Garland has some things to work on going into next season.
The Los Angeles Clippers' season ended Wednesday when the Golden State Warriors rallied from 13 down in the fourth quarter to pull out a 126-121 play-in win at Intuit Dome.
Darius Garland scored 21 points with eight assists in the loss, but foul trouble kept him out of rhythm and he fouled out in the closing minutes.
After the game, Garland didn't sugarcoat what the summer needs to look like.
"Just go to the drawing board this summer, get back to work," Garland said. "See what we can do next year."
A Partial Season in Los Angeles
Garland arrived at the trade deadline in February after the Clippers sent James Harden to Cleveland.
He didn't step on the floor until March 2, and appeared in just 19 regular-season games for a team that finished 42-40 as the ninth seed in the West.
Garland averaged 19.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists during that stretch while trying to mesh with a new roster on the fly.
What made things harder was that Garland wasn't fully healthy. He admitted after the play-in loss that he had been playing "on nine toes" and hadn't been right since his offseason toe surgery.
He missed the Clippers' first 10 games after the trade and only appeared in 26 of the Cavaliers' first 51 games before the deal went through.
The Kawhi Question
Garland also said he wants to get a feel for what Kawhi Leonard's situation will be before locking into his own offseason plans.
Leonard heads into 2026-27 on an expiring deal worth more than $50 million, and the league's ongoing investigation into his ties with Aspiration adds another layer of doubt.
Leonard wouldn't talk about his future after the loss, only saying he wanted to "cry about this loss a little bit more."
If the Clippers trade Leonard, the roster could look completely different by training camp.
Garland seems ready to be the franchise point guard either way, but wanting clarity on who he'll share the court with before committing to a full summer of work is natural.
What Garland Needs This Summer
Getting healthy is the biggest thing.
If Garland can get that toe right and go through a full training camp, it would go a long way toward the form that earned him two All-Star nods in Cleveland.
His three-point shooting dipped to 36.0 percent this season, well below his career average, and that needs real work.
Leonard put up 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as the team's No. 1 option, so Garland has to figure out how to fit alongside that if both are back next year.
Improving his off-ball game and staying on the floor for a full season would help.
The Clippers clawed back from that 6-21 start, and Garland gave credit to the whole group for competing.
The play-in exit stings, but a full offseason together could change a lot.