Andrew Berry Reportedly Consulted Thunder's Presti, MLB's Bloom During Myles Garrett Trade Talks

Before making a franchise-altering trade involving a superstar talent by dealing Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry sought the input of people in other sports who have been in his shoes.

Per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Berry is part of a "think tank/buddy group of executives" across various sports that also includes Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti and current St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

Breer noted that Presti "affirmed" Berry's desire for an established young player rather than only pursuing draft picks in a deal for Garrett.

Bloom, who is best known for his tenure as chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox from 2019 to '23, emphasized a desire to find players with similar personality characteristics when he traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020:

"Meanwhile, Bloom anchored that resolve with his story of trading Mookie Betts, when he was running the Red Sox, to the Dodgers in 2020. Dealing a player who was Captain America from a character standpoint, Bloom emphasized the importance of prioritizing finding a similar makeup in the players that he had coming back in the blockbuster."

Presti made the most important trade in recent NBA history by dealing Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a package of five first-round picks, two pick swaps and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Even though Gilgeous-Alexander was coming off a strong rookie season and did get mention in recaps of the deal, most of the attention was focused on the cache of picks.

Gilgeous-Alexander wound up being the most important piece in the deal for either side. He has developed into a player who has won back-to-back MVP awards and led the Thunder to an NBA title during the 2024-25 season.

The deal Bloom made with the Dodgers for Betts did not bring the same success for the Red Sox. Connor Wong is the only player Boston acquired still on the team. Alex Verdugo was solid in four seasons with the Red Sox. Jeter Downs only played 50 games in the big leagues across two seasons.

In fairness to Bloom, the Betts trade seemed like one that was forced on him by an ownership group that didn't want to pay the superstar outfielder due to concerns about the competitive balance tax.

Berry's deal to send Garrett to the Rams brought back Jared Verse and three draft picks, including a first-rounder in 2027. The Browns GM explained there originally weren't plans to trade Garrett this offseason, but the inclusion of Verse in the offer opened him up to it.

It's hard to dispute that Verse helped push the Browns into a more comfortable zone to deal the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Verse is only 25 with two more guaranteed years on his rookie contract, plus an option year for 2028. He has recorded 45 quarterback hits, 22 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in 34 games over his first two NFL seasons.

For Berry and the Browns, they are banking on this trade working out much closer to how things have gone for Presti and the Thunder compared to Bloom and the Red Sox.