Darius Garland has been playing great basketball with the Los Angeles Clippers, and that has suddenly handed many Cleveland Cavaliers fans a pair of rose-tinted goggles. Some have been bold enough to convey the thought that trading for James Harden may not have been necessary. It was.
Credit where credit is due, Garland has been fantastic with the Clippers. No one is going to deny that. The former All-Star has averaged 21.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 28.2 minutes per game for Los Angeles, bolstered by the ridiculous efficiency of 51-51-86 shooting splits.
Not to those same levels, but Harden's percentages have also gone up since arriving in Cleveland. More than that, though, the value for why this trade remains a win for the Cavaliers lands with their primary goal of winning a championship in the short-term future.
Harden is much more suited to setting the Cavs up for success. In the 21 games he's played in wine and gold, the veteran star has already showcased why that is the case.
James Harden's ability to raise the Cavaliers' ceiling is the deal-breaker for Cleveland
Cleveland radio host Anthony Lima made a great point about the Harden-Garland debate that is worth repeating here. Harden has done so much for both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in terms of getting them set up for a successful playoff run.
8.3 assists per game is what the Cavaliers have gotten from their new point guard since his debut. A ton of those have ensured whatever frontcourt player is playing off him has what they need to succeed.
It's not that Garland was not a good partner for Mobley and Allen, as Lima tried to suggest as well. DG was always a good pick-and-roll operator with bigs. Harden just ensures they never get phased out of a game in a way few stars can truly replicate. For the Cavaliers big men, who can waver in their tenacity, that point matters a ton.
As does the fact that Harden is the considerably safer bet when it comes to availability. It is the ugly part of basketball, but Garland has been a consistent injury risk and that is tough to work around from a team-building perspective.
There is also the tired (but fair) narrative about the limitations of having two undersized guards in the backcourt. There are endless additional points that can be made, and all of them would tell the exact same story — the Cavaliers should be more than happy with Harden.