The Clippers are trading 11-time All-Star guard James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick, ESPN was first to report on Tuesday.
Harden and the Clippers worked out his exit over the past few days, resulting in a satisfying outcome for both sides – a chance for the 36-year-old Harden to play for a championship contender in Cleveland (30-21) while the Clippers (23-26) add a two-time All-Star in the 26-year-old Garland, who can help both them now and in the future.
Harden has been instrumental in helping the Clippers win 17 of their past 22 games after starting the season at 6-21, making the idea of him wanting a trade nearly unimaginable until word first leaked of a possible deal on Monday night.
He is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 35.4 minutes per game while shooting 41.9% from the field, 34.7% from 3-point range and 90.1% from the free-throw line in 44 games. One of just four players in the league averaging at least 25 ppg and 8 assists (the Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham are the others), he is having his best season since he was with the Houston Rockets in 2019-20. And together with a healthy Leonard, the Clippers saw the kind of success they envisioned three years ago.
Garland, a two-time All-Star, is dealing with a right foot injury and has not played since Jan. 14. He is averaging 18 points and 6.9 assists in 26 games this season.
Harden signed a two-year contract in the offseason worth nearly $81.5 million with a player option for the second year that isn’t fully guaranteed. Garland’s salary is nearly identical to Harden’s, but he has two years left on his contract after this season.
Much more to come on this story.