With LeBron James officially spurning their team this offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers can now move onto another key item on the agenda — star guard James Harden.
The Cavs are expected to give Harden a contract at no more than two guaranteed years, veteran NBA writer Jake Fischer reported this week. Fischer adds though that the specific salary number for Harden remains “fluid” given the team’s other offseason priorities, including interest in free agent Jonathan Kuminga and a desire to stay out of the second apron of the luxury tax.
Harden, who turns 37 next month, officially turned down his $42.3 million player option with the Cavaliers for next season. Cleveland was waiting with Harden to first see what James was going to do in free agency, but the four-time NBA champion ultimately decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.
A former NBA MVP himself, Harden arrived on the Cavaliers in a trade last February. He averaged 20.5 points and 7.7 assists per game for Cleveland during the regular season but a more modest 19.2 points and 5.5 assists per game during the playoffs (along with some major duds along the way).
Harden has been playing out the last several seasons on 1+1 contracts, so it makes sense that he could do so again with the Cavaliers next season. A max contract length of two years also protects Cleveland in the event that Harden, who now has 17 years of NBA experience, experiences a rapid decline in skills and/or production.
If and when a Harden extension finally gets done, it would mark a big sigh of relief for the former NBA scoring champion. After all, Harden has had a difficult offseason thus far that even included getting arrested on a weapons charge last month.
