Why Cleveland Cavaliers Trading for James Harden Would Be a Nightmare

Here are a few reasons why the Cavaliers trading for James Harden would spell disaster for Cleveland.

Nov 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden (1) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

SI's Chris Mannix broke a report during the Los Angeles Clippers broadcast last night that the Clippers have had advanced trade discussions with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a Darius Garland swap with James Harden.

This morning, Chris Haynes reported these discussions have since ramped up and that a deal could be struck sooner rather than later.

Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers have ramped up conversations on a James Harden, Darius Garland package with both sides motivated to executing a deal relatively soon, league sources tell me.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 3, 2026

These reports suggest that the Cavaliers have at least entertained a Harden swap on two separate instances. So, let’s look at the logistics

Logistics

The logistics of a player swap seem rather implied. However, there will have to be some draft capital sent to the Cavaliers as part of any swap to even the value of the deal out.

This is because Garland is a full decade younger than Harden, and tied up long-term, making him quite a bit more valuable than the aging former MVP who has a player option after this season.

Money

Since Harden is on the same size deal as Garland, many think that this swap would keep the Cavs salary number even. However, this is untrue.

Harden has a 15% trade kicker that amounts to about $3 million.

Since the Cavaliers are over the second apron and therefore are only able to return the same amount of money they send out, they would have to use the traded player exception generated by the Hunter trade.

This extinguishes any rumors that the Cavaliers might trade for both Harden and Antetokounmpo, as the Cavs would need to generate a new exception to be able to afford to go after Giannis.

Player Option

James Harden has a lose-lose player option if he were to be traded to the Cavaliers.

If he declines it, the Cavs traded two-time all star Darius Garland, who had trade offers earlier in the season of up to 3 first round picks, for a one year rental player.

If he accepts it, the Cavaliers have to pay him a max deal(plus 15%), which would make it exponentially more difficult to improve the roster, barring any other major trades, as a second apron team.

Worst Case Scenario

Should James Harden turn out like every other time he has requested a trade, the Cavaliers will be left in this final and worst case scenario.

If the organization decides it is best for Harden to be away from the team, as history shows us it will, the Cavaliers will at least have the option to buy him out of his next and final year of his contract.

Such a mistake would cost them slightly over $13 million in buyout money for Harden. However, this way the Cavaliers aren’t bound to a player that has been sent home and demanded a trade from 4 separate organizations during his playing career.