Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue addresses team's acquisition of All-Star guard Darius Garland
In one of the more shocking moves in the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers exchanged All-Star guards James Harden and Darius Garland. A move to hopefully push the Cavaliers over the edge in the East, and for the Clippers, a move to give them some youth at guard on one of the older teams in the league.
Coincidentally, the two sides faced off against each other on Wednesday when the trade became official, with the Cavaliers securing a resounding win, 124-91, with neither of the guards suiting up. However, Garland was in attendance, meeting his new teammates and saying goodbye to his former.
Ty Lue Addresses Transaction
The man who will be tasked with implementing all of this is Tyronn Lue, who now will have a young guard in Garland to try to fill in and adapt a role around what Harden left. The two are different players, and it seems as though Lue is already thinking about how he can use Garland in ways he couldn't with Harden.
"Garland, knew him when he first came into the league, going to Cleveland and being with Rich Paul...[He] really can help us. He's different from James [Harden]. We can play different, faster pace, more pace. Playing off the ball more, so it's going to be exciting," Lue said.
Garland has two career All-Star selections in his career, one coming in 2022 and the other in 2025. His role changed once Donovan Mitchell arrived in Cleveland, so perhaps he reverts closer to the version of himself he was before that with the Clippers, now being the lone ball-dominant guard.
Additionally, Lue made a comparison of this situation with Garland to what he dealt with in Cleveland with a young Kyrie Irving.
"Having a young point guard under my tutelage is the first time I've really had since Kyrie [Irving], so it's going to be fun," Lue added.
Having recently turned 26 years old, it's not a stretch to say that Garland's best basketball is still ahead of him. It's been a rough year battling injury, but if the training staff in LA can get him stronger and healthy, he'll be called upon immediately to help this team continue to push for the postseason.
Garland and Harden didn't play on Wednesday, and with the two teams now finished with their regular-season series, the Clippers and Cavaliers won't play each other again this season unless fate pins them against each other in an improbable NBA Finals matchup.