Newly acquired LA Clippers point guard Darius Garland’s debut is expected to be delayed until March as the team manages soreness in his surgically repaired left great toe, league sources told The Athletic.
Garland, who was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers and a 2026 second-round pick on Feb. 4 in exchange for James Harden, has been a limited participant in practice and will miss the Clippers’ back-to-back this week against the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. A league source said Garland will likely miss a few weeks as the Clippers prioritize getting his left great toe fully healthy.
It’s been a physically rocky season for Garland. Garland sprained his left great toe in the playoffs after playing a career-high 75 games and making his second All-Star appearance in 2024-25. Garland missed four playoff games due to the sprain but returned for Cleveland’s final three games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers, a series that the Cavs lost in five games despite being the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Garland underwent surgery on the toe in June and was given a four-to-five-month timetable to return. He missed the first seven games of the 2025-26 season before debuting Nov. 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers. He reaggravated the same toe five days later during a road game in Miami and missed another five games over 11 days due to a contusion.
Garland then played in 18 consecutive games before suffering a Grade 1 sprain of his right toe Jan. 14 in Philadelphia — he hasn’t played a game since.
“Recovery is going good,” Garland said in his first Clippers’ availability on Feb. 4. “I’m back on the court, working out, doing all the things I love to do. Just waiting on the green light. I’m ready to hoop. So whenever I get the green light, we can go forward.”
The Clippers expect Garland, 26, to play this season, but they remain cautious. Cleveland and the Clippers have said Garland recovered from the right toe injury. Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said on Feb. 9 that Garland still had some soreness in the left toe and the team would “manage this correctly.”
“We are not gonna skip any steps,” Frank said. “We think the short-term investment will lead to long-term rewards. So, the time frame, you’ll see on the injury report, we will switch it from right toe to left toe. And we’re gonna get it right and take as long as it takes. But we’re confident that by taking the time now, it’s gonna give him a long runway. He’s only 26, and we want to see him playing at a high level for a long time.”
The Clippers enter the final stretch of the regular season with a 26-28 record, 10th in the Western Conference and with 28 games remaining. The Clippers are 20-7 since Dec. 20, bolstered by the play of All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard, who has recorded 30 points per game during that span, third in the NBA behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić.
Leonard led the Clippers to two significant road wins before the break. He scored 41 points on Feb. 8 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and 27 — including 19 in the fourth quarter — during a comeback win against the Houston Rockets Feb. 11.
Garland’s extended absence also means Kris Dunn will continue to start at point guard. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has used a starting lineup of Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Leonard, John Collins and Brook Lopez since the trade deadline. The Clippers would certainly welcome Garland back in March, given that the team has 18 games that month, including two stints of five games in seven days.
On Wednesday, Lue expressed optimism about Garland’s on-court progress with adapting to the Clippers before his team debut. Lue said he has some valuable time in team practices.
“Everything except for live,” Lue said. “He didn’t do 3-on-2, 2-on-1. Yesterday, we did defensive stations live, did all the full-court stuff, all the practice, all the pre-practice stuff, and then all the plays and stations as well. He felt good.”
Although it remains unknown when Garland will officially play for the Clippers, Lue says LA’s newly acquired point guard is eager to get on the court and help with the Clippers’ playoff push. According to NBA.com, the two-time All-Star led the Cavaliers in assists (6.9) and potential dimes (12.4) per game before being traded earlier this month. Garland’s knack for moving the ball and creating points off the dribble should help a Clippers team that enters this season’s stretch run ranked 25th in assist percentage.
“He wants to get out there, yeah,” Lue said of Garland’s desire to play. “But we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it the right way. And so, as much as he wants the play (and) as much as we want him out there on the floor, we gotta make sure we’re doing right by him, taking the right steps. And like I said, Maggie (Bryant) and that medical staff did a great job making sure we’re doing things the right way: getting his lifts in … everything he’s supposed to do. And then when it’s time, it’s time.”