Darius Garland speaks on his future with the Clippers after loss to the Warriors.
The Los Angeles Clippers saw their season come to an end on Wednesday as they lost to the Golden State Warriors in the nine vs. ten play-in game.
The Clippers maintained a lead throughout most of the game, but the Warriors managed to hit big shots down the stretch and lock in defensively to come away with a 126-121 victory.
It was a tale of two seasons for the Clippers, who started the year at 6-21, but caught fire at the end of the December, battling back to be 23-25 on February 1.
Despite their hot run, the team made big changes, dealing James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland, and traded Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers for Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson.
Darius Garland Speaks
After the game, Garland spoke on his future with the Clippers.
"I wanted to come out here and prove a point that I'm still one of those guys in this league. I'm out there on nine toes. I haven't been healthy, for real. Just go to the rawing board and go back to work. Get healthy, most importantly," he said.
Garland played in 26 of the first 51 games with the Cavaliers before he was traded to the Clippers. He had been out since January 16 when he headed to Los Angeles.
It wasn't until March 2 that he made his debut for the Clippers, playing two games off the bench before being inserted into the starting lineup.
Garland played 19 games with the Clippers, averaging 19.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists.
Garland's Future
Garland is signed for two more seasons before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
In his post-game media session, Garland says it was fun ever since he got to LA.
He noted the team was in a hole to start the season, but that it said a lot about the team that they battled back to get to the point where they were part of the play-in tournament.
He credited the coaching staff and team for putting in the time and work, saying the organization is "super cool" and the guys are amazing.
Garland was hopeful that guys would be able to come back and that they could have a full season together.
John Collins can be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, while Mathurin will be a restricted free agent. The team has club options on veterans Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nicolas Batum, and Brook Lopez.