The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2025-26 NBA season isn’t the same as last year. During the 2024-25 season, the Cavs had early success and went 15-0. This year, however, Cleveland is struggling and is 14-11, making it the eighth-best team in the Eastern Conference. There have been various reasons why the team has had trouble setting the tone.
One of the main reasons for the Cavs’ struggles is injuries to their main players. Their starting point guard, Darius Garland, has played in only nine games due to a foot issue. Even their starting center, Jarrett Allen, has played only 15 games.
Amid the Cavs’ situation, trade rumors have surrounded the franchise. However, former NBA star Lou Williams said the struggles shouldn’t prompt the team to do a trade.
Williams said that the Cavs should not push the panic button on Monday’s episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back.”
“You gotta be careful what you ask for. They said they want a test, we’ll sit down and take this test,” Williams said. “Last year, they had a lot of success early on, and they were able to sneak up on teams. Now, everybody knows that the Cleveland Cavaliers are a really good basketball team.
“You’re starting to see teams respond to them like they’re a team that started 15-0. We’re gonna come into your building or you’re coming into our building, and we expect to play a good basketball team. So, they’re getting everybody’s best shot and they’re getting all the tests and challenges that they could’ve wanted.
Cleveland wanted to be tested… now it’s time to sit down and answer the questions 😅📝
Lou Williams isn’t worried about the Cavaliers, saying they can still be a top-4 team in the East if they respond the right way. pic.twitter.com/N04fzI6zAj
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 8, 2025
“I don’t look at this as a panic, I think this is a good thing for them but I’m curious to see how they respond.”
It’s still early in the season, and the Cavs have enough time to recover and become competitive once again.
Chandler Parsons and DeMarcus Cousins believe the Cavaliers should keep Darius Garland
The injuries to Darius Garland have affected the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bid to contend for the NBA championship. With his absences, he has been included in various trade rumors. However, former NBA players Chandler Parsons and DeMarcus Cousins believe the organization should stop considering to trade the star guard.
“When he’s hurt, he kinda just gets — you don’t talk about him as much, I think this team takes a big hit,” Parsons said. “Do I think they trade him? I really don’t. I think he is the guy for the future.”
Cousins agrees with Parsons and doubled down on the Cavs not needing to panic.
“There’s no need to trade him,” Cousins added. “Obviously, he hasn’t been healthy so the sample size is very, very small… It’s no time to panic, it’s no time to look to trade.”
The Cavs need to stay healthy to remain competitive in the East.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
