Cavs' future with James Harden gets massive multiyear deal update
· Yahoo Sports
Cavs' future with James Harden gets massive multiyear deal update originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in win-now mode. After having James Harden for only four months, they got as far as the Eastern Conference Finals before being swept by the New York Knicks. Clearly, something was going well between both parties. This is why the veteran is looking to stay alongside Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell for the long run.
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Harden declines player option to stay with Mitchell and Cavs
James Harden refused to opt in to his $42.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season, per Shams Charania of ESPN. This is usually a point of concern because the Cavs might lose him to unrestricted free agency but this is not the case for the veteran. Apparently, the Cavs and Harden are currently working on a new multiyear deal for the veteran to share the same back court with Donovan Mitchell.
What could this mean? First off, it's good news for Cavs fans. Harden could sign for a longer time with lesser money involved. This allows the Cavs to sign and have more capital to build around Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Moreover, if the veteran does ask for a little bit more, there is a guarantee that he stays with the Cavs until the twilight of his career.
Harden is no longer the MVP that he used to be which gives the Cavs a bit of leverage in contract negotiations too. During their 2026 NBA Playoffs run, he only averaged 19.2 points on a 48.6% clip from the field while having a career-high 4.7 turnovers in the postseason.
While the numbers have not been the best, Harden's intangibles have still been great for the team. The Cavs were able to escape the Toronto Raptors and upset the Detroit Pistons in seven games. Problems just started to surface when they got swept by the Knicks. Harden has been in deep postseason runs before and his veteran acumen was on full display during his first season alongside Mitchell and Mobley's Cavs.