James Harden’s future with the Cleveland Cavaliers has been hanging out there for months, and the whole thing now comes down to a messy little twist: LeBron James.
Harden was always expected to land a multi-year deal after last season, which was a big part of why he ended up in Cleveland in the first place. He fit smoothly during the regular season, where he “always does,” and paired well with fellow Adidas athlete Donovan Mitchell. The playoffs told a different story, since he was a no-show there, too, but he still stayed committed to the team.
The reason he remains unsigned is simple enough. Harden wants the Cavaliers to keep enough financial flexibility to bring in LeBron James, and he’s apparently willing to wait so the team can make that move.
The idea is that Cleveland will take care of him later. Of course, with Harden, the label of team guy or reliable guy has never exactly been the first thing that comes to mind.
That’s where the real question starts: if the Cavaliers miss out on LeBron, does Harden stay?
For most of his career, Harden has been driven more by money than by chasing a championship. He’s been on loaded teams before, and he was a superstar in his prime, but trouble usually starts when teams start messing with his money.
Still, people can change. As the end of his career gets closer, maybe he finally sees that winning a championship is the only way to clean up a complicated legacy. If LeBron doesn’t land in Cleveland, though, that path gets a lot harder.
There’s also the possibility that LeBron could end up somewhere else and try to bring Harden with him. Harden was already thinking about teaming up with The Beard, so maybe that idea doesn’t die with Cleveland.
Nothing is real until the paperwork is signed. DeAndre Jordan was almost a Dallas Maverick until he wasn’t.
Harden himself was locked in with the Brooklyn Nets until he asked out at the last minute. And Luka Doncic was the Mavs’ franchise player, too, until that changed.
The Cavaliers appear to be in a strong spot to land LeBron, so this is still just speculation. But Harden has spent most of his career being unpredictable and self-focused, so no outcome would be all that shocking.
He does love financial stability above almost everything else, so maybe this whole thing gets laughed off in a couple of days. Then again, this is the NBA, where anything can happen.
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