After less than three seasons, James Harden's time in Los Angeles is up.
The former MVP was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night , ending a stint with the Clippers that lasted less than three seasons and didn't produce a playoff series win alongside Kawhi Leonard.
Reports Monday night first indicated Harden wasn’t content in L.A., and the two sides worked toward a trade ahead of Thursday’s deadline. It’s the fifth time Harden has been traded in his 17-year career and the fourth time this decade the 11-time All-Star has found himself on the move.
For the Cavaliers, the decision to acquire Harden signals a belief that a shakeup was needed to get over the hump in the playoffs. Cleveland’s current core won 64 games last season, but a second-round exit and regular-season regression this year prompted the front office to take a swing.
Here are the full details of the Cavaliers’ trade for Harden ahead of the deadline.
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James Harden trade details
Cavaliers receive:
G James Harden
Clippers receive:
Darius Garland
Second-round pick
Harden's openness to a trade was partly motivated by the Clippers' reported plan to clean house ahead of the summer of 2027, when they will have much more salary cap flexibility and could target star free agents. With L.A. still sitting under .500 and the path to championship contention difficult, Harden chose to move on now.
MORE: Why Clippers traded James Harden
James Harden contract details
Harden is in the first year of a two-year, $81.5 million deal but he can opt out of the contract in the summer by declining a $42.3 million player option.
Whether Harden plans to opt out or work out a new deal with the Cavaliers isn't clear, but as he approaches his age-37 season, Cleveland acquired him knowing he isn't a long-term solution. That likely wasn't much of a hurdle for the organization, which is firmly in win-now mode.
The Cavaliers are Harden's fifth team since the start of the decade, and he is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning even if he still has plenty of short-term upside.
James Harden stats
Season Team Games PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3-pt%
2009-10 Thunder 76 9.9 3.2 1.8 1.1 40.3% 37.5%
2010-11 Thunder 82 12.2 3.1 2.1 1.1 43.6% 34.9%
2011-12 Thunder 62 16.8 4.1 3.7 1.0 49.1% 39.0%
2012-13 Rockets 78 25.9 4.9 5.8 1.8 43.8% 36.8%
2013-14 Rockets 73 25.4 4.7 6.1 1.6 45.6% 36.6%
2014-15 Rockets 81 27.4 5.7 7.0 1.9 44.0% 37.5%
2015-16 Rockets 82 29.0 6.1 7.5 1.7 43.9% 35.9%
2016-17 Rockets 81 29.1 8.1 11.2 1.5 44.0% 34.7%
2017-18 Rockets 72 30.4 5.4 8.8 1.8 44.9% 36.7%
2018-19 Rockets 78 36.1 6.6 7.5 2.0 44.2% 36.8%
2019-20 Rockets 68 34.3 6.6 7.5 1.8 44.4% 35.5%
2020-21 HOU/BKN 44 24.6 7.9 10.8 1.2 46.6% 36.2%
2021-22 BKN/PHI 65 22.0 7.7 10.3 1.3 41.0% 33.0%
2022-23 76ers 58 21.0 6.1 10.7 1.2 44.1% 38.5%
2023-24 Clippers 72 16.8 5.1 8.5 1.1 42.8% 38.1%
2024-25 Clippers 79 22.8 5.8 8.7 1.5 41.0% 35.2%
2025-26 Clippers 44 25.4 4.8 8.1 1.3 41.9% 34.7%
Career 1,195 24.1 5.6 7.3 1.5 43.8% 36.2%
Harden is averaging 24.1 points per game over his 17 NBA seasons, and his 25.4 points per game this season are his highest mark since his final full season with the Houston Rockets.
Harden is likely to become the 10th player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points, as he is less than 1,200 shy of the market, but that milestone will have to wait until next season.
James Harden career timeline
Harden is joining his sixth different NBA team with this deal.
2009-12: Oklahoma City Thunder
2012-21: Houston Rockets
2021-22: Brooklyn Nets
2022-23: Philadelphia 76ers
2023-26: Los Angeles Clippers
Harden's movement around the NBA has come entirely via trades. The Thunder shocked the NBA by dealing Harden to the Rockets just as the 2012-13 NBA season was getting started as they tried to get out ahead of anticipated salary cap issues, and he instantly rocketed to stardom in Houston.
After a successful run that saw him win an MVP award and become one of the NBA's most lethal offensive players, Harden requested a trade in 2020 and was dealt to the Nets in January of 2021.
Harden and the Nets positioned themselves as championship favorites with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in tow, but injuries played a role in Brooklyn's heartbreaking second-round exit against the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks.
A year later, Harden was on the move again, joining the 76ers through a deadline trade. He lasted less than two years in Philadelphia before requesting another trade, this time doing so publicly by calling 76ers GM Daryl Morey a "liar" in front of young fans during a trip to China.
While Philadelphia initially resisted his demands, Harden was traded to the Clippers in the early weeks of the 2023-24 season and re-emerged as an offensive force in L.A. despite a lack of playoff success for the franchise.
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How old is James Harden?
Harden is 36 years old. He will be 37 by the start of the 2026-27 season, his 18th in the NBA.