Clippers coach Tyronn Lue expected to have a quiet trade deadline. Joke’s on him.
According to reports, James Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. Harden has averaged 25.4 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.8 rebounds this season. Even more impressive, he has played in 44 of a possible 49 games, showing his durability at age 36.
For the Clippers, it marks the end of an era for a team that hoped to win its first-ever championship behind Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George. Instead, they have floundered amid first-round playoff exits the last three seasons, including missing the postseason altogether in 2022. And now, there’s only one left.
Harden, who joined the Clippers in a blockbuster trade in November 2023, is the second member of the “Big Three” to leave the team after Paul George went to Philadelphia in free agency in the summer of 2024. Harden had hoped Los Angeles would be his final resting spot—it’s where he was born and raised. The Clippers were his fourth team in four years. But it became clear that the Clippers and Harden had divergent interests.
The Clippers are focused on clearing cap space for the 2027 offseason to pursue A-list free agents, while Harden wants a superstar-level contract that would extend beyond next season. Harden signed a two-year, $81.5 million deal to remain with the Clippers in June 2025, including a partially guaranteed player option for year two. But both Harden and the Clippers are looking toward their futures, and they’re clearly not aligned. The Clippers want freedom, while Harden eventually wants a deal commensurate with his All-Star-level play.
Harden hoped to rewrite his narrative with the Clippers. When he was traded to the team, he was widely considered a malcontent who had forced his way out of Houston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia. During his introductory news conference with the Clippers, he took issue with that storyline, claiming he had wanted to retire with the 76ers but realized “they didn’t want me.”
Things were going to be different with the Clippers. He was teaming up with three other guys from Southern California: Leonard, George, and Russell Westbrook. Out of that group, only Leonard had won a title. The other three players felt as though a chip would cement their otherwise lofty resumes. They were equally hungry.
But that goal never even came close to being realized amid a string of injuries.
This season, things were just beginning to look up for the Clippers. They had gone on a 17-5 run following an abysmal 6-21 start. But they’re still currently out of the playoff picture, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference with a record of 23-26.
If the Clippers were contenders, here’s to betting Harden would’ve ridden this season out. But under the current circumstances, you can’t blame him for wanting to pull the trigger on a deal that could land him with a contender potentially willing to sign him to the contract extension he desires.
He’ll be joining a Cleveland team led by Donovan Mitchell that has real championship hopes. They’re currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-21. Last season, the Cavs won 64 games before being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Indiana.
As for the Clippers, the big question is what comes next. Do they blow up the team and start over? Or do they attempt to rebuild around Leonard?
The answer to that question would’ve been much easier before Leonard transformed from being an oft-injured punchline into one of the best players in the league as of late. He’s averaging 27.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He’s also leading the league in steals with 2.1 per game. Not to mention, he’s shooting nearly 50-40-90% from the field, 3-point range, and the foul line.
Leonard didn’t make the All-Star Team before Commissioner Adam Silver named him as an addition to the US player pool Tuesday, which was widely regarded as one of the worst snubs of the league’s signature event—especially considering the Clippers are hosting it at Intuit Dome.
When Leonard is healthy, he’s great. But the other side of that coin is that ever since he joined the Clippers as a free agent in 2019, he has missed over 200 regular season games and multiple playoff series, including being sidelined for the entire 2021-22 season.
Harden leaving the Clippers further complicates things for Leonard. They were good friends and played well off each other. When Leonard was asked about the trade rumors around Harden on Monday, he acknowledged he was surprised.
“He’s got to do what is best for him,” Leonard said after the Clippers’ 128-113 loss to the 76ers. “I respect his decision, or whoever’s decision it was, and that’s it. At the end of the day, he’s still going to be my boy. He’s still going to be my brother.”
As for Harden, he wasn’t in the Clippers’ locker room Monday or the team’s prior game on Sunday because of “personal reasons.”
When Harden joined the Clippers three years ago, he made waves by claiming, “I’m not a system player. I am a system.” Well, now the Clippers are going to have to figure out what it means to play without him.
For the recently surging Clippers, it upends everything. And it throws their already uncertain future into an even murkier state of suspension.
https://nypost.com/2026/02/03/sports/james-harden-for-darius-garland-at-nba-trade-deadline/