James Harden agreed to a three-year, $97 million contract to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, completing a deal that will push the 11-time All-Star past $500 million in career earnings and keep the backcourt pairing with Donovan Mitchell intact for a team that reached the Eastern Conference finals last season.
The contract includes a player option for the 2028-29 season and a trade kicker. He turns 37 on Aug. 26 and will become just the second player in NBA history to sign for more than $90 million in guaranteed salary at that age or older, with LeBron James being the other.
He currently sits at $414 million in career earnings. Completing this deal would put him past the $500 million mark, a threshold only James and Kevin Durant have crossed in league history. Stephen Curry will reach the milestone this season on his $62.5 million salary. Paul George can get there after the 2027-28 season, and Joel Embiid can in the final year of his current contract.
How the deal came together
In June, he declined his $42.3 million player option to enter free agency. Harden and his agents worked with the Cavaliers on both two-year and three-year structures throughout the summer. Harden ultimately agreed to accept a lower annual salary under the three-year arrangement rather than the more expensive two-year deal, which gave Cleveland the cap flexibility it needed to stay under both the first and second aprons while executing its broader offseason plan.
That plan included the five-team trade completed Wednesday in which the Cavaliers acquired Peyton Watson, sending Max Strus to the Clippers and draft picks to the Nuggets. He played a role in recruiting Watson during his restricted free agency, staying in contact with him to push him toward Cleveland.
The Cavaliers also dealt Dennis Schroder to Charlotte for Tre Mann last week, with Mann ultimately moving to Washington in the Watson trade. President Koby Altman also added EuroLeague star Mario Hezonja and secured a maximum contract extension with Mitchell through the 2030-31 season after missing out on LeBron James in free agency in July.
What Harden brings to Cleveland
Harden was acquired from the Clippers in early February in exchange for Darius Garland. After his debut the Cavaliers went 21-9. He averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds after the All-Star break.
In 18 postseason games, Harden averaged 19.2 points, 5.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds as Cleveland made its first Eastern Conference finals since 2018. He led the NBA in isolations and ranked second in made step-back three-pointers.
He enters this season ranked ninth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Only Curry has made more career three-pointers. Harden is the 2018 league MVP, a three-time scoring champion and two-time assist champion.
The projected starting lineup
With the Harden deal finalized, the Cavaliers’ projected starting five is Harden, Mitchell, Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The combination gives Cleveland a backcourt with proven playoff scoring and playmaking, a second-year wing who broke out last season in Denver, and one of the better frontcourts in the Eastern Conference.
The additions of Watson and Harden give Cleveland a different look than the team that was swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks rematch, if it comes in the playoffs, will be watched as a referendum on whether the offseason moves addressed the gaps the series exposed.
He will enter his 20th NBA season when the year begins.
