James Harden is running it back with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The former NBA MVP agreed to a new three-year, $97 million contract to stay with the Cavaliers, one that includes a player option for the 2028-29 season and pushes his career earnings past $500 million, making him just the fourth player in NBA history to cross that mark, joining an elite group that only includes LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.
The deal comes off the back of a strong first stretch in Cleveland. Acquired from the LA Clippers last February in a win-now move, Harden averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists across 26 regular-season games. He helped push the Cavaliers all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were swept by the eventual champion New York Knicks.
Harden will turn 37 before the season tips off though and is no longer the offensive engine he once was in his prime, when he averaged a career-high 36.1 points a game back in 2018-19. Nonetheless, he is still a strong offensive catalyst, and he and seven-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell formed a dynamic backcourt that fueled Cleveland’s deep playoff run.
The signing was reportedly delayed to give the Cavaliers flexibility to complete a sign-and-trade for forward Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets. Watson fills a hole Cleveland has never truly solved at small forward since LeBron James left in 2018. He isn’t a star, but the 6-foot-8 forward, who shot 41.1 percent from three last season and can guard multiple positions, has the tools to become an excellent role player.
With a starting five of Harden, Mitchell, Watson, 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, Cleveland should be among the favorites to win the East.
That contention window is really what makes this deal matter for Harden. While he is an 11-time All-Star and the 2018 NBA MVP, he has reached the Finals just once in his career, back in his third season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he has never won a championship despite one of the most decorated résumés of his generation.
He can still be a major contributor on a contender, something that has worked before for stars in a similar spot late in their careers. Jason Kidd won his only title with the 2011 Dallas Mavericks in a secondary role, and Gary Payton did something similar as a reserve with the 2006 Miami Heat–neither was the primary option anymore, but both still proved to be difference-makers when it mattered most.
Harden has a real chance to follow that same path in Cleveland and rewrite many of the narratives that have hounded him over his career. He isn’t done yet, and these Cavaliers give him one last real shot at finally winning a championship to go with everything else that he has achieved.
