Ja Morant was a big reason why Darius Garland signed a $193 million deal with the Cavs. Here is what you need to know!
Ja Morant was a big reason: In their new max extensions, Darius Garland and Ja Morant signed contracts for salaries worth a total of $385 million. Morant signed his deal first, and it seems that Ja’s new deal played a significant role in Garland’s talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers about a new contract.
Garland’s Heft Contract of $193 million with the Cavs
When Garland signed his vast $193 million, five-year contract extension with the Cavs, the fifth and final year did not have a player option. As it turns out, this happened because Morant’s contract didn’t include a player option. On a recent episode of The Wine & Gold Talk podcast, NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed this news (thanks to Jonathan Sherman of Cavaliers Nation):
“A player option was a huge, huge talking point this summer across the league, but definitely on the fifth year of these five-year supermaxes,” Fischer said. “And I know that was something that Rich Paul was hoping for in Darius Garland’s deal. And when Ja Morant’s deal came out and did not have a player option, that really did help Cleveland.”
Player Options, Deals, and More News Around the Cavs
A player option means that a player can choose to leave his contract and become a free agent during a specific season. For example, if Garland’s recent contract extension had included a player option, he could have chosen not to play the last season of his new deal in 2027-28 and instead signed a free agent contract.
Morant was not able to negotiate a player option on his five-year, $192 million contract, so the Cavs were in a great position to extend their star player.