Just a few seasons ago, it looked and felt like the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to build around Darius Garland. When he signed his max contract extension in 2022, the thought was he would wear the number 10 in Wine and Gold for a long, long time.
But, life comes at you fast in the NBA. When Cleveland acquired Donovan Mitchell that same summer, it signaled that the team was ready to contend and envisioned a dynamic backcourt leading the way.
The fit between the two had its ups and downs. The Cavs
didn’t have enough supporting pieces to surround the duo in 2023, leading to a quick playoff exit. In 2024, Garland battled a broken jaw that compromised him significantly.
2025 was the best year for the backcourt, with Garland and Mitchell both being named All-Stars and leading Cleveland to 64 wins. Unfortunately, Garland broke down in the playoffs thanks to a toe injury and the Cavs bowed out in the second round. The toe injury lingered into this past season, and Cleveland could not run the risk of another unhealthy Garland run, leading to the James Harden trade.
Now Garland is with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he has said multiple times that he is happy. Recently, he went on a podcast with Lonzo Ball, saying he got his joy back for basketball. He later elaborated saying that he’s happy to have the ball in his hands again and be the primary decision maker.
That is the part that causes me to pause.
Why? Well, I’ll give you one guess as to who led Cleveland in touches per game last year: Darius Garland with 64. He was also second in clutch time usage at about 27%.
This season, his touches went up to 68 per game during his time with the Cavs, which would be four more than he had on average with the Clippers in 19 games.
What about 2023-24? It was Mitchell with 79, but Garland wasn’t far behind with 75.
Even if you go all the way back to 2022-23, Garland led the team in touches with 77 per game, which was NINE more than Mitchell. He also led them in that same category in the postseason.
So, make that two coaches in J.B. Bickerstaff and Kenny Atkinson that put the ball in Garland’s hands often. Atkinson even went as far to say that Garland was the quarterback of the team’s offense and that they could not function without him, both true facts based off of last year.
Garland also had arguably the best season of his career in 2024-25, from an efficiency and playmaking perspective. He had the keys to the offense and while he did have to share the burden with Mitchell, he is doing the same thing in LA with Kawhi Leonard. His touches have remained the same, and his usage is up a little.
So I am not exactly sure how often Garland wants the ball in his hands to classify as “joyous.” It may be more accurate to say that injuries took his joy away in Cleveland and that would be true. Having to deal with a broken jaw that causes you to lose weight you never gained back and a nagging toe injury is not fun at all. No denying that.
At the same time though, he was given the ball, he was able to make the decisions, and he was able to be one of the primary guys on the court. That fact is indisputable. Yes, Mitchell also got his touches and usage, but it’s not like Garland had to stand in the corner and watch him work all game.
I get that Garland may be salty that the Cavs traded him away for an aging Harden, but the fact is that the team doesn’t get to the conference finals if that trade isn’t made. They couldn’t deal with the Jekyll and Hyde act that is Garland’s health for a third consecutive postseason. It wasn’t supposed to end this way, but it was beneficial for both sides.
