The Cleveland Cavaliers have done plenty of moving and shaking this offseason, but the biggest headline still hasn’t been sealed: James Harden has not yet signed the deal that would send him into some elite NBA company.
The agreement in place is a three-year, $97 million contract with a player option for 2028-29 and a trade kicker, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. If Harden puts pen to paper, he would move into the same neighborhood as LeBron James and Kevin Durant in league history, joining the two players who have already topped $500 million in career earnings. Harden currently sits at $414 million.
That deal became possible after Cleveland’s roster maneuvering in recent weeks. The Cavaliers landed Peyton Watson in a trade, then created the room needed for Harden by waiving Cam Whitmore. ESPN’s Bobby Marks laid out the cap math behind it this way:
“They get Cam Whitmore as part of the trade. They are going to waive and stretch Whitmore over three years. It's basically a $1.8 million cap hold that will then give them the flexibility to go out and sign James Harden to a new deal," ESPN's Bobby Marks said.
Even after the Cavaliers signed Khalifa Diop on Wednesday, the Harden situation still wasn’t finalized. Danny Cunningham of Locked on Cavs reported that the move was made with the contract structure in mind:
“James Harden has not signed yet. Diop’s salary will be small enough to keep the Cavs clear of the first apron and fit Harden’s contract in,” Locked on Cavs’ Danny Cunningham wrote.
That’s the key point here: Cleveland has clearly built its roster to make this work, and both sides have already reached an agreement in principle. Harden may simply be taking a little extra time before making it official.
For now, there doesn’t appear to be much drama attached to it. The Cavaliers have committed to the deal, and all signs point to it eventually becoming official.
In Other News...
Draymond Green Zeroed In On One Costly Part Of Cavs Trade
The Cavaliers made one of their most notable offseason moves by landing forward Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade with the Nuggets, parting with Max Strus and future draft capital to get it done. Cleveland then locked Watson in on a four-year, $88 million extension, a clear signal that it sees him as more than just a depth piece and plans to plug him in as a starting small forward alongside its core.
Draymond Green picked up on the other side of the transaction, calling attention to the value Denver extracted in the form of an unprotected 2031 first-round pick. For Cleveland, that kind of deal always comes with a balancing act: get the player you believe can help now, while giving up enough future control that the full price tag will linger long after the initial excitement fades. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Quietly Solved Two Roster Problems With One Signing
The Cavaliers have added another layer to their roster by bringing in Ousmane Diop, a 2022 second-round pick who has spent the past few years developing overseas with Baskonia in Spain. The move gives Cleveland a frontcourt body it can stash on a minimum-salary deal, and it fits the team's habit of finding practical solutions without making a lot of noise.
What makes the signing more interesting is how neatly it lines up with the cap picture the Cavaliers have been working through ahead of James Harden's new contract. Diop's deal runs four years, with a fully guaranteed salary for the 2026/27 season, so Cleveland gets some immediate depth and a longer-term financial piece in one transaction. It is the kind of understated roster move that can matter later, even if it barely registers on the surface now. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Land On ESPN Rivalry List For A Very Unusual Reason
The Cavaliers have landed on ESPNs list of NBA rivalries to watch this season, though this one is built less on what happens on the floor than on who sits in the owners box. Clevelands connection to Phoenix traces to the business competition between Dan Gilbert and Mat Ishbia, two wealthy owners whose mortgage-company backgrounds overlap in Michigan and have turned a league relationship into something more pointed.
It is an unusual kind of rivalry, especially for fans used to measuring grudges by playoff series and physical matchups. Cleveland and Phoenix have not made trades since Ishbia took over the Suns, and while the tension is expected to linger, it remains the sort of storyline that lives above the basketball rather than inside it. [Read more 🡒]