Los Angeles Clippers newcomer Darius Garland is particularly excited about joining forces with Kawhi Leonard when he returns from his toe injury soon. During a recent interview, the 26-year-old guard explained what he’ll bring to the table with his new team.
“I’m super excited, really. I mean, I was already in LA, so I didn’t have to travel anywhere. It’s been a week almost, so I’m trying to get acclimated with everybody, and everything’s going well,” Garland told Lauren Rosen of FanDuel Sports Network.
“He’s such a prolific scorer. I just wanna make (Kawhi Leonard’s) life a little bit easier, trying to give him some open shots. Try to get everybody some open shots, really. Try to push the pace a little bit and try to win some games as much as we can,” he added. “(I’m) somebody that’s just trying to win basketball games, trying to have fun with it.”
This season, Garland is averaging 18.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game on 45/36/86 shooting splits across 26 regular season appearances. However, Los Angeles Clippers fans may have to wait even longer for his debut, as he has no timetable for a return.
Los Angeles Clippers News: Kawhi Leonard makes eye-opening admission on the Ivica Zubac trade
Besides acquiring Darius Garland, the Los Angeles Clippers also acquired Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and several draft picks for Kobe Brown and Ivica Zubac, who has been with the team for seven years.
“It’s almost like losing a brother,” Leonard said of the Zubac trade via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “We see these people, the players around here more than we see our families, in a sense, throughout the NBA season. just somebody that will be missed. Like you said, I played a lot of games with him, a lot of battles. He’s a face that we’re gonna miss in the locker room.”
“We were just trying to get younger. We came in the year with the oldest team. It makes sense for them to try to get some assets and try to build for the future. It’s a big class coming in 2027, hopefully. They gotta do what’s best for them,” he continued.
