The Cleveland Cavaliers thought they were locking in a proven piece when they handed James Harden a three-year, $97 million deal in the offseason. A dozen games into the new season, that bet looks a lot shakier.
Cleveland kept its core intact after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2025-26 season, then getting swept in that series. Harden was part of that group after arriving at the 2026 trade deadline, when the Cavs sent Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers. He helped right away in 2025-26, but his early work in 2026-27 has been a different story.
Through 12 games, Harden is averaging 16.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 39 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three. He’s also coughing it up 2.9 times per game, and the efficiency just hasn’t been there.
There was one clear flashpoint: his best outing of the season came against the New York Knicks, when he posted 32 points, two rebounds, four assists, and two steals per game while going 9-for-14 from the floor, 5-for-7 from deep, and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. Cleveland will be hoping that version shows up more often, because that’s the kind of scoring and playmaking the contract was built around.
The numbers from before that Knicks game were even more troubling. Cleveland had a net rating of -5.6 with Harden on the floor and +15.7 when he sat.
The offense scored 108.6 with him and 123.5 without him. He was also finishing poorly at the rim, shooting 36 percent there, which ranked last in the NBA among the 130 qualified players.
That’s a far cry from what Harden gave the Cavs in 26 games last season, when he averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.
If he can get back to that level, the deal starts to make sense. Right now, though, Cleveland hasn’t gotten enough consistency from the 37-year-old guard to feel good about the investment.
The Cavs are 6-6 and sitting sixth in the East. If they’re going to stay in the title picture this season, they’ll need their stars to deliver more steady production, Harden included.
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