Nearly a month after theblockbuster tradethat ended his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, All-Star point guard Darius Garland will reportedly make his debut for the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
NBA insider Chris Haynesreported Saturdaythe 26-year-old Garland, who hasn't suited up since Jan. 14 while continuing to work his way back from injuries to the big toes onbothof hisfeet, planned to return to the floor for the Clippers' Monday night meeting with the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers followed with some not-all-that-cryptic social media posts Sunday …
… before the NBA helpfully removed all doubt on Monday:
The Clippers enter the contest at 28-31, in ninth place in the Western Conference, 2.5 games behind the eighth-place Warriors. A win would both slice a game off that deficitandgive the Clips a 2-1 edge in their season series with Golden State, putting them in position to take the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win in the regular-season finale on April 12.
While Garland will "likely be on a minutes restriction indefinitely as he returns to competition," according toLaw Murray of The Athletic, head coach Tyronn Lue and Co. will hope his introduction will provide a jolt to a Clippers offense that, with the notable exception of Kawhi Leonard's individual brilliance, has often been moribund since shipping out star point guard James Harden and starting center Ivica Zubac.
The Clippers have treaded water over the past month, going 5-5 since the Harden/Garland trade, but have done so largely on the strength of their defense. During the 5-5 stretch, L.A. ranks21st in points scored per possession, 29th inmade 3-pointers per game, dead last in3-point attempts, 25th inteam 3-point accuracyand 28th inassists per game.
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Garland averaged 18 points, 6.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game across 26 appearances in Cleveland this season, shooting 52.1% on 2-pointers, 36% on 3-point attempts and 86.1% from the free-throw line. While battling the toe injuries, Garland often seemed to lack the explosiveness, balance and shot-making prowess that made him a two-time All-Star in Cleveland, and akey cog in a Cavaliers attack that set offensive efficiency records last season. If his wheels are healthy, though, he could give Lue a potent weapon to wield as he tries to propel the Clips through the play-in tournament and into the postseason proper.
"He's different from James and we can play different with a faster pace," Luetold reporters last month. "We can play him off the ball more. It's going to be exciting. I've known DG for a while and having a young point guard under my tutelage, I think it's the first time I have had one since Kyrie [Irving]."
While it might take some time for player and coach to iron out the kinks and establish a working rhythm, Garland seems eager to seize the opportunity in front of him in L.A. In the short term, Garland gets to pair with an elite two-way wing in Leonard, who has produced at an All-NBA level this season, and see if the Clips can't make some unexpected noise come springtime. And looking forward, Garland, who'sunder contract through the 2027-28 season, has a chance to be a foundational figure for the next phase of the Clippers franchise, whatever that might look like.
"I'm good with the change," Garland recentlytold Marc J. Spears of Andscape. "When it first happened, I was kind of skeptical. But I couldn't turn down this opportunity to play with another Hall of Famer [Leonard] and having a ball in my hands damn near 99% of the time. [...] I'm in another good situation over here in L.A., trying to do something, trying to rebuild this whole brand of the Clippers, and try to make it one of the biggest teams in L.A."
That's a tall task: Achieving it will require both the kind of regular-season success Garland experienced in Cleveland last season, and the brand of postseason success that neither he nor the Clips have achieved. Whether they'll get there remains to be seen; after what must have felt like a very long month, though, the process will finally get started Monday night.
"Whatever T-Lue wants me to be, whatever position he wants me to be in, I'm going to do that," Garlandtold reporters after the trade. "I'm here to win games."
