the league. Despite so, the franchise offering him a record contract left everyone shocked.
In fact, Darius Garland has committed himself to a five-year, $193 million agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Notably, Garland’s contract is the largest in Cavaliers franchise history. And it may increase to $231 million if he is selected to the NBA All-Star team next season.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland has agreed on a five-year, $193M maximum designated rookie contract extension that could be worth as much as $231M, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. It is the largest deal in franchise history.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022
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Garland, who was selected fifth overall in the 2019 draft, is coming off his finest season to date. He scored 21.7 points and had 8.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Garland shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 38.3 percent from the three-point range. He also made the All-Star Game for the first time in his career as the first Cavalier to appear since LeBron James and Kevin Love in 2018.
Garland is probably Cleveland’s main point guard at the present moment. Interestingly, his combination with the power trio of Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Lauri Markkanen gives the Cavaliers a foundation upon which to expand moving forward.
These are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AlexIp718/status/1543272200631119872?s=20&t=DBU4Dbq8p815_ZKkPMBsLw
These contracts are nuts, Garland got the DUFFEL. https://t.co/0zQecyyFeW
— HTB ♨️ (@HenryTheBlasian) July 2, 2022
Only players who averaged 20+ points, 8+ assists and 1+ steals per game in an age-22 (or younger) season:
Luka Doncic (3x), Stephon Marbury (2x), Darius Garland, Trae Young, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kevin Johnson, Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson https://t.co/eS5y01HmEh
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) July 2, 2022
I know they mad that Rich Paul is one of the biggest agents in sports https://t.co/ZOjbygGSvw
— J Mo (@Jmo713) July 2, 2022
Not Ja Morant or Zion Williamson — this may push Knicks to give RJ the max. https://t.co/L6zy0BYZka
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) July 2, 2022
LeBron James’ contract record is broken
LeBron James held the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ record contract for the longest time. James’ contract, which he inked in August 2016, was for three years. That summer, the forward won the Cavaliers’ first championship in team history and became an unrestricted free agent. In addition, James then?signed a three-year, $100 million contract with the Cavaliers.
For the first time in his career, LeBron James became the highest-paid NBA player in 2016?17 with a starting salary of $30.9 million. Furthermore, he earned $33.3 million during the 2017?18 campaign.
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Notably, James scored?29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game in the NBA Finals in 2016. Unsurprisingly, James won the Finals MVP award as well.
Watch this Story: Shaquille O’Neal or Kareem Abdul Jabbar: Who Made More 3 Pointers Among The Lakers Legends?
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In 2018, LeBron James signed a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. The fourth year of the deal was supposed to be a player option. He signed a two-year contract extension in December 2020. Hence, he will don the purple and yellow colors at least until the 2023 season.
Will Darius Garland’s record contract with the Cavs be broken anytime soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
