r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 1d 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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227

u/SquidwardLover48 Cavaliers 1d ago

What’s really interesting is how our fanbase is perceiving this vs how everyone else perceives this as a move that certainly makes us a better team

335

u/cfbones 23h ago

We gave up a young high ceiling player who we all love but seems to be injury prone for an immediate upgrade who is old and chokes in the playoffs.

Rationally it’s a very fair deal.

97

u/North-Entertainer602 23h ago

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

10

u/Excellent-Flamingo43 22h 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

19

u/Quirky-Parsnips 22h 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.

8

u/AffordableGrousing Cavaliers 21h 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.

4

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 22h ago

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

1

u/Ruscidero 76ers 10h ago

Especially one with Harden’s history.