{"id":582144,"date":"2026-02-04T16:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/582144\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T16:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:10:16","slug":"when-darius-garland-is-expected-to-return-from-injury-after-cavs-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/582144\/","title":{"rendered":"When Darius Garland is expected to return from injury after Cavs trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers have finalized a blockbuster trade<\/a> that reshapes both rosters, sending veteran James Harden<\/a> to the Cavs in exchange for 26-year-old guard Darius Garland<\/a> and a 2026 second-round pick. This significant exchange comes as the Clippers prioritize long-term salary cap flexibility for the summer of 2027, a strategy that previously led to the departures of other key veterans.<\/p>\n

While Harden has performed at a high level this season, averaging over 25 points per game, the team was unwilling to commit to a long-term deal beyond the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

Consequently, the front office worked with the 36-year-old guard to find a destination that suited his veteran status, eventually landing on a Cavaliers team currently pushing for a deep postseason run in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

As reported by Essentially Sports, the acquisition of Garland brings both excitement and medical scrutiny<\/a> to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The two-time All-Star has been nursing a Grade 1 right great toe sprain, an injury that has sidelined him for the past nine games and limited him to just 26 appearances this season.<\/p>\n

However, sources familiar with his recovery are optimistic, stating that Garland is expected to be available shortly after the NBA All-Star break. He could make his debut as early as February 19 against the Denver Nuggets at the Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n

Garland reportedly views this move as a fresh start, expressing confidence in his fit as the team’s primary point guard under coach Tyronn Lue and his ability to complement Kawhi Leonard.<\/p>\n

This shakeup follows growing concerns in Cleveland regarding the long-term viability of the Garland and Donovan Mitchell backcourt, which failed to yield significant playoff success.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst noted that while moving a core piece is always difficult, the Cavaliers felt a change was necessary to alleviate the heavy lifting required of Mitchell, and that Garland’s injuries ended up not being a problem at all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The trade reportedly stunned the Clippers locker room, with Kawhi Leonard expressing genuine surprise after a recent game, but the organization remains focused on balancing immediate needs with their 2027 financial goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers have finalized a blockbuster trade that reshapes both rosters, sending veteran James…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3789],"tags":[7,559,791,560,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,6,14502,6050,2828],"class_list":{"0":"post-582144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-clippers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-clippers","10":"tag-darius-garland","11":"tag-james-harden","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-clippers","14":"tag-laclippers","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-losangelesclippers","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-nba-injury","21":"tag-nba-rumors","22":"tag-nba-trade-deadline"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116013237957081686","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}