The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a 4-4 start, and the offseason move that brought James Harden back on a three-year, $96 million deal is already drawing heat.
Harden, 37, is set to make $30,647,619 this season. His salary climbs to $32,180,000 next season, and he holds a player option worth $33,712,381 for the 2028-29 season. Cleveland re-signed him this offseason on a fully guaranteed contract, and NBA analyst Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report called it a “terrible decision.”
The numbers around Harden haven’t helped the case. He owns a swing rating of minus-22.6, which ranks in the 8th percentile via Cleaning the Glass. Through the early part of the season, he is averaging 16.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 37.9% from the field, 36.2% from 3-point range and 82.9% from the free-throw line.
Cleveland’s uneven start has been marked by some ugly collapses. In the opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cavaliers built a 29-point lead before Philadelphia stormed back for a 114-106 win. The Sixers outscored Cleveland 37-21 in the third quarter and 32-16 in the fourth.
The Cavaliers also let a double-digit lead slip away against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5. That followed a brutal finish in last season’s conference finals, when Cleveland was up 22 points with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter of Game 1 in New York before the Knicks ripped off a 44-11 run in the fourth quarter and overtime to win 115-104. Jalen Brunson kept going at Harden on defense, and the end result was one of the biggest comebacks in NBA history.
Last season still mattered because Cleveland reached the conference finals for the first time without LeBron James on the roster since 1992. But the early returns this year have been rough enough to reopen the conversation about what the Cavaliers actually have.
The source material also points to LeBron’s decision not to return to Cleveland this summer. “Look, there is a reason James didn’t come home this summer.
He didn’t trust Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. It’s early, but it appears James made the right decision by signing with the 76ers, who are 8-1.”
LeBron remains the best player in Cleveland history, and the source frames him as arguably the greatest player of all time. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, he is first in NBA history in points, field goals, games and minutes. He is also the only player to rank top five all-time in points and assists, the only player to win three Finals MVPs with three teams, the only player with 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 career assists, and the only player to score 50,000 points combining the regular season and playoffs.
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Sam Merrills Slump May Be A Bigger Cavs Problem Than It Looks
Sam Merrills shooting slump is starting to look like more than a cold stretch, and for the Cavaliers it comes at a time when his value is tied so closely to spacing and quick-trigger offense. The elbow issue he has been dealing with since the preseason has reportedly gotten worse rather than better, and that kind of nagging problem can make a shooters margin for error disappear fast.
At the same time, Clevelands offense has changed since the James Harden acquisition, and Merrill has not been getting quite the same motion looks that once helped him find rhythm. For a player whose game leans on movement, timing and confidence, that combination is a tough one, and it leaves the Cavs with a broader question about how much production they can still expect from him in this system. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Finally Face The Real Khalifa Diop Question
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The next step, though, remains on hold. Diop has yet to make his NBA debut after a preseason knee injury interrupted his path, leaving the Cavaliers to wait on a prospect they have been patient with from the start. Caldern sounded encouraged by the progress Diop has made and by the chance he could still become a useful piece for the team, but for now the real question is when that promise finally turns into a first game in a Cavaliers uniform. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Just Made A Depth Move That Could Matter Fast
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For a team already trying to manage its frontcourt depth, the move has a practical feel to it. Omier gives Cleveland another body up front at a time when injuries have forced the Cavaliers to keep an eye on every available option, and the timing suggests this is less about long-term housekeeping than making sure the rotation has enough cover right now. [Read more 🡒]