The Cleveland Cavaliers have made one of their biggest win-now moves in franchise history. They’ve officially traded away 26-year-old, two-time All-Star Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for 36-year-old, eight-time All-NBA guard James Harden.
The Cavs will also be sending a second-round pick out in the deal.
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This trade is the most shocking in franchise history, even more so than the Kyrie Irving trade with the Boston Celtics or the move that brought Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. This exchange will define Koby Altman’s legacy with the team and within the sport of basketball as a whole.
Figuring out the exact calculations that went into a trade can be difficult in the moment. But based on the move, it’s clear that a couple of things appear to be true.
First, Garland’s injuries are a real concern. Foot injuries are tricky. There’s no guarantee that someone like Garland will ever fully regain the athleticism he had before the injury. Considering he already is an undersized guard at 6’1”, any loss of athleticism could take him from being a very good starting point guard to being a league-average starter.
As we’ve seen with the underwhelming trade package that sent Trae Young to the Washington Wizards and with Ja Morant’s lack of suitors, there isn’t a market for undersized guards, even if they’re still within their prime years. If you’re concerned about a player losing their value completely, it’s always best to make a move too early as opposed to too late.
Second, the team is 100% focused on winning now. They’re pushing all of their chips into the middle. A title window next season or the year after isn’t guaranteed. What we do know is that the Eastern Conference is wide open now. The Cavs are betting that this deal vaults them to the front of the pack.
This move is completely about improving your chances in the playoffs. Garland has not performed to his regular-season skill level in the postseason. Injuries have played a large role in that, but the clock is ticking on a Mitchell-led team. It’s reasonable to believe that Garland’s playing style doesn’t carry over as well in a more physical playoff setting that allows much more contact on and off the ball.
At the same time, the Cavs are trading for an older — but durable — guard who has become the poster child of not performing well in the postseason. While that reputation is a little overblown, there are facts to support this.
Similar to the De’Andre Hunter trade with the Sacramento Kings earlier this week, this move also opens the door for another move if one were to present itself. This is the exact deal that you would make if you had something bigger also lined up. That doesn’t mean that they do, but it’d be unwise to rule that out.
This trade will define this era of Cavs’ basketball. It’s a big swing that could pay off handsomely. I believe they’re better positioned to compete in a wide-open conference race right now. However, they aren’t in a better spot to do so in 2028 and beyond.
The pressure is on this entire organization. It’s now NBA Finals or bust.
The goal of a rebuild is to either draft players you can win a championship with or trade them away for players you know you can win with. Garland has shown steady progress since being taken fifth overall in 2019. For a while, the team’s stance was that they could build a championship with Garland. Somewhere along the line, that calculation changed.
Garland played parts of seven seasons with the Cavs. This year, he’s averaging 18 points and 6.9 assists on .451/.360/.861 shooting splits.
This season, Harden is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on .419/.347/.901 shooting splits. Cleveland will be the sixth team Harden has played on during his 17-year career. The Houston Rockets are the only team he’s been a part of for more than three seasons.