Garland has not played since Jan. 14 but told Andscape he plans to make his Clippers debut “really, really soon.” The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 assists in 26 games this season. He said the Clippers’ medical staff will determine when he makes his debut. Garland, who missed four playoff games in 2025, believes his toe issues played a “big part” in him being traded from Cleveland. “It was going to happen regardless, either at the [trade] deadline or this summer. [My agent] Rich [Paul] had that conversation with me last summer,” Garland said. “But yeah, the toe definitely had a factor in it. They didn’t know if I was going to be healthy for this season, which I will be. But they thought that James had something that I didn’t, I believe. He has experience in playoffs and All-Star numbers still to this day, even though he wasn’t an All-Star this year. But yeah, they want to win right now. They have a group, too. And I guess I really wasn’t part of the plan. “But now, I’m over here in a really good situation. I have the ball in my hand a lot more where I could do me a little bit more. I have another superstar [Leonard] next to me. I can go get it as well.”
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Darius Garland on Cavaliers trading him: They didn't know if I was going to be healthy this season, which I will be