Mapping Out Rotations for Cavs, Clippers After James Harden-Darius Garland Swap

The Cavaliers are adding star guard James Harden | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

James Harden is headed to the Cavaliers in a deal that returns Darius Garland and a second-round pick to the Clippers.

The move, reported by Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, swaps two former All-Star guards and puts the 36-year-old Harden in a win-now situation with Cleveland despite Los Angeles’s recent resurgence. The Cavaliers are in the middle of a jumbled Eastern Conference, sitting at 30–21 and in a tie for fourth place ahead of the final 30-plus games of the regular season.

It’s a seismic shift for Cleveland, which has built around a core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Garland. The seventh-year guard made his second All-Star appearance last year, but has played in just 26 games this year while averaging 18 points and 6.9 assists per game. Now, the Cavaliers puts one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen alongside Mitchell, who’s in the middle of a career year.

Phillips: James Harden-Darius Garland Trade Grades

The Clippers had a horrid start to the season, sitting with a 6–21 record on Dec. 18 before they rattled off a six-game winning streak and won 16 of its next 19 games. Even with the recent success, Harden is headed to greener pastures as L.A. remains below .500 with 33 games left. He’s yet to win an NBA title over his 17-year career despite multiple trades to win-now situations. Maybe this change in a fairly open Eastern Conference could help realize that dream.

With Harden and Garland swapping jerseys, here’s how the Cavs and Clippers could look the rest of the season:

What are the Cavs’ projected lineups with James Harden in the mix?

James Harden is the newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Harden provides an immediate influx of offense alongside Mitchell. He’s currently sixth in the NBA with 28.8 points per game, while Harden is a top-15 scorer as well, tied for 15th with Devin Booker at 25.4 points a night. Cleveland has dealt with injuries throughout the season with Garland missing the first seven games of the year rehabbing offseason toe surgery. He’s been sidelined since Jan. 16 with a sprained ankle.

Along with Garland’s health concerns, Mobley is sidelined with a calf strain after he missed five games in December with a similar ailment. At full health, coach Kenny Atkinson has started Mitchell, Mobley, Garland, Allen and a mixture of Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade and De’Andre Hunter (who was recently traded to the Kings).

Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis were sent to Cleveland in the Hunter deal, providing guard depth alongside and behind Mitchell and Harden. With the new roster, the Cavs will likely start Harden, Mitchell, Allen, Mobley and Tyson. The Harden-Mitchell backcourt has plenty to hide defensively, but Tyson is an active defender who can take a primary assignment while the last line of defense in Allen and Mobley protects the rim. That still leaves defensive responsibility for Mitchell and Harden, but the scoring power the duo can provide will be tough to keep up with.

Should Atkinson want to play with more size, he could start Wade instead of Tyson. Should the latter be his preference, that leaves a second unit of Schröder, Ellis, Merrill, Wade and backup big man Thomas Bryant. Craig Porter Jr., Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Larry Nance Jr. are still there as depth pieces and will likely figure in as Mobley recovers—specifically the frontcourt depth of Tomlin and Nance. Lonzo Ball is in the picture for now, but Cleveland could look to send him elsewhere ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

More: Tracking Every Move Ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline

How could the Clippers look with Darius Garland?

Darius Garland is headed to the Clippers in exchange for James Harden | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Clippers have started Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, John Collins and Kris Dunn during their recent stretch. When he’s been without Harden or Leonard, Tyronn Lue has looked to lengthy reserve guard Kobe Sanders to fill in. He’s had a nice season and will likely continue to fill in as a starter while Garland gets healthy.

Once Garland returns, however, the Clippers’ usual starting lineup can easily swap the two-time All-Star into Harden’s spot for a first five of Leonard, Garland, Zubac, Collins and Dunn. Lue has been forced to shrink his rotations due to injuries to Derrick Jones Jr. and Bogdan Bogdanović, which leaves Sanders, Brook Lopez, Nicolas Batum and Jordan Miller as key bench pieces pending any further trades. Sanders will likely continue to start until Garland is ready to go, leaving Lue with limited depth and potentially having to rely on end of the bench young players like Cam Christie, Kobe Brown and Yanic Konan Niederhäuser as needed. Chris Paul remains on the roster, but don’t count on him making a miraculous return.

The Clippers are 23–26, sitting at ninth place in the stacked Western Conference even after winning 17 of their last 22 games.

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