Clippers Took a Big Risk Trading James Harden for Darius Garland

The NBA was shaken up at the trade deadline with the Los Angeles Clippers moving future Hall of Famer James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for All-Star Darius Garland. On the surface, this felt like a fantastic deal for the Clippers.

Despite Los Angeles going on a big run once Kawhi Leonard returned from injury, it never really felt like this team was a serious contender for the Finals. Leonard is great when he plays, but he is rarely available. Harden was once again looking for greener pastures, and aside from Ivica Zubac, the Clippers severely lacked depth.

Moving Harden for a two-time All-Star who’s 10 years younger is something we haven’t seen much in the NBA. It was a no-brainer for Clippers GM Trent Redden.

But what if this move isn’t as smart as it seems?

If you’ve watched the Cavs over the last four seasons, when Garland is healthy, they can reach offensive highs that match any team in the league. But that “when” is doing a ton of heavy lifting in that sentence.

The Garland-for-Harden trade was announced on Wednesday, and it wasn’t made official until just hours before tip-off. Getting official physicals can take some time, but Garland had been on the Clippers’ sideline since Wednesday. I wonder if Los Angeles was more concerned with the results of Garland’s medical report than with what they thought they were getting.

Since Garland returned from his offseason toe surgery, there have been many points in the season where he’s favored his right side. Then, before he was traded, he injured his big toe on his right foot.

This trade seemed like it came somewhat out of nowhere. I think the Cavs were nervous about the extent of this injury. The Clippers have the luxury to let Garland take his time recovering, as this season is mostly down the drain, but his last toe surgery took him six months to recover from. Not only that, but he never seemed like he had the same shiftiness that Cleveland was used to.

With Garland being a more undersized guard who relies on his quick first step to get by his defender, his jumper also seemed affected as defenders were able to play further up on him. He is shooting the second-lowest percentage of his career from three, and I think the toe has something to do with that.

These types of injuries can build up quickly for a player, and if Garland loses a step, his value plummets as the playoffs get more physical. Harden has his flaws, but he’s a historically durable lead guard. He’s not as dominant as he was during his time in Houston, but for a team looking to at least “soft rebuild”, I’m shocked to see the Clippers move on from Harden so quickly.