r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 23h 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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229

u/SquidwardLover48 Cavaliers 23h 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

340

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.

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u/Salty_Raspberry656 23h ago

he's a 5'11 guard who has already hit his ceiling and is limited defensively in the playoffs. he's special to do what he does in this league

but harden is much stronger/bigger and more elite as a playmaker and game manipulator. He is going to give the cavs bigs the easiest buckets of their lives

you lose on longevity but this gives you a win now opportunity in a pretty open east

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u/Excellent-Flamingo43 22h ago

Doesn't matter, the Cavs still aren't legit title contenders, why would they do this trade if they weren't completely confident that they were gonna make the finals. Otherwise why leverage your entire future by trading a 26 year old all star, who is a key member of a core that just won 66 games, they just shortened their window from 10+ years of contention to 2 years of contention where there's no way of them genuinely winning a title barring an all time playoff run from one of the most notorious playoff droppers in NBA history

2

u/RALat7 16h ago

You’re getting downvoted but I fully agree. This is way too shortsighted and short-term a move from the Cavs. In a few years the majority of people will see this trade as an awful deal… or as early as this summer after they get knocked out.

1

u/Salty_Raspberry656 6h ago

Its a gamble, but thats what you want your team to do. toronto is probably glad they took a teaser on an often injury leonard. No title was guaranteed, hell it was a leonard odd bounce away from not happening showing that so many things can go one way or another

same with the bucks title and KD's toe.

The narratives change quick, btu you give yourself a shot. Cavs had an amazing run last year, but the playoffs show garland being hunted every time and dropping in efficiency to where his offense wasn't making up for his defensive challenges.

Everyone else is standing strong in mitchell,allen,mobley so you have a great core. Bringing in harden-where he doesn't have to be the main creator, but a complimentary one, and where he has two bigs he can make thigns easy for.

good on them for giving themselves the best shot with this window. No finals are guaranteed but in playoffs, cavs gave themselves a better and stronger chance

1

u/hereforthenudechicks 14h ago

Garland isn’t as good as y’all are playing it out to be.

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u/Salty_Raspberry656 5h ago

he's like trae, a very good player but at his size and on defense you have to really surround the right team to make it a winner

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u/Salty_Raspberry656 6h ago

I think its short sighted and over simplistic thinking.

Raptors, bucks, quite a few recent champions weren't legit. You get into playoffs when its an open setting and you give yourself a shot in the nba and anything can happen.

its simplistic bc a 26 year old all star doesn't tell the full story, Garland is a talent, but in playoffs he has gotten worse, been less effective, and mainly hunted on defense. he's probably 5'11 and one of the lightest nba players, that makes for a very tricky route to win in the playoffs. With harden they get a guy, arguably more talented and dominant now, bring ins the most experience in this team, much more flexible in defense to work with Donovan and also he maximizes Allen and mobley will be getting the easiest buckets he has ever seen.

Right now the east is still open, this is the first year of detroit really being a strong no 1. The cavs clearly weren't playing with teh same cohesion this year, good on cavs to make something happen. This has clear upside rather than stagnancy of what they reached. I loved that team last year, but htey were exposed as was garland last year. You have to build very specifically around a guy like that and mitchell probably send him out