The Cavaliers officially announced Monday that they re-signed guard James Harden to a multiyear contract.
According to reports, it’s a three-year, $97 million deal for Harden.
Last season, Harden, who joined the Cavs in a trade that sent Darius Garland to the Clippers in February, played in 70 games, including 44 with the L.A. Clippers and 26 with the Cavaliers.
In his 26 games with the Cavaliers, Harden averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.8 rebounds in 33.8 minutes.
With Harden, the Cavaliers went 19-7 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. During the 2026 playoffs, he appeared in 18 games, averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.72 steals in 37.3 minutes.
Entering his 18th NBA season, Harden has appeared in 1,221 regular-season games (1,007 starts), averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.47 steals in 34.8 minutes per game with Oklahoma City, Houston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, the L.A. Clippers, and Cleveland.
At 37, Harden isn’t the player he once was, but he can still be highly effective. Unlike Garland during Cleveland’s recent playoff runs, Harden was healthy and available throughout the postseason. However, it remains to be seen whether Harden is good enough to push the Cavaliers to the next level.
On paper, Harden probably doesn’t make the Cavaliers better than the new-look 76ers or the defending NBA champion Knicks, but he will have a full training camp to build chemistry with Cleveland’s talented roster, which also includes newly acquired Peyton Watson.
It’s championship or bust for Cleveland, and the Cavaliers expect Harden to help push them over the top.
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