Cavs guard James Harden (1) reacts during the second quarter of game one of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks during the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the teams that were in hot pursuit of LeBron James in free agency. In the end, James decided against returning to the Cavs, signing with the Philadelphia 76ers instead. This has now left the Cavs in a bit of an awkward spot with James Harden, as they delayed the process of re-signing him to leave their options open in case James chose to come back home.
But in the end, the expectation around NBA circles is that Harden will still be re-signing with the Cavs. The two parties have simply been figuring out the best sort of agreement that works for both parties.
“The Cavaliers are working through different iterations of a deal, trying to come up with something that's best for James and also best for them. And to James' credit, they're saying that he's been patient. His people has been patient. And I hear that they expect a resolution to come soon for him to re-sign,” Marc Spears said in an appearance on ESPN's NBA Today, via Oh No He Didn't on X.
Marc Spears on where things stand between James Harden and the Cavs:
"The Cavaliers are working through different iterations of a deal, trying to come up with something that's best for James and also best for them. And to James' credit, they're saying that he's been patient his… pic.twitter.com/7Qeyej3kzv
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) August 11, 2026
The Cavs have plenty of leverage in negotiations considering that there are no teams legitimately in contention for Harden's services that have significant cap space left. In fact, only three teams are under the salary cap (Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, and Brooklyn Nets), and none of them are threats to snag Harden away from Cleveland.
The only realistic scenario for Harden to change teams is for another team to acquire him via sign-and-trade, which would hard-cap the acquiring team at the first apron. Among teams that could potentially pull off a sign-and-trade, only the Houston Rockets stand out as a realistic destination for Harden.
Harden can earn the most money if he stays with the Cavs, and this deep into free agency, losing Harden would be devastating for a team looking to get over the hump. They traded away Darius Garland for him as well. The most logical outcome is that Harden and the Cavs will soon come to an agreement, but crazier things have happened in the NBA in the past.