INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Darius Garland could not have been more in transition than he was Wednesday night on his first day with his new team.
Officially traded earlier in the day from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Los Angeles Clippers for 11-time All-Star James Harden, Garland talked about his upheaval during halftime of Wednesday’s game between his current and former teams.
“I knew about it. It wasn’t a shock, though,” the two-time All-Star said. “It’s the business of basketball. Cleveland was great to me and my family, and I have respect for all of those guys over there. ... Seven years was a really long time, and it was great. I’m glad I’m here now. The next chapter in my book.”
Garland has been out since Jan. 16 with a big toe sprain on his right foot, and the Clippers have no timetable for his debut. But coach Tyronn Lue expects to implement a new game plan once the 26-year-old point guard is on the floor. Garland said he’s ready to go and waiting for the OK to play.
“He’s different from James and we can play different with a faster pace,” Lue said. “We can play him off the ball more. It’s going to be exciting. I’ve known DG for a while and having a young point guard under my tutelage, I think it’s the first time I have had one since Kyrie (Irving).”
Garland to play more than 70 games just once in his seven seasons because of injuries. He's on pace to play 42 games this season.
Garland’s uncertain availability, and the Cavaliers' need to get star Donovan Mitchell more scoring help, motivated Cleveland to swap their young floor leader for Harden, who is 10 years older.
Cleveland got the scorer it needed, and one who can also run the point, while the Clippers managed to get younger as they head toward an offseason without a first-round draft pick.
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson called Garland one of his favorite players. Yet that bond was not tight enough to prevent the deal for Harden, an 11-time All-Star and the player with the second-most 3-pointers in NBA history.
“Those are the toughest calls you have to make, but he goes up on my favorites list,” Atkinson said. “I’m going to miss him. We had a great relationship.”
Atkinson seemed to take comfort in handing Garland off to Lue, who is known for getting the most out of his players.
“Ty is going to be great for Darius,” Atkinson said. “Ty was a point guard himself and understands the position. You know, my relationship with Darius, and to lose it, is kind of a tough day. But the positive is that he is coming to the Clippers and he will be with Ty. I expect him to be great here and I’m rooting for him.”
It might not have been the change Garland was looking, for but he was starting to embrace the possibilities of teaming with Kawhi Leonard.
“I hope T-Lue uses me like he did Kyrie in that championship run they had (in Cleveland),” said Garland, whose father Winston Garland played 1 1/2 seasons with the Clippers in the early 1990s. “But whatever T-Lue wants me to be, whatever position he wants me to be in, I’m going to do that. I’m here to win games.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Los Angeles Clippers' Darius Garland speaks at a news conference during halftime of an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers after he was traded from the Cavaliers, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Clippers' Darius Garland speaks at a news conference during halftime of an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers after he was traded from the Cavaliers, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
A fitness clearance for veteran middle-order batter David Miller has boosted South Africa as it heads to the Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, attempting to improve on its runner-up finish in the last tournament.
The 36-year-old Miller is one of the best finishers in world cricket and his late confirmation in the Proteas squad adds another feature to an already strong lineup.
He had an adductor muscle strain and was in doubt until his clearance by the South Africa medical team.
South Africa has been a regular semifinalist in ICC tournaments in recent years and finally broke its major international trophy drought when it won the last World Test Championship. It hopes that experience will boost it at the coming tournament.
The Proteas have built depth across all three formats, demonstrated when it lost Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira from its initial World Cup squad to injuries and called in Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs as replacements, both top-class T20 players.
Wicketkeeper Rickelton has a T20 international strike rate of 142 and both are able to bat deep, and be closers if needed. Stubbs has considerable experience in the Indian Premier League.
South Africa surprised many when it named a bowling lineup with a heavy emphasis on pace. Those bowlers performed relatively well in recent white ball series in India.
Kagiso Rabada is fit after recent injuries and joins a pace group including Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kwena Maphaka and Lungi Ngidi. George Linde and Keshav Maharaj provide the frontline spin alternative.
“We are returning to the subcontinent where we recently competed against hosts India,” coach Shukri Conrad said. “The experience we gained playing in those conditions will undoubtedly benefit us as we head into this tournament.
“Many of the players selected for the World Cup squad were on that trip and experienced firsthand the pitches that we will likely encounter, and that will stand them in good stead once we get to India.”
A feature of the South Africa squad which will be captained by Aiden Markram is the depth and experience of its batting. Quinton de Kock returns at the top of the order after a short-lived retirement.
“There’s lots of firepower. There are match winners,” former South Africa captain Graeme Smith told local media. “It’ll be interesting to see what combinations Shukri and the team come up with. Some grounds are challenging to defend, some wickets play flat and then your bowlers are really tested.
“So the bowling combinations will be tested but there’s enough in that squad to go deep in the tournament.”
Smith backs Stubbs to make an impact, pointing to his match-winning unbeaten 63 in the SA20 final.
“His power, the experiences he has, we’ve seen it in the IPL, for South Africa and in the SA20,” he said. “That innings would have given him a world of confidence. He’s a confident player anyway but he would have grown in stature.
“He’s had to fight back from a few disappointments in the last six months. I always love it when a player under pressure shows his worth on a big stage like a final. Hopefully he takes that feeling, that form and confidence into the World Cup.”
South Africa is drawn in Group D with Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand and UAE.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
South Africa's bowler Keshav Maharaj, center, celebrates with his teammate Aiden Markram after bowling West Indies batsman Rovman Powell during the T20 International cricket match between South Africa and West Indies, in Centurion, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South Africa's batsman Ryan Rickelton, right, runs and survive a run out attempt by West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope during the T20 International cricket match between South Africa and West Indies, in Centurion, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer, right, misplay a delivery as South Africa's wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock watches on during the T20 International cricket match between South Africa and West Indies, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South Africa's bowler Keshav Maharaj, right, celebrates with his teammates after taking a wicket during the T20 International cricket match between South Africa and West Indies, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South Africa's batsman Quinton de Kock raises his bat after reaching a century during the T20 International cricket match between South Africa and West Indies, in Centurion, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
