BOSTON — The LA Clippers are entering a transitional period for the franchise. After trading away superstar Kawhi Leonard, the longest tenured player in Ivica Zubac, and James Harden, the Clippers are looking to Darius Garland to usher them into the future.
Before he kicked off training camp for the first time with his new Clippers teammates, Garland traveled to Boston, Massachusetts to take part in the New Balance Beantown Elite Experience. The brand invited some of the best boys and girls high school players in the country for a four-day minicamp at The Track, New Balance's premiere facility in the New England area.
This is the second time the camp has been held, and this time, Garland was joined by Tyrese Maxey, Zach LaVine, and Dejounte Murray. Together, the four NBA stars imparted their knowledge on the high schoolers all pursuing a successful basketball career while showcasing the true family atmosphere New Balance has instilled.
“It's like a family to me, literally like a second family,” Garland told ClutchPoints. “I mean, it's a great partnership. Everybody's super close-knit, super family-oriented. And then the athletes are great as well. You've been around, so seeing Tyrese [Maxey] and Dejounte [Murray] here, seeing Zach [LaVine] here, I mean, it means a lot to the kids. So super cool to be part of the family.”
Darius Garland joined New Balance in 2023 and has been with the brand as they've continued to develop some of the top basketball performance sneakers. His latest favorite sneaker? The New Balance P350s.
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Garland spoke exclusively with ClutchPoints at the Beantown Elite Experience, where he discussed everything from the camp to his upcoming season with the LA Clippers.
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Tomer Azarly: First of all, been a few months since we've talked. How are you doing? How's your summer been?
Darius Garland: It's been great. It's been great working, traveling, spending some time with the family, and just chilling.
Tomer Azarly: We're here in Boston.What can you say about this experience with the campers. You're obviously here to help impart your knowledge, your wisdom, give them some advice. What's your role here at the camp?
Darius Garland: Yeah, just being a leader at the camp. I'm gonna say a camp counselor. That's my role for the weekend. But yeah, just seeing the best players in the junior and senior class come and compete. Learning from some pretty good trainers with Dash and Irv. And then being around the New Balance family, of course. And yeah, just experience everything with the kids. Trying to give them a couple pointers here and there. And just being around them, just trying to be like a big brother for them.
Tomer Azarly: Have they been kind of as fun as you would hope they've been? Asking questions, learning all that?
Darius Garland: Yeah, they asked a lot of questions. They're learning a lot for sure, especially from Dash and Irv. Just the knowledge that they have with the guys they've been around. Just playing them in different situations and just making read and reacts out of certain situations as well. And yeah, it's getting better. So it's been cool. They've been soaking a lot up.
Tomer Azarly: Talk to me about the partnership with New Balance as a whole. I mean, you've been with them for a couple years now. I mean, we chatted in San Francisco a couple years ago. How's that relationship, that partnership grown with them?
Darius Garland: It's great, man. It's like a family to me. Literally like a second family. I mean, a great partnership. Everybody's super close-knit, super family-oriented. And then the athletes are great as well. You've been around, so seeing Tyrese and Dejounte here, seeing Zach LaVine here, I mean, it means a lot to the kids. So super cool to be part of the family.
Tomer Azarly: You've been rocking different shoes. I think you're rocking the P350s right now. Talk about what you like about that shoe or the other shoes you like as well with them.
Darius Garland: Yeah, I'm rocking the P350s right now. Super comfortable, super light, durable. I mean, it's like the perfect basketball shoe for me to be honest with you. Yeah, a lot of grip. I like to move around, get shifty a little bit. So a lot of wiggle room to go in there as well. So it's been really good.
Tomer Azarly: You play a very shifty style basketball. So did it take you some time to find the right shoe for you that can handle your kind of game? You like to move around the court a lot.
Darius Garland: Yeah. I mean, when they came to me about the Hesi Lows last year, that's when I knew it was like, all right, they're making like some stuff for a lot of guards that's moving around and being really shifty. So it really started last year with Hesi Low's and now moving over to the P350s. It's really like the same concept. Super comfortable, like I said, and super durable when I am getting shifty out there moving around a lot. Don't just blow out on me or anything like that. So it's been really good.
Tomer Azarly: The keyword that I've heard a lot from you, Tyrese Maxey, and even Rich Paul is that this is more than just a partnership. What about this relationship has made it seem so much more than just a brand-athlete relationship?
Darius Garland: I mean, they want to see us happy. They really care about the consumer and like the player as well. So I mean, they do really anything for us. Anything about the shoe. You know, I had a lot of complications, especially last year with my toe and they were coming up there almost every month just to check on my toe, check on like the different plates I was wearing, just trying to make sure the shoe was straight. So it's super cool just to have like the interaction with a brand of this caliber and for them to pour so much into their athletes is really cool to see.
Tomer Azarly: You had a strong second half of the season last year and you did it probably banged up a little bit. What did you feel like you were able to go out there and do and what are you looking forward to in this upcoming season?
Darius Garland: Same thing and more. Just want to come out healthy, come out alive, you know, but definitely win a couple of games. I hope we can try and make a playoff push. We're just trying to get better every day, man, and get this Clippers organization to come back to itself. So trying to get that back to the playoff status that it was.
Tomer Azarly: You have a big opportunity here to kind of lead this team in the next era of basketball. How much do you kind of relish that opportunity but also embrace that kind of responsibility that a franchise puts on you to be the guy for them?
Article Continues BelowDarius Garland: Yeah, for me it's an honor just to have that opportunity for sure. Just to wear the name Los Angeles Clippers and represent my family name. That's all I really need to go out there and play as hard as I can. So just try to be the best player I can be. I put a lot of work in this summer so that can happen this year, so I'm super excited about that, and like I said, just try to get better as the season goes on.
Tomer Azarly: What do you feel like you have to show or prove?
Darius Garland: I don't really think I have to prove anything. I just want to prove to myself that I can get better every year, and I can stay healthy, and doing it at a high rate. So yeah, just trying to get back to the All-Star level that I am, All-NBA level, just win games as much as I can.
Tomer Azarly: You've worked with Tyronn Lue, and he's mentioned using you like he used Kyrie Irving in Cleveland. With having an off season now, having a training camp under your belt, you for your help, but also just getting acclimated to how we want you to play.
Darius Garland: Yeah, for sure. Definitely just got thrown to the fire last year with the trade, but now having a full off season with T-Lue. Like you said, a full training session, training camp, and just be around the guys for the whole summer. I mean, that helped a lot just building the team camaraderie and stuff like that. So yeah, me and T-Lue definitely had a couple of talks this summer talking about how he wants to play me. So yeah, I'm pretty excited about this year for sure.
Tomer Azarly: Russell Westbrook announced his retirement this summer, one of the greatest point guards ever. I'm wondering, as a point guard yourself, what did he mean to you? Is he a guy you watched growing up at all?
Darius Garland: Yeah, for sure. Everybody wanted to be like Russ growing up. Yeah, just his explosiveness, his athleticism. The way he cared about the game is probably something I really, really like took an eye on. He's going to give it 110% every game. Doesn't matter how tired he is, how old he is. I actually thought he had like a couple more years left in the tank, to be honest with you, because the way he was going last year was insane. So yeah, it kind of hurt for the league, but I know he's sending it off in the right spot, and I know he's happy. So it's all right.
Tomer Azarly: I hear you're a big Dancing with the Stars fan.
Darius Garland: Yeah.
Tomer Azarly: When can we see Darius Garland on Dancing with the Stars?
Darius Garland: I don't know.
Tomer Azarly: Is that something you want to do? Or are you just like watching?
Darius Garland: It'll be cool. Yeah, it'll be cool. Me and my mom used to watch it when I was growing up. So yeah, I'd be doing my homework. She'd be cooking, and she'd have it on, just for some background noise. We actually started watching it as I got older. So maybe some years down the line, probably after the NBA career is over, maybe I'll go on Dancing with the Stars.
Tomer Azarly: There have been some athletes who have done it. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Baron Davis. Iman Shumpert. A few guys have done it.
Darius Garland: Yeah, but have they won it, though?
Tomer Azarly: I don't recall any player winning it, but I might be forgetting my history.
Darius Garland: Well, that's what I'm trying to do.
Tomer Azarly: Trying to win it all?
Darius Garland: I think I can really do it, you know what I'm saying?