Yeah they will deny it, but this trade was definitely made with his permission, and I don’t blame him.

Damn. Took away Garland’s team and shipped him out. That’s cold.

I think this team is going to end up working out better than most people think.

Regardless of one’s opinion about Harden and his playoff habits, he is a plus for Cleveland purely on the premise of being available.

Garland is unplayable for three reasons: injury, getting majorly targeted on defense, and also has a fine history of being a playoff dropper. You can’t waste those Mitchell years *hoping* Garland at some point puts it together, because injury more often than not is not something you can control.

Every trade, star player (source) comes out and says “really wanted exactly that guy.” Doesn’t matter who they pick up.

This is Mitchell’s 9th season, and someone finally had the brilliant epiphany to not pair him up with an undersized PG to form a tiny back court. Bravo.

First, Darius Garland is a 6’1 PG without elite reach or vertical ability which impacts his defense ability alot.

In last years playoffs, Darius Garland was so picked apart and abused by Indiana that he went into the Indiana series with a + 14 plus/minus rating and came out a whopping, mind blowing-74!!

Let me say that again. His plus minus in the playoffs after round 1 against Miami was a +14. He left the playoffs with a staggering -74. In only 5 total playoff games!

Five!

In the playoffs hes had a lot of issues with bigger defenders, to the point hes just a 17 point player, shooting 42% from the field. In the playoffs, defenders are alot more aggressive and physical, and each of the last 3 playoffs hes ended them with an injury.

Now his fan base screams and pouts and pounds their feet that hes a 20-7 player.

Okay, great 20-7. No better. Sometimes a little worse. But he has a career high PPG of 21 at 7 years in.

James Harden has 1 season in the last 14 under 21 PPG. James Harden hasnt averaged less than 7 assist per game since 2013.

So if you get the very worst version of James Harden, youre still getting 21-7. But youre getting a guy who some way, some how, is still statistically better offensively in the playoffs and not as bad defensively.

And lets not forget, Garland has yet to play a full seaon, playoffs or not. Last year was his career high at 75 games, and he still only played 5 playoff games.

And lastly, that’s not counting money. Darius Garland is due 44 million in 2 years, after that hes a free agent. You might only have Harden for the rest of this year and the 2 years after, so you’re in the same boat you would have been in needing to come to a decision on a PG, because no one is giving just a 20-7 player whos terrible defensively a 50 million a year contract.

In the end, the Cavs probably gave themselves a 3 year window, that they were likley going to have without Garland every staying healthy or ever taking the next step. But at least they got a player that at his worst, has tons of experience and gives you at a minimum the same production at a cheaper cost.

That raised a question. Does LeBron has Mitchell’s permission to go back to Cavs?

Harden represents that “super star” attribute Garland lacked: availability (+ a bit more). Loved DG, but we need 2 starting guards every game, not 45% of the games.

Seems like a clutch move by Cavs. I don’t get the hype around Garland.

How do people view this as Cleveland getting worst?

Harden is simply a better fit because he’s a more willing passer. 

I think Cleveland wins the East with this move.

Now tell Dan you want Anthony Davis.

its a good move for cavs. the fans are prolly hating cuz they like DG, and hes young and can get better but this is the right move tbh

Spida’s knee is not getting better. The East is wide open this year so it’s def the time to call it.

Harden Mitchell backcourt at the very least is substantially better than Garland Mitchell. How good is it going to fare in the offs? We’ll wait and see.

Harden definitely has upside over injury-prone Garland. He’s arguably better, both offensively and defensively.

Harden ranks 27th in EPM actual, Garland 193rd.

They are both Adidas. And Garland is New Balance, right?

Surely just a coincidence

Don Mitchell

Another reason MJ is the GOAT: he never tried to GM his team.

(He would’ve failed miserably given his record as a GM.)

Yessir Spida! Go get that championship!

why he say fuck me for - Garland

Adding a dynamic playmaker like Harden to this group intrigues me. I don’t know what that means for the future, but they are better with Harden than with DG imo.

It works if they can both run two man actions with someone like Mobley and have that 3rd threat to keep defenses honest. Harden can make that option better

If it turns into my turn/your turn iso? Good teams will figure that out and make things difficult late in the clock

LeDon

I never believed that Mitchell and Garland worked as a pairing in the playoffs. I get from a pure talent standpoint why the Cavs waited so long to trade one, but smart that they finally did if they’re trying to compete right now

I just don’t understand how anyone in here can view this as a negative for the Cavs. No version of Garland has ever been as good as the current version of James Harden

On the one hand this was absolutely the right move. There’s zero way this isn’t an improvement. On the other hand, this could also be the next Barkley and Pippen.

Players playing GM always works out well…

Ask and you shall receive

Seems like boom or bust for the cavs. They were supposed to take a step up with the east being weak after Tatum and Hali injured for their respective teams. Gotta wonder now if they can catch up to Detroit. Also laying the groundwork for another LeBron reunion?? 🤔

Well, duh, this goes without saying. Ain’t no way the Cavs are this desperate without Mitchell directing them to be.

He was done with Garlands bullshit.

No shocker there. I think everyone in the franchise was, top to bottom.

Garland reading this 💔💔

Prepare for the “Harden over me” Garland arc

I don’t blame him

This team does look like it can contend without any problems ngl

SpidaGM

Nope this is Hardens fault. He is a bad guy. Hitler some would say

He specifically wanted the second apron Cavs to go get the one player that salaries worked out for?

Thank you donovon. Hopefully another player wants kawhi.

So a team that consistently underperforms in the playoffs gets a guy known for…consistently underperforming in the playoffs.

The adidas connection

Cavs should definitely be East favs now. Harden can focus on being a facilitator in the playoffs and feed Mitchell, Allen and Mobley easy buckets. And once you’re in the finals it’s just one series away from winning it all. Great move for the Cavs.

I truly believe james harden will never win a ring, just like westbrook, just like ai did…. so having harden on your team is an immediate exit.

Makes sense. Now when they get bounced early in the playoffs, Harden will ger the blame instead of Mitchell

Oh Donovan, my sweet summer child… 😆

I mean come on, aren’t these clearly leaks from the cavs FO to prematurely put the onus on D Mitch? This happens every year. The FO and the superstar have a conversation, usually the FO brings out a list of options that they’re willing to pursue, that match salary, and they ask the star which ones they like which ones they don’t like.

But somebody’s gotta get blamed if it goes wrong, I guess, and it’s better to get ahead of it.

It’s better this way, James gets to be more like he was in Brooklyn and play more of a PG role and can significantly raise the level of Mobley and Allen, and Don can go back to being a scorer and secondary facilitator and hopefully he can raise his defense without having to be on ball as much

Donovan better hope the Cavs don’t go to a game 7 in the playoffs or has the games of his life in them.

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this play out before.

Someone arguing with me yesterday that the 2nd round pick is an overpay for harden. Garland seems cooked early with all the injuries

Not a bad 1-2 punch

“That’s what he needs to be fu*king MVP?”

lol 2 ball hogs

Anything less than a championship in 2026 and this trade is a bust. I would rather Harden leave after this year and trade and unhappy Mitchell rather than try to extend Harden. 

As far as star requests go, Mitchell’s request for Harden lies on the more sensible ones

TBH I think this is a bad trade for the Clips.

Garland is younger but he has notable injury issues and I don’t think he’ll ever have a season as good statistically as Harden is this season.

This feels more like a swap that benefits the Cavs immediately and has no real benefit to the Clippers in the short or long term. Yes, they acquired a talented player who’s younger than Harden, but Garland isn’t going to get better than he currently is.

Were the Clips going to win anything with Harden? No. But my point is that it’s a lateral move in terms of team success at the maximum and more than likely a step backwards.

Great move, Garland did nothing for the Cavs and was always injured.

I think the Cavs come out of the east this year.

Then Mitchell is an idiot. All these players LeBron James, Mitchell etc. need to get the f out of the front office affairs because they lack objectivity. I don’t doubt that Harden and Westbrook are chill dudes outside the game, I‘d probably hang with them too but on the court what matters is what the player can give you. Harden is and at this point the sample size is more than big enough to say it, a textbook choker and horrible in the playoffs. THAT alone doesn’t make him worth anywhere near 40mil! You don’t want an overpaid, overaged star without defense and a serious choking problem in the playoffs on your team if your aiming at winning a title. If he was young one could argue that he might become a playoff guy eventually, now it is too late. This is a deal made entirely by personal preference and without the hard facts in mind.

man those cleveland strip clubs are fucking rough though. lmao.

It’s because he witnessed all the ass whoopings James harden gave the jazz everytime they played with the rockets 

lol

What is with teams listening to their superstars when they have very bad ideas. It’s not an excuse.

Let’s add Giannis while were at it!