Darius Garland was supposed to be a Cleveland Cavalier for a long time. He was supposed to be the homegrown guy that stayed with the team through the good and bad. At least, that is what the fans hoped for.
When the team traded Garland away this past season, it was a shock for many around the league and a tough day for the fanbase. This was a player that fans saw grow up before their very eyes and the first guy they could hold onto after LeBron James left town.
Garland had been in trade rumors for the last two seasons, given the fact that both he and Donovan Mitchell were small guards and they were always pitted against each other. But, Cleveland was adamant that they would never trade him. That was until they were finally forced to given his injury history and the importance of getting deep in the playoffs this year.
Since then, the Cavs reached the Eastern Conference Finals and the Clippers failed to make it out of the play-in. With both teams’ seasons now over, Garland made some comments about Cleveland’s season.
Darius Garland’s puzzling take about his usage with the Cavs makes little to no sense
Garland thrived in the 19 games he played with the Clippers, so much so that he described the experience as “getting his joy back” on a podcast with former teammate Lonzo Ball. He was happy to be the primary ball handler again and be the second coach out there.
The statement Garland made is fascinating for a couple reasons. For starters, Garland led Cleveland in touches per game last year with 64 during their 64-win season (the same number he had in 19 games with the Clippers). He was second on the team in usage rate at about 27 percent. He was also second on the team in clutch-time usage percentage as well.
Even if you go all the way back to the 2022-23 season, the first season of the Garland-Mitchell backcourt, Garland led the team with 77 touches per game, which was ten more than Mitchell. He also led the team in playoff touches that year. Those were the only two fully healthy seasons the pairing had together, with Garland battling a jaw injury in 2024 (still second on the team in touches) and a toe injury this season (and still had 68 touches per game, just two less than Mitchell).
Garland was a primary ball-handler with the Cavs. Kenny Atkinson called him the quarterback of the team’s offense multiple times last season. It led to Garland having the best year of his career last season, earning his second All-Star selection. Is that not a joyous achievement?
Additionally, if you look at pretty much any metric from last year to this year, Garland’s usage and touches have remained about the same. It’s not like he went to a team where he was the number one option. LA’s top option is Kawhi Leonard. So, Garland is once again playing second fiddle like he did in Cleveland, albeit Mitchell and Leonard are two different players. But his usage is similar.
Now, if you want to say that injuries took Garland’s joy away during his time with Cleveland, then yes, that would be very accurate. But for the point guard to say he got his joy back because he has the ball more is laughable. He had the ball a lot, even with the coaching change from Bickerstaff to Atkinson.
Atkinson gave him the keys to the offense last year and it worked. It was just unfortunate Garland got hurt in the playoffs and the Cavs’ full playoff potential was never realized. To say that he was happy to have the ball back in his hands with the Clippers though is very disingenuous and just felt like a parting shot to Cleveland.
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