The Los Angeles Clippers have traded star guard James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Harden had requested a trade in the lead-up to the NBA‘s trade deadline on February 5.
Now, he’s got his wish and will join a Cavaliers team primed to compete in the NBA playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Clippers started the season 6-21 and have only recently begun to truly turn a corner.
Harden was the Clippers’ second-leading scorer and top assist man – averaging 25.4 points and 8.1 assists per night.Â
Garland, on the other hand, averaged 18 points and 6.9 assists per night – but is only 26-years-old compared to the 36-year-old Harden.
James Harden has been traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Cleveland Cavaliers
In return, the Cavaliers are sending guard Darius Garland and a second-round pick back to LA
Harden is in the final guaranteed season of his contract, but he has a player option for the 2026-27 season.
This move realistically serves as one of the last chances for Harden to win himself and NBA championship after years of searching for an elusive title.
The third-overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft has won plenty of personal accolades – including the 2018 MVP award, the 2012 Sixth Man of the Year award, leading the league in scoring three times, leading in assists twice, being named to eight All-NBA teams (six first-teams, two third-teams) and having been voted an All-Star eleven times.
But the furthest he’s gone in the NBA playoffs was the 2012 NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder – who lost in five games to the Miami Heat.
Tenures with the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and the Clippers have not been fruitful in earning him a championship ring.
Currently, the Cavaliers are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and are seven-and-a-half games behind the leading Detroit Pistons.Â
Last season, Cleveland finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference and swept the Heat in the first round before falling in five games to the NBA runner-up Indiana Pacers.
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NBA star James Harden gets his wish as Los Angeles Clippers trade him away