James Harden's trade created a domino effect that the Spurs won big on

James Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday for Darius Garland in a move that basically came out of nowhere. All was quiet on the Clippers front until it wasn't. The deal came together pretty quickly after that, and such an impactful change happening so suddenly should tank the upward trajectory they'd recently been on.

LA wasn't rumored to be heavily involved in the trade market, and why would they be? They started the season slowly, but once everyone got healthy again, the wins started rolling. They won 17-21 games at one point, so everyone believed they would just roll with who they had. Harden's desire to move changed everything, and today the Clippers doubled down on upheaval.

The Spurs have one less threat to worry about

San Antonio is a young team, so veteran ball clubs can pose problems for them, especially in the playoffs. It's why they struggled with Golden State earlier this year. Those guys just know how to play the game together and take advantage of the mistakes that inexperienced teams are prone to make.

Not to mention, the Silver and Black still haven't beaten Kawhi Leonard in over half a decade. Any time they've defeated the Clippers—which hasn't been often—the Klaw has been sidelined. That should change now that he has less help.

Spurs fans can also celebrate because this effectively shuts down any outside chance Leonard had of making another run. Nobody loved to see him hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy in Toronto the year after he was traded from the 210, and nobody wants to see him succeed in Los Angeles.

It's truly the best of both worlds. The Western Conference gets that much weaker, and the Klaw gets a late order of coal. Or would it be an early order? Who keeps track of stuff like that anyway?