Shortly after making some minor trades, the Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the basketball world with their biggest move of the season. Not many people thought James Harden would be traded at the deadline, much less to Northeast Ohio.
Not many teams would've swapped a 26-year-old homegrown star with a player who was 10 years older. Then again, it's not every day that a player of Harden's caliber becomes available. More than that, it may have given Koby Altman a chance to sell his Darius Garland stock.
As shocking as it may have been to most of the fan base, the former Cavaliers point guard actually saw it coming. In a recent interview, he admitted that his injury woes were always a major concern in Cleveland.
Darius Garland knew his injury woes would end his days in Cleveland
"The toe definitely had a factor in it," Garland told Andscape. "They didn’t know if I was going to be healthy for this season, which I will be. But they thought that James had something that I didn’t, I believe."
Garland underwent offseason surgery and couldn't be on the floor to start the season. He has only played 26 games so far, and he has yet to make his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers. His new team will reportedly err on the side of caution and only get him on the court once he's back to full strength.
Altman knew he was making a risky bet when he traded Garland to get Harden. He even admitted that it was the kind of move that could make him foolish and maybe even cost him his job at some point in the future.
Then again, the sample size was big enough to realize that Garland and Donovan Mitchell weren't a good fit in the playoffs and Garland couldn't be trusted to stay healthy. Altman saw a window of opportunity, and he took it.
Of course, this only puts even more pressure on the Cavs to get the job done while Harden and Mitchell are there. More than that, it shows how much faith they have in the borderline MVP candidate to lead them back to the mountaintop.
Garland might return to his All-Star self in Los Angeles. He may even have a long and healthy career after leaving Cleveland. Knowing what the team knew at the time, though, made this trade an easy decision for the front office.