Darius Garland wants to build Cavaliers legacy without LeBron James

NBA royalty and all-time great LeBron James made a heroic return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second stint with the organization in the summer of 2014 and ultimately guided the club to its first championship in 2016 before he departed a second time in July 2018. 

The rebuilding Cavaliers are, by most accounts, well ahead of schedule and enter Wednesday's matchup at the first-place Chicago Bulls at 27-18 and just one-and-a-half games back of Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings. Guard Darius Garland is a big reason for the club's successes throughout the season's opening half, as the third-year pro leads Cleveland with 19.7 points and 7.9 assists per game, according to ESPN stats. 

As noted by Ben Axelrod of WKYC, Garland recently spoke with NBA insider Shams Charania about writing the next chapter in the history of Cleveland professional basketball without having a "king" as a teammate. 

"Me and [Kevin Love] literally had this conversation a few days ago. Just having our own legacy without having anything with 'Bron to do with it, that would be pretty cool," Garland explained. "[Not] having a playoff run without 'Bron for that long, that's pretty amazing. And just having the city behind our back. I mean, this city has been waiting for this for a long time. Making the playoffs, that would mean a lot for the city of Cleveland and the Cavs organization."

With the likes of Garland, rookie Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro and, more recently, Lamar Stevens either matching or exceeding expectations, the future is bright for a Cavaliers side no opponent may want to see in the playoffs this spring.