It certainly feels like the end of an era in LA as the number of superstars on the Clippers roster is down to one for the first time since 2019.
Kawhi Leonard is now the lone player on the team with All-NBA accolades to his name, and it feels like the franchise has officially thrown in the white flag on the experiment that originally started when they brought the two-time Finals MVP to town, at least for now.
The Clippers dealt James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland before the NBA trade deadline, signaling a dramatic shift towards the future rather than the present.
Harden is undoubtedly the better player, even at 36, but Garland is no scrub. He is a two-time All-Star who has averaged over 20 points per game three times, and he just so happens to be ten years younger.
Garland is not a superstar like Paul George, Russell Westbrook, or Harden, who were all here just two seasons ago, but there is no denying that he is a very good NBA player who can heat up and catch fire with the best of them. He shoots the ball well from distance, is one of the fastest players in the league, can score at all three levels, and while not an elite creator, his 6.7 career assists per game are nothing to scoff at.
“I care about basketball. I care about winning. This is what I have dreamt of doing my entire life, so I just want to go out there, put my best foot forward, and try to do as much as I can for Clippers Nation,” said Garland.
“I want to win and make everyone better around me. I think I am a good teammate; I am easy to get along with. I want to make the game exciting, bring some shiftiness, some flair, throw some lobs, and a lot of threes. I just want to make the game fun, my teammates’ lives easier, and as I said, win games,” Garland continued.
Will Darius Garland ever be better than James Harden was during their respective careers? No.
Does he fit into LA’s future plans better than the player he was traded for? The Clippers are pretty confident he does.
At the time of the trade, no one was playing better basketball than the Clippers. They had the best record in the NBA over the last 20 games Harden played with the franchise, going 16-4 before news broke that the organization and their point guard were potentially looking to part ways.
Breaking up a team midseason that had found that kind of mojo makes no sense from an outside perspective, but the bigger picture makes this a positive move for all parties involved, aside from maybe Leonard.
“Everybody knows that James was great for us. His ability to make guys better, play every single night, his ability to score the basketball, and he was really just a great guy; everybody loved him from the organization to the players. He was a rockstar. These two and a half years were really great, and I am just happy for both sides,” said Tyronn Lue.
Harden wanted the front office to commit to him beyond next season, something they were unwilling to do. So just as they did with Paul George, they moved on. After years of teetering back and forth over the line of a championship contender or pretender, they appear to be shutting down their title hopes for the season as they opt to build towards 2027.
Garland is slightly cheaper than what Harden would have commanded, and he is locked up until the end of the 2027-28 season. It feels like a bit of penny pinching in the moment, but they would rather take their chance on the younger option, and it also opens up the door for them to have around $150 million in cap space heading into the 2027 offseason, which is shaping up to be one of the better free agent classes.
From the Cavaliers’ and Harden’s perspectives, they both want to win now. Cleveland was already one of the best teams on paper, and adding a player of Harden’s caliber makes them the clear favorite in the Eastern Conference. They want a title, and so does Harden, who would go down as one of the best players to never win one if he fails to get it done soon.
“I didn’t want to feel like I was holding the Clippers up in their future,” said Harden. “In Cleveland, I see an opportunity to win in the East; they got a very good team, coaching staff, all of the above. So as much as I wanted to stay in LA and give it a go, I’ve never won one before, and as a basketball mind, I think I have a bit better chance.”
It has been a strange year for the Clippers, to say the least.
A horrible start to the season, both record-wise and from an injury standpoint, put them well behind the eight ball. They kicked one of their all-time players, Chris Paul, off the team shortly into his second stint, and lost their prized offseason addition, Bradley Beal, early on for the season with a hip fracture.
All of that before storming back into the playoff race behind superb play from Leonard and Harden, just to trade away half of their dynamic duo. To make matters even whackier, LA played the Cavaliers the very next night, less than 24 hours after swapping point guards.
The Clippers still have a good shot at making the postseason by claiming one of the spots in the Play-In Tournament, but it seems highly unlikely they will go on a deep run this year without Harden.
It will be interesting to see what Garland brings to the table next to Kawhi and alongside John Collins, Ivica Zubac, Kris Dunn, and the rest of the squad. It will also be great for the younger players like Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller to continue to develop and get extended run.
Most of all, it will be fascinating to see Harden attempt to make a push for his first NBA championship with the Cavaliers. He has an extensive history of coming up short, but this time around, he won’t have to be more than the second or third option with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley in Cleveland.
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.” Email Benjamin at benverbrugge8@gmail.com.
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