James Harden arrived in Cleveland just before the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline. The Cavaliers gave up Darius Garland, a 26-year-old two-time All-Star, to the Los Angeles Clippers for the 36-year-old former MVP. The move was made to bring in a better offensive facilitator, and while he could still do just that, age and attitude issues had seemingly made him a non-starter for many teams looking for offensive help at the NBA trade deadline.
It wasn't lost on the Cavaliers that Harden had some baggage, because he wasn't the only name they were looking at. At one point, the Cavs were heavily interested in acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that Holiday was one of the first names the Cavs looked into trading for, but determined that he wasn't the right fit for what they needed. The Cavaliers were hoping for a guy who could handle play-making responsibilities, and Harden, despite his age and issues, could still pass the ball very well.
While Holiday has always been a good point guard, even helping win an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks, running an offense was never his strongest suit, at least at the level of Harden. What he lacked in passing, however, he made up for in the one area that the Cavaliers needed the most help with.
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The Cavaliers, all playoffs long, were desperate for perimeter defense. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Brunson really took it to the Cavs and were huge factors in why Cleveland struggled against the Detroit Pistons and eventually lost to the New York Knicks. Anyone watching saw Harden be less than effective as a defensive presence.
It would be unfair to say Harden didn't try, because he really did. It just wouldn't be fair to say that Holiday wouldn't have been an improvement defensively over Harden. Maybe if the former MVP was playing at a level offensively that was consistent with the expectations he brought, the Cavaliers wouldn't have needed much help defensively. That wasn't the reality of the situation, and Harden was as big of an issue offensively as he was defensively for the majority of the Cavs' 2026 playoff run.
While Holiday was never as good as Harden offensively, he was and still is better than him defensively. He would've filled a need the Cavaliers never found a solution for, and that alone makes it even harder to justify trading for Harden over Holiday.
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