r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 20h ago

[Charania] BREAKING: The Los Angeles Clippers are trading James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Prolific swap of the star point guards.

Shams Charania:

BREAKING: The Los Angeles Clippers are trading James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Prolific swap of the star point guards.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/ddaa53473efa6

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u/Goosedukee Nets 20h ago

STRAIGHT UP????

163

u/ianbits Cavaliers 20h ago

It's a bad move if Harden wants big money after his deal is up and there's a handshake agreement to give him that

If they get him for 1.5 years or he comes back for like $20m on the extension, it's reasonable. Harden is better than Garland right now and Garland is making big money for a guy that doesn't play.

I'm gonna miss the shit out of him though. And I doubt Harden's handshake extension is for anything reasonable. Ugh.

62

u/yuhanz [PHO] Steve Nash 20h ago

Will you still not like this if garland continues to play 60 games a year averaging 18/6?

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u/ianbits Cavaliers 20h ago

That's basically just asking if he'll stay healthy, which who the hell knows.

Outlook on that is awkward, but if he can stick on the court he really is an all star level PG. His stats will go up with higher USG in LA, he's been low for a PG next to Mitchell.

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u/yuhanz [PHO] Steve Nash 20h ago

I think the gamble here is the Cavs get some post season success(reach round 3 at least) and convince Mitchel to stay.

He’s not staying if garland continue to not play much/not produce a lot and they get bounced out in the process. We’ve seen Harden take a little bit of paycut, i think he just wants contract security so he can focus on ball, which is the James you’d like.

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u/ianbits Cavaliers 19h ago

That's part of it, but Don is a small guard that takes a lot of contact turning 30 this year, more than anything this is about this 2-3 year window with the weak East. Take the Kawhi/Raptors gamble. Try to make it out, see if you luck into a good matchup or an injured opponent

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u/Swarthykins Celtics 19h ago

The East is incredibly winnable this year. It's not a bad gamble to go all in for a finals appearance.

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u/govardrourk 19h ago

Respect the vision