Clippers coach reveals impact of Darius Garland-James Harden trade

The Los Angeles Clippers may look like a completely different team than it did before the trade deadline, but Brian Shaw believes that’s a good thing.

Shaw is best known for his long playing career, which included three championships with Shaquille O’Neal and the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers. The 59-year-old has since had a successful coaching career after retiring, serving as an assistant with the Lakers on two separate occasions. He has been an assistant with the Clippers since 2021.

The Clippers have clearly struggled to enjoy postseason success in recent years despite being loaded with star power. In previous years, they had the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George pairing, and recently they have James Harden and Russell Westbrook. However, they have not gone past the first round since Shaw’s arrival.

Los Angeles made a big move at the trade deadline, releasing 36-year-old star guard Harden, for 26-year-old guard Darius Garland in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Clippers entered the season with the oldest roster in the NBA at 30.7 years. However, they are significantly younger now, something Shaw believes will benefit the team as they look to make a run for the postseason.

Los Angeles is currently ranked 10th in the Western Conference and playing for a place to play. Shaw talked about what Garland brings to the table.

“Darius can hit who you know. I coached Darius with the Nike Hoop Academy when he was in high school and just his speed, his basketball IQ, he’s a great passer and he can score. We have players on our team that will benefit from him because we can set the table for him, for them, but also just to bring up the youth and overall speed.

“We started this season as the oldest team in NBA history,” Shaw continued. “When you look at the fact that we started with Chris Paul and James Harden, so we had a pretty old team. We were pretty slow, so now we feel like we can compete with these younger, faster, athletic teams that are out there.”

Garland is one of the better, more established young guards in the league. The former fifth overall pick is a two-time All-Star and averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 assists per game this season.

The 26-year-old is still recovering from a sprained right finger and has yet to make his debut for the Clippers. That said, Garland – along with Leonard – has a chance to get the Clippers back into the playoffs. They’ve been a pretty solid team lately, with Los Angeles going 20-6 since December 20th.