Face of the franchise? Darius Garland embraces duty with LA Clippers

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HONOLULU — Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland donated $100,000 by his household basis to the Greater Gary Storm Recovery and Relief Fund this summer time as his residence state of Indiana recovered from a devastating August storm. Garland needed to assist the town the place a number of of his members of the family and pals nonetheless dwell.

“My mom [says], ‘This too shall pass,’” Garland, 26, informed Andscape after Clippers follow on the University of Hawaii on Sept. 29. “So, that’s the identical factor that’s going to occur right here. We acquired the pure disasters occurring. But we’re going to get again up as we all the time do and simply maintain combating.

“And I’ve done that for myself my entire life, my career. I’ve had a lot of injuries, banged up, bumps and bruises. But I still keep my head up high, get back up and keep thriving and try to push through that wall.”

Garland additionally believes “this too shall pass” for the Clippers as they attempt to trip out their mammoth storm.

The NBA introduced Sept. 2 that the Clippers and ahead Kawhi Leonard violated league guidelines relating to wage cap circumvention. Following a prolonged investigation, the league decided that the unit violated its collective bargaining settlement with the gamers’ union by arranging outdoors endorsement alternatives for the eight-time All-Star.

Leonard, who was lately traded again to the Toronto Raptors the place he performed in the course of the 2018-19 stretch, was fined $700,000 however acquired no suspension. The Clippers have been fined $30 million and should forfeit 5 first-round picks. Additionally, proprietor Steve Ballmer, basketball operations president Lawrence Frank, and enterprise operations president Gillian Zucker are serving league-mandated suspensions.

“It’s a lot that happened,” Garland mentioned. “But this too shall pass. I’m not really worried about this year. The next five years are really going to determine what happens. We stand in the present, stand where our feet are right now. That’s all we can do is just work, keep getting better and work with the guys that we have right now. So, day by day, [we’re] getting better every day.”

Darius Garland (proper) and Max Strus (left) have been teammates in Cleveland. Now, they’re teammates in Los Angeles.Dustin Satloff/Getty Images

The Raptors acquired Leonard from the Clippers on Sept. 21 in trade for ahead Brandon Ingram, guard/ahead Gradey Dick, two future first-round draft picks, one future first-round choose swap and two future second-round picks.

Leonard led the Clippers in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals per contest final stretch. Ingram, who averaged 21.5 factors per contest with Toronto final stretch, will miss the beginning of the 2026-2027 marketing campaign and has no timetable for his debut on account of {a partially} torn Achilles tendon and a proper heel setback.

With or with out Ingram, an argument could possibly be made that Garland is now the face of the Clippers. Garland averaged 19.9 factors, 6.4 assists and a couple of.3 rebounds per contest in 19 regular-season video games for Los Angeles final stretch after being dealt midseason from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two-time NBA All-Star can be the Clippers’ highest-paid competitor, making $42 million this stretch.

Garland — who had 15 factors, six assists and three rebounds in his preseason debut in opposition to the Golden Stare Warriors on Sunday — is worked up about his first alternative to show he can carry a franchise on and off the court docket.

“I thought about it a little over the summertime,” Garland mentioned. “It’s undoubtedly one thing I need. I’ve been by rather a lot on this profession and I’m able to tackle the reins of that, particularly in Year 8. I’ve really discovered myself somewhat bit and I do know the place I need to get to.

“And that’s a part of my plan, where I want to get better so I can get where I want to be. So, definitely, I’m ready for the opportunity.”

Darius Garland sees commerce to Los Angeles Clippers as a ‘good scenario’ – Andscape Read now

In a message to Clippers followers, Garland additionally added: “Be patient. There is a lot that is going on this year. We got a lot of new faces coming in. So, we definitely have to be patient. Got to get through a lot of the bumps and bruises even though we want to win games at a high rate. It’s going to happen. It’s a long season and it will get better every game.”

Garland is thought for having a laid-back, optimistic demeanor. He has by no means been able the place he was wanted to be the primary chief of an NBA unit. Garland mentioned his objective was to “be a leader and be a spark” for the Clippers after they acquired him in February.

Garland now says he has the power to be a vocal chief for the Clippers. He hosted a “Call of Duty” video contest competitors for his teammates, went with younger guard Kobe Sanders to a USC the ball contest, and went with rookie guard Keaton Wagler to a Los Angeles Rams contest. Garland additionally spent a lot of his offseason in Los Angeles figuring out and rehabbing on the Clippers’ follow facility.

“I’m definitely comfortable using my voice,” Garland mentioned. “I just got to get used to using it all the time. I had a lot of good players that I had with me [in Cleveland] like [Donovan Mitchell]. But now I’m the head of the snake with the ball in my hands 99 percent of the time. So, I definitely got to dig down deep and actually get it out sometimes. That’s the thing I’m working on right now.”

Clippers head play-caller Tyronn Lue and new Clippers ahead Max Strus, who performed with Garland in Cleveland, imagine Garland has the wanted management expertise.

“The summer Darius had was unbelievable,” Lue mentioned. “As a max competitor, a man who has been an All-Star on this league, to be in right here all summer time getting the rehab, being on his toes, placing the work in on his physique, getting stronger, lifting each single day, it’s very unusual. So, to see him try this this summer time simply reveals his method and the way critical he’s about this stretch.

“[He’s] just taking that approach of being a leader on and off the court every single day. We talked about that on [Aug. 28] in our meeting. He’s on the right track.”

Said Strus: “He has the ability to control a whole room with the way he acts and his attitude, the way he controls himself every single day. We feed off of him, and he knows that. He’s already taken steps from when I was in Cleveland with him in a positive direction. I’m proud of him for that and he’s going to keep learning and keep getting better.”

Darius Garland (left) is seeking to take over because the face of the Los Angeles Clippers’ franchise from Kawhi Leonard (proper), who was traded to the Toronto Raptors.Adam Pantozzi/NBAE by way of Getty Images

Another key to Garland’s success is lastly having wholesome toes.

Garland’s toe points started in March 2025, they usually triggered him to overlook a number of playoff video games for the Cavs. He had reconstructive surgical procedure on his left nice toe in June of final yr. Garland missed the primary seven video games with Cleveland final stretch whereas recovering from surgical procedure. He added that there was a degree in Cleveland when he was carrying “a steel plate in my shoe that wouldn’t allow me to bend my toe.”

Garland was identified with a Grade 1 sprain of his proper massive toe on Jan. 17 after diving for a free ball in opposition to Philadelphia, sidelining him for greater than per week. He had surgical procedure to restore torn ligaments in his left massive toe (extreme turf toe/sprain) on June 9 that had hampered him by the top of the common stretch and the playoffs. Now, Garland says his toes are wholesome, which ought to permit him to regain his earlier All-Star kind.

“Body is good. Toe is 100 percent,” Garland mentioned. “I’ve been working a lot on that all summer. I’m ready to go, man, 100 percent. I’ve been in the lab [gym], working as much as I can, trying to get stronger. The conditioning feels really good.”

Said Strus: “There is going to be a lot riding on DG’s shoulders, but we are here to support him and push him through that. And he’s capable of [succeeding]. He’s a hell of a basketball player. He’s battled some tough injuries. He’s been through a lot in his short span in the league. I’m really excited to see him fully healthy.”

Additional motivation for Garland this stretch is feeling ignored and forgotten after being traded by the Cavs.

Garland appeared in 408 regular-season video games with the Cavaliers from 2019-26, averaging 18.8 factors, 6.7 assists and a couple of.6 rebounds per contest. The Cavs, nonetheless, traded him for James Harden in hopes of profitable a title final stretch, and superior to the 2026 Eastern Conference finals. Now, Garland plans to remind Clippers and NBA followers that he may be one of many league’s elite gamers.

Given the Clippers’ difficult current, there isn’t a higher time for Garland to reawaken.

“Everybody felt I was out of the league, basically,” Garland mentioned. “But now I’m trying to get that spark back. Trying to get back to that All-Star level that I’m used to being in.”

Gary, Indiana, is thought for being the house of celebrities like Garland; music icons Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and The Jackson 5; former NBA star Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson; rapper Freddie Gibbs; singer Deniece Williams; and former NFL stars Fred Williamson and Alex Karras.

Garland was born in Gary, and his mother and father, former NBA guard Winston Garland and Felicia Garland, are from there.

Mayor Eddie Melton is making an attempt to revitalize Gary, which has been affected by many years of producing contraction, forsaking hundreds of deserted buildings, a shrinking inhabitants of roughly 68,000, excessive poverty charges and a struggling public college system.

By 2010, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report had positioned Gary on the prime of the listing for homicide charges amongst U.S. cities with populations between 50,000 and 99,999 individuals, in response to CBS Chicago. The Garlands additionally moved from Gary to Nashville, Tennessee, when Darius was within the sixth grade due to issues about violence and different struggles within the metropolis.

“A lot of people don’t know about Gary unless you know about the Jackson 5 or Michael Jackson,” Garland mentioned. “It’s fairly onerous to sleep on us although as a result of we’re so near Chicago. We’re the little brother of Chicago. But it’s only a hard-nosed, blue-collar metropolis, majority Black. A whole lot of violence. A whole lot of medication. It’s actually a blessing that I made it out, for actual.

“There are a lot of people that don’t make it out by 25. Some of my friends died when I was 12. It was bad when I was growing up already. Our parents had to make a sacrifice for our family and moved to Nashville.”

Garland’s delight in Gary may be seen each NBA contest, as he wears a tattoo representing his hometown on his proper leg. Amid efforts to proper the Clippers, Garland additionally hopes to encourage the youth of Gary.

“I keep a smile on my face and keep my head up high no matter what is going on in my career, my life,” Garland mentioned.

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA author for Andscape. He used to have the ability to dunk on you, however he hasn’t been capable of in years and his knees nonetheless harm.