This NBA trade deadline has been an eventful one, with several big-name players being shipped to new locales. One of the biggest trades already consummated, and certainly one of the most surprising given that it seemed to come out of nowhere in about two days’ time, was the Clippers and Cavaliers agreeing to swap James Harden for Darius Garland and a second-round pick.
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Reports came out a few days ago that Harden suddenly wanted out of L.A.. He’s since denied being the one to instigate this move, but given that even his own teammates seemed shocked by the suddenness of it all, plus Harden’s history of bad breakups, it’s fair to question what really went down.
Regardless, this is a big move for both teams. The Clippers had been the hottest team in the NBA, fighting their way back into the playoff conversation after a dismal 6-21 start to the season. The Cavs have been playing well lately too to overcome their own disappointing first few months, but now each team is starting fresh with a new point guard at the controls.
Harden will be joining Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland, while Garland, providing he can stay healthy, should get all the work he can handle in L.A. Clippers coach Ty Lue, who interestingly enough used to coach the Cavs and even led them to the 2016 title, said he’s already had discussions with Garland about using him the way he used Kyrie Irving on that title team.
“That’s what I told him,” Lue said to reporters last night. “And he went back and watched a bunch of film from those days. We’re gonna put the ball in his hands, and he gotta be able to make plays, for himself and for his teammates, and he has the ability to do that.”
Lue came armed with a stat that showed that Garland is one of the better players in the league at making quick decisions out of the pick-and-roll, something Kyrie also has excelled at throughout his career.
“He knows how to play the game,” Lue said of Garland, “and we’re gonna need every bit of it. For him to score the basketball, make guys better, create pace, and he can do all of that.”
There have long been reports that one ball wasn’t enough for Garland and Mitchell to share, but without a fellow All-Star in the backcourt, he should have more room to stretch his wings and show what he can do. He made his second All-Star team last year and helped lead the Cavs to the best record in the East, so we know the ability is there.
Just as Kyrie had LeBron James, Garland will have Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi has looked like his old self in the past 20 games or so, a two-way demon capable of strapping a team to his back and carrying them up the standings.
Kawhi and Garland may be able to do a reasonable facsimile of LeBron and Kyrie’s ‘Batman and Robin’ thing from years ago, but the newest Clipper may also look good by virtue of the fact that every team Harden has ever left has had a better record the next season. Combine that with the Beard’s brutal playoff record, and the Clippers may win this deal even if Garland doesn’t play like prime Kyrie.
