The news that the Clippers were in advanced talks with Cleveland on a trade of James Harden for Darius Garland hit last night like a thunderbolt. Most Clippers fans were expecting a fairly quiet deadline: maybe swapping out some role players, but nothing major. So much for that. Less than 24 hours later and the trade is official: Harden for Garland plus the Cavaliers 2nd round pick in this year’s draft. The James Harden era in Los Angeles is over.
Quite honestly, even though I was not expecting Harden to get traded at this deadline, I think this trade makes sense for all parties. This trade was clearly precipitated by Harden’s frustration with the Clippers not making any promises about giving him a medium-term (two year) contract this summer with his 2026-2027 salary only partially guaranteed. While the Clippers have not had playoff success with Harden, he’s been a regular season monster and has been extremely durable: it makes sense that he feels he deserves some job security. I will basically never reject any player’s decision to do what’s best for their bank account and future, even for someone like Harden who’s already made a ton of money on and off the court.
From the Clippers perspective, they are moving on from an aging, declining star for a two-time All Star in Garland who is a full decade younger than Harden (Garland just turned 26). Garland has his own issues, namely being injury-prone and having a playoff track record that makes Harden look like Michael Jordan, but he’s very good and is in his prime. If you’d said before the season that the Clippers would not just swap Harden for Garland but get a 2nd round pick for their trouble, I think most Clippers’ fans would have been gleeful.
Let’s talk about Garland for a bit. He’s had a bit of a down year (still 18 points and 6.9 assists on reasonable good efficiency), struggling with a toe injury that first surfaced in last year’s playoffs and has limited his burst. Still, he was excellent last year, and is at an age where a precipitous drop off in play should not happen. Garland is an excellent shooter, scorer, and playmaker, making him just an overall extremely well-rounded offensive player. He’s also quite fast and quick twitch, the first player of that ilk that the Clippers have had in many years (early Eric Bledsoe?).
When Garland is rolling, he’s both a traditional playmaker that can run an offense as well as consistently get his own buckets. Sound familiar? Garland is not nearly as strong as Harden or as explosive as prime Harden, so he gets downhill in different ways and isn’t the foul-drawing machine Harden is, but in some ways, they are similar players. The major difference is that Garland has only been the true driver of a good team’s offense once (in 2021-2022, his first All-Star appearance): since then, he’s rode shotgun to Donovan Mitchell. His career high in points per game is 21.7, again, a far cry even from this year’s Harden. He’s just not quite that level of bucket.
Garland is unfortunately similar to Harden in another way, which is that he’s a major defensive liability. Garland is quicker than Harden, but is very undersized and is prone to getting bullied by larger opposing players. He’s also not very disruptive and can lose track of players off ball. As brutal as Harden has been on defense this season, Garland is probably just as bad, just in somewhat different ways. The Clippers will still need to cover up for their star point guard on that end of the court. Unlike Harden, however, Garland is not quite that level of offensive engine: I’m not sure if the Clippers will be able to survive with Kris Dunn, for example, next to Garland. The Clips will probably need a more traditional two-guard next to Darius, whether its Kobe Sanders, Jordan Miller, a different trade acquisition, or a summer move.
After this season, Garland has two more years on his contract, making just over $42M in 2026-2027 and $44.8M in 2027-2028. If he returns to last year’s level of his play, that contract is reasonable if not downright good. The reason this is notable is that for years the Clippers have signaled their plan is to create cap space for the summers of 2026 and most importantly, 2027. Garland’s deal will impact that plan – the Clippers will no longer be able to create two max player slots in free agency. On the other hand, All-Star level players don’t change teams much, and getting Garland in his prime is probably better than a second-level guy the Clippers could have gotten in summer free agency anyway. This is a play for the future as much as now. In fact, it’s unclear what Garland’s status the rest of this season even is, as he’s played just 26 games and has been out for several weeks. It’s possible he comes back soon and plays the rest of the year, and it’s also possible he will be out a while longer.
For the Clippers, this is a bet that Garland’s toe/foot injuries are not a long-term issue, and that even if he misses a lot of the rest of this year, he’ll be back to playing at an All-Star level next season and the following season. Having just turned 26, Garland could be a Clipper for a while if he does play well the next couple of years, and even if he’s not a Batman, he could be a capable Robin if the Clippers find a superstar lead to replace Kawhi in the next summer or two. I don’t know anything about Garland’s medicals, but I think it’s a reasonable bet. The downside is that for a player that does rely on quickness, even a small drop in speed could have a real impact in overall play. Knock on wood that’s not the case.
As for Harden, I’m not sure what more I have to say that I have not written about on here or said on The Lob The Jam The Pod. Harden has been a warrior for the Clips, playing in 72 of 79 possible games in 2024, 79 of 82 last year, and 44 of 49 this season, with two of those absences coming in the last two games. Considering the Clippers’ stars over the years have included mostly injury-prone players, Harden’s reliability on a night-to-night basis was downright refreshing. Harden was also just pretty damn good for the Clips, averaging 21.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.5 assists while logging 35 minutes per game. The turnovers could be an issue, as could the defense, and the raw shooting splits don’t look great – but Harden’s combination of three-point shooting and foul-drawing kept him quite efficient. The playoffs were disappointing, but 2024 was not on Harden at all, and 2025 was a team collapse that Harden played a role in but was not the primary driver of.
More than anything else, Harden was shockingly fun to watch as a Clipper. He did have his moments where he foul-baited, the turnovers could be inexplicable, and the effort on defense waxed and waned. But he put this team on his back on offense for great stretches of the last 2.5 years, and did so through a combination of brilliant playmaking, electric scoring, and crafty smarts. I will miss watching Harden play ball.
It also must be said, importantly, that all of the reports about Harden as a teammate, fan-facing presence, and culture-setter were nothing but positive. Maybe articles come out going forward that change his perception, but all the fans I know who have interacted with him have said he’s great, and nearly all of his teammates have sworn by him. That is not something I would have anticipated from Harden before he became a Clipper, as he’s so famous for his drama and team-switching.
I know I will not be alone in rooting for Harden on the Cavaliers. I hope he’s able to make a deep playoff run in Cleveland – and get paid by them this summer to boot. He deserves one last bag. On the flip side, I’m excited to watch Darius Garland on the Clippers: he’s going to bring speed and quickness that has been missing from this roster for a very long time, and is an excellent offensive player. It’s a deal that truly makes sense from all sides, and I hope it works out well for everyone involved.
