Rumor: Clippers May Trade James Harden for Darius Garland

Wow- this is a shocker. Um- why? Unless the Beard is pressing for it, seems pretty confusing as the Clippers are on a great run so why mess it up. Unless it's a trade too good to be true? It'd better be more than just Darius Garland then. But perhaps this is just unfounded rumor?

https://www.si.com/nba/trade-deadline/chris-mannix-sources-james-harden-darius-garland-trade-in-advanced-talks

Yeah, a lot of chatter on this. It surely begs why now in the midst of a great run! Also, he is lot signed for a long term. With the budding young guys we have, JH would have been an asset for them to blossom.

May be, JH expressed his desire to be traded? Whatever it may be, it surely doesn’t make feel good.

It appears something might have happened between him and the organization. Rumor is that they working together to get a trade get done by this deadline.

What the heck!

Yeah not sure what's up- thought he had good rapport with the guys and the coaches. But we'll have to see. But Darius Garland straight up is NOT enough- they have to throw in a first rounder at least.

what in the world? Look at the score today without James Harden. We are down right now 100-87. Without Kawhi, he was the Only person carrying this team and willing the wins. Don't tell me the clippers organization really want this? The owner, Steve Ballmer doesn't have a money problem. And Harden has not shown any sign of wanting out at all.

This is a very strange story.

Without Harden and Kawhi, we wouldn't have come all the way back. Now if were still 5 wins and 30 losses, sure that makes sense. But not the way we came back. This is just plain stupid.

If anything, why don't they trade Kawhi instead of Harden? With the exception of these past 15 games, Kawhi disappeared for 5 year!! Harden played hard every single night and surprisingly never misses a games. With 1 min to go, Harden with the ball, you know for sure he'll make the shot with a hand on his face, and he'll get 4 points. He does it over and over. Obviously, I don't want either outstanding players to be traded. But between the two, I'd trade Kawhi way before I trade Harden.

Hmm, if that's the case then this come back run is over. There's no way Kahwi can get us to the playoffs by himself. Then if that's the case, let's just blow it up and start all over. Why are they making such as big change at this point in the season?

Man, if this trade goes through and if we don’t get better, then all this euphoria over this streak is down the drain!

I wonder if this trade, if it goes down- and unfortunately I think we may have seen the last of the Beard in a Clipper uni with the news out now, could be the start of a domino effect. I wonder if Kawhi, Zu and Collins may be next. That would be quite the cruel tease by the organization, but I'd understand it'd be for the betterment of Cliippers' future.

A stunner indeed. I wonder if something happened during or after that Denver loss

So basically, before thursday, Kawhi is going to ask for a trade, John Collins will ask for a trade, Zubak will ask for a trade... hahaha.

Let's blow it up! Finally!

But knowing Ballmer, he's going to sign Kawhi for another $250 million, so that he can play with the left over crew of scrubs.

Ballmer doesn't do rebuilds. He likes retool. He'll keep Kawhi even if he's 50 years old.

Hey maybe they'll bring back CP3. He's still on the roster and getting paid.

Maybe Ballmer will bring in Lebron? He believes the Oldies can win championships based on their past greatness.

Clippers are again a total joke. So sad. Been watching them since the Corey Maggette days, and the Blake Griffin days. But this is too much. This is a circus.

Well apparently it's about next year when Harden is only partially guaranteed 1/3 of his option. Perhaps if the Clippers guaranteed the entire option, perhaps Harden would stay. But not sure what the "grand plan" is for next season, so I suppose if the front office has it all figured out- those plans don't seem to include the Beard for now.

But seeing the performance level Harden has been able to keep for the most part, just like Lebron James, he could still be a high level player for at least the next year.

I guess it's happening

Feels underwhelming, but it's better than nothing, I guess. Makes no sense to keep Harden and pay him more money as he continues to age. Garland is a nice young player, but has trouble staying healthy, so that's a concern. But it's a clear that they want to get younger, and keep the flexibility open for 2027.

Now the question is, does it stop here? Or this the beginning of a rebuild? Honestly, I wouldn't mind tearing it all down. Trade Kawhi, Zu, Collings, Bogie, and get whatever you can. Don't just have one foot out the door. Go all in and start over. It'll be painful for sure, but it's what I believe needs to happen.

Good. Tired of hardens sloppy play, careless turnovers, and super low efficiency. Yes we lost without harden, but that’s because we had Kris Dunn starting. With garland you get younger, and a guy who can actually penetrate and break down the defense. Love this move. The only question mark is will he be able to run the pick n roll with Zu and how fast will he accumulate to his teammates and getting them the ball on their spots.

Man that escalated quickly. So the Clippers will now face Harden in a Cavs uniform tomorrow? That's crazy!

But it's disappointing that a leader of the team, still under contract, decided to bail like that in the middle of the season while the team was on a huge upswing. I mean he agreed to the deal, so it's not a good look to all of a sudden bail like that.

As for Garland- I'm a little puzzled why the Clippers would take on his salary like that as he is on the books for 2 more season beyond this year. He is oft injured and it's questionable how much upside he has left. At 6'1" he's not going to be very versatile on defense despite a solid 1v1 defender. But we can only hope that Darius can stay healthier with the Clippers, and elevate his play more. At least there will be better ball movement with Harden gone, but will the team be better? I guess that's what the Clippers believe vs having Harden? I have my doubts.

Well seems like the Clippers at least got a second rounder from the Cavs as well- that was funny that Cleveland was demanding a first rounder from the Clippers.

I don't see Garland having a future here to be honest. This is a stop gap. He'll be traded when 2027 comes along to clear cap. My guess is Garland will stay on the team for this year and next. We can use him for now, but I'd ideally like the FO to flip him for more picks when the opportunity arises.

I am disappointed in that probably there won’t be any fun to watch them for the rest of the year. Feels like a rudderless team.

Not only, JH was effective in ball handling and scoring, he made others - like KL, Zu and Collings - better. In addition, the kids were blossoming nicely.

For sure, it is disappointing to see the leader bailing out like that when things were sailing smoothly.

The silver lining is that we are getting a younger guy but we need him to be a healthy guy.

Man, even with a deep pocketed owner and its own swanky stadium, I still didn’t see a star player stick out with the team for long.

Yet another disappointing day in Clipperdom!

The team is worse in the short term. However, we didn't have a choice. Harden demanded the trade, and we had to find a buyer. Garland was NOT a player I would have wanted, but we got something in return. Health is a concern of course, which is why we can only hope that this kid can stay healthy for the next two years. However, I hope he balls out and we can flip him for picks. My ideal is that we go into 2027 with a combination of picks and cap space to build a team around. I don't want us to only rely on the free agent market.

He had some great games this year, and he arguably kept us afloat when Kawhi was out. However, let's be honest. His style of play is not effective in the playoffs when iso play is not going to cut it. We aren't going to be much worse to be honest. The hard thing is with Harden gone we don't have a go to guy that can take over when Kawhi is out, and he will be out. We can only hope that Garland can stay healthy and we become a better overall team that plays team ball rather than rely on Harden to take over and isolate.

This is not that bad to be honest. The Sterling fiasco with his mistress was probably the worst. The Olowakandi days were pretty bad too, so this is not bad. It's not ideal, but no we have seen much worse.

Deflated... not much else to add atm

We knew who Harden was when we got him. He demanded trades from not one but many teams he had been on. We knew who Kawhi was before we got him. He load managed and got injured. The front office tripled down on their decisions. We need to stop mortgaging our future.

Disappointing for sure- thought there was something special going with this improbable 16-4 (now 16-5) run. It still can be continued, but Harden was a key part of it, so it's deflating for sure. Not too much hard feeling I guess for now against Harden unless he starts bad mouthing the Clippers, which doesn't sound like it's a situation like that. You do wonder even if the Clippers had guaranteed his final year (next year) the full $40+ mil, would he still had requested the trade. Perhaps we will find out.

I am so tired of that take... mortgaging "our future".

We are in LOS ANGELES. We are not a small market team that needs to build and develop young players with small contracts.

We swung big with investing in literal infrastructure, we have deep pockets and laser focus... Our owner literally doesn't care about being in the RED, he just wants to see SUCCESS.

I am in disagreement with anyone that goes against what our ownership and management is trying to do... you're going against the grain. Sure - drafting and developing is a method... but we are actively NOT pursuing that route. Any draft capital we receive should be treated as an asset to deal out for talent.

In addition: Harden made me change my mind about him almost completely. Almost 180 degrees. Almost. He's going to go about his business and I can respect that. He gave this franchise a lot. I do not think we get the same level from DG. I do not doubt that DG is a great player... but he's no Harden. And he's hurt more than Kawhi (exaggerating to make a point).

Actually, NO market needs to be a free agent market or a build and develop market. Small markets can choose to go all out for big contracts. The Cleveland Cavaliers are considered a small market, yet they have one of the highest payrolls. Boston is considered a large market yet built a championship team from within when they drafted Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. This notion that we are LA and we don't need to bother with the draft is a choice. Dealing away draft picks is mortgaging one's future. There's no way around that definition.

Are they trying to succeed though? When you build a core together, how many years do you need for it to prove it can't win? Ballmer has been successful in everything but making the team a contender. Second round outs are not what we envisioned with this core. Also, I'm not going against the grain. We haven't won anything. Meanwhile OKC, Golden State, Boston, and San Antonio have won chips with the draft as their core weapon. The burden is not on me to prove we are doing the wrong thing. We've continued to flame out with this strategy. The burden is on you to prove what the Clippers are doing is right.

Definitely disagree with this take as our recent history shows us that the FO has struck out with this strategy...remember Shai?

I was hoping that if we traded Harden the point would be for picks, but the scary thing is I don’t trust our office with late firsts. I might just be overthinking, I do like Sanders and Jordan. I don’t really like Darius but my son thinks he’s a baller.

As far as mortgaging or not, I definitely like building the team through the draft. I think there is more of a feel that it is your team when built like that. To add to that, we’ve seen us, phoenix, Brooklyn, Brooklyn all flame out trying to buy success.

It's just much harder because of the salary cap. Also, when you bring in rookies, you can still possible mold them. I think what we need to do is invest more in the scouting department. You are right that they haven't done well with late first round picks. The jury is still out on Darius. At least we have a few months to see what we have in him and whether he has a place in our future.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47820850/clippers-deal-james-harden-cavs-land-darius-garland

So it was a mutal decision apparently, and the writing was on the wall early this season when the team go off to that awful start. He had turned from a NBA "villain" to a good guy on the Clippers, so it's kind of tough as a fan to see him leave. Many people were counting him out before this season started, but he worked hard, came in and proved them wrong. Best of luck to the Beard in Cleveland- it'd be interesting to see how well he performs in the playoffs in the East.

He doing that "snow angel" on the court in that Pacers game was one of the top Clipper highlights I've seen in recent years:

ESPN gave the Clippers a "B-" and the Cavs a "B" for the trade:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47808860/james-harden-darius-garland-trade-grade-whats-next

Looks like Zubac is next.

I think he's out cause he just became a father. Or became a father again?

Agree with some of this... but are you really going to stand by "no market needs to be a free agent market"?

Some places are more desirable to live and play in, and talent will always be drawn to that. It is no surprise that NYC/LA/MIA/BOS are always buzzin'

But sure, small markets can pop off (esp with the cap and rules to "even the playing field")... my only point was that the playing field is uneven. And that is not even the point, the point is our owner leaned on that fact and swung for the fences.

I never meant that we are "LA and we don't need to bother with the draft", I just meant that Steve was clearly from day one actively employing the strategy to spend draft capital and bring in "win-now" talent. And doing so and mortgaging the future is a strategy that we have employed. Were we smart with our dealings? Has it panned out? Maybe not... but the strategy was literally laid out for us - Ballmer has not been shy about that. He's said so multiple times.

I am not here saying I agree with it.. I am just tired of hearing of the grass is greener approach.

You are going against the grain man. Ballmer has been crystal clear and transparent with what his strategy was...

L Frank has done as he's been told (hence his extension)...

And we have employed the likes of KL2, PG13, Uno... And we haven't won - you're right. But we haven't lost. We haven't been irrelevant...

And mind you, it is not that I agree with this strategy... I am not trying to say I agree with Ballmer and that he is right. I am just saying, he has said what his plans were. And the idea of going the draft+develop way is against the grain. His grain. Ballmer's.

Yes, I remember - probably why I am so salty. And just tired of these takes.

WE LITERALLY HAD THE PEICE.

But we made our bed, and now we are lying in it. Not at what point we stop our strategy and move on to the next phase. But up until now, it has been spend to win. We shouldn't be surprised. We should be surprised that we haven't won the chip, perhaps.

But until they decide otherwise, I believe the strategy is still to swing big (?)

I think that is the reason we were not willing to commit to Harden, trying to keep the books clear for another big FA (?)

[although now DG's contract gets messy, but the contract can be moved]

But basically, I am just waiting to see what the next direction is with this organization.

Maybe I said this wrong or maybe I didn't understand you. However, what I took from what you said was, "We are LA. We don't need to bother with drafting, everyone wants to come here. Picks are trade material. Big markets don't need to draft we should only spend money." Bro, it is NOT mandated that if you live in a big city, you need to do something stupid like trade all your picks away and only throw money on free agents. A team can choose any direction it wants to go. Milwaukee can choose do the LA Lakers 90s thing and throw money at free agents. New York can do the OKC thing and just draft. Jut because we are in Los Angles, it doesn't mean we should disregard the value of picks and treat them like an asset to get a trade. Again, no market needs to be a free agent market. It's not a FASLE DICHOTOMY. You can build a million different ways if you are Minnesota or LA. You're not limited to being like the Lakers if you're LA. That's what I took from what you said. Like we shouldn't even consider drafting. I just have an issue with that.

Bro, Ballmer is the owner. I get it, but he has been wrong many times before. If you go on other forums, what do you think their opinion is on how we have done since we went all in on Kawhi? It's highly negative. And they can't understand why we just don't stop digging. I know my desire is way against the grain, but one thing you haven't addressed is this...have the moves the FO made gotten what we all expected...a championship? When we signed Kawhi and George, did you think, "Oh boy, I can't wait for Kawhi to be in one season, out another, and George to leave? Nooo. We have failed EPICLY. This is what I wanted to hammer home, bro. Why do we keep acting like rooting for these moves is the way to go? Shouldn't we stop digging and take a different direction? Do you watch Locked On Clippers? Even Darian has been tired of this sh#t.

You shouldn't be tired of the takes. You should be tired of Ballmer not taking a hint. Ballmer strikes me as that type of guy that doesn't know a relationship is over until he sees his girl hanging out with his roommate. Bro, we've had some epic arguments. And you may think I don't like you. I envy that you can be so positive all the time when we are being fed sh#t. I wish I could be a half glass full type guy like you, but a closed mouth doesn't get fed. When sh#t hits the fan, you need to make noise to let the powers that be know things are wrong. As much as I hate those asshats across the hall, they don't accept mediocrity. We seem to just be grateful because our history has been so bleak. TBH, we deserve better than this.

I said this in another post I think Ballmer is quite psychologically dysfunctional in a way that's good for business but bad for B Ball because he doesn't understand people and interpersonal relationships (Yeah I don't know him but a lot of psych under my belt) I AM NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT TARIFFS but the Tariff thing shows that he doesn't get it. How many people did he piss off for no reason. No matter which side you're on that was DUMB. He launched a "non partisan" news website and I don't know what happened to it. DUMB Nobody is non partisan now.

In many ways Harden carried the Clippers the last 2.5 years with high availability (and usage). I wish him the best and hope he gets a chip. On the other hand, the Clippers may be lot more enjoyable to watch with quicker pace and more ball movement.

You are somewhat correct in the sentiment and the strategy... but I meant to say that I didn't say it. Ballmer did. He laid out the plan for all to hear and see via media speeches, interviews, and building the newest stadium in the NBA.

Dude bet big. His chip count has dwindled... but all I am saying is that when someone says the strategy is X, I can agree with it or disagree with it... fact is I cannot change it. So I grab my popcorn and watch it unfold.

*also added bit... if all teams hypothetically have the same cash power and ability to spend... and player X can make the same amount in cities A, B, or C. Would you rather make that money with sun and smiles and big city energy? Or Milwaukee?

I mean there has got to be a reason that living expenses in some of these cities are exponentially higher in larger markets. So on average I am willing to bet hypothetical athlete X would rather make his millions in a place where he or she can spend that income lavishly. These are people in their 20s and 30s...

And as trends show, they care less and less about competing anyway. It is all a show. No one cares about the sport and the competition.

THUS - I can't fault Steve for employing the strategy he did. Again, not that I agree with it... but I can follow his logic. It can ALSO BE TRUE that the other strategy can work... but that went out the window when we bet on 213.

Ballmer is the owner.

LFrank is the manager.

TLue is the coach.

All have a common understanding at what the strategy was.

I am not trying to tell you that you, other forums, or the public is wrong for wanting what you want... I am just telling you it is against the grain. You have walked into and ICE CREAM shop and you want to order a hamburger.

I'm over here saying hamburgers can be great, ice cream can be great... but at the moment we're in an ice cream shop - let's order a double scoop cone and (try to) enjoy it.

Have we failed "EPICLY"? I do not see it that way. We have not won a championship, but we have been a competitive team... we have underachieved, but EPIC fail? I wouldn't say that.

We don't love the ice cream, but hey... it is still ice cream, it is still delectable and I am gonna try to enjoy it.

100% agree with this.

And wtf are you even saying - you're one of my fav people on here dude! I love all your posts and (mind you) I agree with them most of the time. Even now.. All of the above things that were said, wasn't that I don't agree with your approach, just that it doesn't fit what Ballmer is trying to do. So, I am just trying to give a reality check. I know I have no power, so I try not to get personally invested (as I had in the past). I am along for the ride - and just seeing how it plays out.

Plug-n-play vs draft+develop makes no difference to me (in fact I think I prefer draft+develop a bit more), I just try to ride whatever wave the team is on and try to have fun with it. Currently we are riding with Kawhi Leonard (for better or worse).

This trade for DG may be the shift draft+develop guys are hoping for (we'll see). But all I am trying to do is keep my aloha and watch some good basketball.

Much respect. On the bright side of things, we have two young guys in the backcourt now (Benedict Mathurin, and Darius Garland ), not too shabby either. We are going to add them to our core of Sanders, Neiderhausen, and Miller. We are going to have cap space for 2027 and have picks to play around with. We are in a much better place.

I will say this regarding drafting or banking on free agency. I think the best way to build a team in a salary cap league is to load on high draft picks then sign one or two big fish free agents while the draft picks are still under their rookie scale deal. That's sort of what we tried in 2019. SGA was under his rookie scale deal and then sign Kawhi and Jimmy Butler outright but Butler decided to go to Miami so we made the ill fated PG trade

OKC did this. Had cap space to sign Hartenstein while Chet, JDub and Cason Wallace were under their rookie scale deal

VERY TRUE -

I forgot about the Jimmy Butler debacle. OMG. How things would have been so much different.

In many ways Jimmy Butler is the antithesis of PG. I hear Mathurin is like that.. so I am excited. I am tired of soft azz athletes. Go and compete. Destroy the target in front of you!