Evan Mobley isn’t treating James Harden like a short-term rental. He’s treating him like a basketball brain worth studying, and he’s betting a full season together can turn a late-year experiment into something much cleaner for Cleveland.
Mobley said Monday that Harden’s arrival last February changed the way the Cavaliers had to sort out their jobs on the fly. The star guard came in late, and the team was still figuring out who handled what when he joined the mix.
“I wouldn't say me personally, but it's definitely different getting a guy of that stature coming onto your team, and everyone kind of finding their roles and how he's gonna fit in and all that,” Mobley said. “So he came in a little later in the season as well, so we're trying to get things going and all that.”
He added that having Harden, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the available group together from the start of training camp should help Cleveland iron out the details that were impossible to fully settle in the middle of the season.
“But I think him and me and Don and James and everyone that's available right now, going into training camp, I think that's gonna be real beneficial for us, to where we can all work those things out that we might not have around that time,” Mobley continued.
Harden had already framed the relationship earlier in the day, saying at Cavaliers media day that he wanted teammates to feel enough “comfortability” to come to him. He also said he had built “some really good stuff” with them over the last few months.
Cleveland got 26 regular-season games out of Harden after the Clippers sent him east for Darius Garland, a two-time All-Star, and a 2026 second-round pick. The Cavaliers went 19-7 in those games, according to Yahoo Sports.
Harden fractured his right thumb in his seventh game with the team, on Feb. 24 against New York, and missed two games. In those first seven appearances, he averaged 18.9 points and 8.0 assists.
The following night in Milwaukee, Cleveland played without Harden, Mitchell and Mobley, who was out for left calf injury management, according to NBA.com.
For Mobley, though, the bigger takeaway is the chance to learn from a player who has already piled up plenty of hardware and still has plenty left to offer. He said that’s part of what makes Harden appealing as a teammate.
“It’s very cool just to be able to pick his brain and get to know how he operates and why he operates that way,” Mobley explained. “It’s also cool that he’s from a similar place that I’m from, and he’s a legend in the game, but he’s currently playing as well.”
“So it’s like there’s a lot of benefits and factors that go into it,” Mobley added. “I’m trying to take it all in and learn as much as I can [while] he’s here playing with us. So, yeah, I don't take it for granted.”
Harden was born in Los Angeles and played high school basketball at Artesia in Lakewood, California. Mobley was born in San Diego and played at Rancho Christian School in Temecula, California, before one season at USC.
The Cavaliers selected Mobley third overall in 2021, and he averaged 18.2 points and 9.0 rebounds across 65 games in 2025-26. He’s 25, while Harden turned 37 on Aug. 26 and is 12 years older. Harden’s new deal with Cleveland runs through 2028-29 if he picks up his player option.
Mobley also expects the on-court connection to keep improving simply because the two will have more time together. Last season gave them only a small window.
“I think our chemistry is just gonna grow. I mean, we had a small sample size last year,” Mobley said. “So I think the more we play, the more minutes we get together, I think it's just gonna keep unlocking a lot of things for him and for me.”
In the playoffs, Harden averaged 19.2 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 turnovers in 18 games, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Mobley put up 17.0 points and 8.1 rebounds during that same run, and Mitchell led Cleveland with 26 points per game, according to The Associated Press.
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