SI:AM | Another Potential NBA Blockbuster

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I know most sports fans are preoccupied with the Super Bowl and the NBA trade deadline, but competition at the Winter Olympics begins tomorrow. If you’re looking for a crash course before things get started in earnest on Friday, I previewed all 16 sports with Mitch Goldich on SI’s Daily Rings podcast.

In today’s SI:AM:
🏀 Potential James Harden trade
⭐ How Joe Namath transformed the Super Bowl
🔮 Latest men’s bracket projection

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Harden on the move?

Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t the only superstar who might be on the move before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

The Clippers “have had advanced discussions” with the Cavaliers on a trade that would send James Harden to Cleveland in return for Darius Garland, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported Monday. The main hang-up preventing the potential trade is the Cavaliers’ insistence that the Clippers also include draft picks, which Los Angeles has thus far rebuffed.

It’s been a baffling season for the Clippers. They started 6–21 but have gone 17–5 since then to claw back to near .500. They’re currently in ninth place in the Western Conference at 23–26, 3.5 games ahead of the Grizzlies for the last spot in the play-in tournament. The Cavs, after finishing with the best record in the East last season, are currently in a tie for fourth place.

A Harden trade would seem to be a future-oriented move for the Clippers, though. Los Angeles has made no secret of its plans to be a major player in the loaded 2027 free agent market, and moving on from Harden would help the Clippers solidify their plans. Harden has a player option for next season, but his $42.3 million salary can be cut to $13.3 million if the Clippers waive him by July 11.

The list of potential free agents in 2027 includes Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, Stephen Curry, Donovan Mitchell, Tyler Herro and RJ Barrett, to name a few.

Harden is 36 but is playing his best basketball in years. He’s averaging 25.4 points per game, his most since winning the scoring title in the 2019–20 season. Given how well he’s performing, it would make sense for him to seek a contract extension to fully guarantee his salary for next season. But if the Clippers remain committed to clearing as much cap space as possible before the 2027 offseason, you can understand why they’d want Harden off the books.

Why acquire Garland, then? Well, a Harden-Garland swap is fairly simple to pull off. Their salaries this season ($39.2 million for Harden, $39.4 million for Garland) are similar enough that a trade can be executed without including additional contracts. The complicating factor is that Garland remains under contract through the end of the 2027–28 season. He’s owed $42.2 million next season and $44.9 million the following year, fully guaranteed. That clashes with the Clippers’ goal of clearing the books for ’27, but acquiring the two-time All-Star isn’t totally illogical. Garland, who just turned 26 last week, is a decade younger than Harden and thus a better building block for whatever roster the Clippers hope to construct two summers from now. If they decide that his nearly $45 million salary in the final year of his contract might be better spent elsewhere, they could always offload him in exchange for some expiring contracts.

While a Harden-Garland swap would be a prelude to bigger things for the Clippers, it would be a win-now move for the Cavs. This has been a disappointing season for Cleveland after last year’s excellent finish. (The Cavs’ 64 wins last season were second-most in franchise history behind only their 66 wins in 2008–09.) Cleveland spent much of the season hovering around .500 before winning eight of its last 10. Even after that hot streak, though, the Cavs would not host a playoff series if the postseason began today. Injuries have limited Garland to 26 games this season and the Cavs’ offense—the best in the league last season—has suffered as a result. Adding Harden would give Cleveland an elite secondary scoring threat behind Mitchell and could vault the Cavs back into Eastern Conference contender status.

The best of Sports Illustrated

Joe Namath wearing a fur coat and text that says COOL JOE — Joe Namath is still cool. | Jeffery A. Salter/Sports Illustrated

For today’s Digital Cover, Matt Verderame spoke with Joe Namath about how his star turn at Super Bowl III helped make the NFL title game into what it is today.
Albert Breer’s first dispatch from Super Bowl week leads with a look at the lack of diversity in this cycle’s coaching hires.
Conor Orr takes Roger Goodell to task for his inadequate response to Giants co-owner Steve Tisch’s reported relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. (Tisch has denied any wrongdoing.)
The Pro Bowl has become a popularity contest for the unproven, which was made evident after the inclusion of Shedeur Sanders, writes Gilberto Manzano.
Kevin Sweeney will be updating his men’s NCAA tournament bracket predictions weekly throughout February. His latest update has Texas and Cal on the right side of the bubble, with a couple of ACC teams on the outside looking in.
Bryan Fischer explores the winners and losers of the college football transfer portal.

The top five…

… things I saw last night:
5. Macklin Celebrini’s absurdly quick release for his 28th goal of the season.
4. Quentin Grimes’s ferocious dunk.
3. Mikko Rantanen’s nasty stickhandling for a really tough goal.
2. Kansas star Darryn Peterson’s back-to-back three-pointers to tie and then win the game on the road against No. 13 Texas Tech.
1. Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll’s scrambling stick save after a weird bounce.