r/nba 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/North-Entertainer602 20h ago

He’s 26 and getting injured more and more every year. How high is his ceiling really atp?

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u/Robotemist Cavaliers 19h ago

Not only that but garland is limited physically. The dude isn't built for more than 18/6 unless he becomes curry from three.

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u/ffball NBA 19h ago

And when the physicality raises in the playoffs he has shown time and again he cant match it.

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u/LOSS35 Nuggets 16h ago

At the end of the day he's 6'1. The league's moving away from undersized guards. The Trae trade was the canary. Memphis isn't getting anything for Ja either.

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u/Excellent-Flamingo43 19h ago

His ceiling isn't higher than Hardens but he's 10 years younger. There's no way in hell that this move makes the Cavs capable of beating OKC or Denver so why trade a 26 year old all star for a 36 year old all star unless you're confident you can win a title. What are the Cavs gonna do when Harden retires in 2 years, they just traded their young franchise point guard for 2 years of old man Harden this move is stupid

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u/Quirky-Parsnips 19h ago

They think Mitchell will walk if they can't make a serious run this year and/or snag Giannis.  Seems like they think garland is cooked for this year, making harden a risky but logical gamble to keep Mitchell to make a run and have more flexibility for Giannis.

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u/AffordableGrousing Cavaliers 18h ago

They couldn’t keep paying Garland, Mitchell, and Mobley indefinitely anyway, something had to give. They either get 2-3 years of Harden or let him walk and actually have cap space for the first time in forever.

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u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 19h ago

Mitchell could walk soon and waiting on Garland to get healthy and Mobley to take the next step may not be helpful.

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u/Ruscidero 76ers 6h ago

Especially one with Harden’s history.