The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a massive trade that shook up their roster on Wednesday, acquiring forward Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets via a sign-and-trade transaction that also involved three other teams.
With Watson secured, the Cavs are said to be finally turning their focus to James Harden’s future with the team.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Cavaliers are expected to ink Harden to a new contract soon.
Reported on Sunday night that, according to one source briefed on the process, James Harden’s long-awaited new deal with the Cavaliers would be signed “soon-ish.”
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 20, 2026
Cleveland can finally proceed with finalizing Harden’s pact after its Schröder/Strus/Watson five-teamer is official. https://t.co/RFtfN1TuTD
Harden declined his $42.3 million player option in June for the 2026-27 NBA season, but the expectation has always been that he would be running it back with Cleveland.
The only question is how much he would be getting in his new deal, and that picture got a little clearer following the Watson trade.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the sign-and-trade for Watson hard caps Cleveland at the first apron, while NBA salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan says that “Harden is currently looking at a max starting salary just shy of $30 million.”
Harden will be 37 when the new season opens, but he can still bring a lot to the table for a Cleveland team trying to keep up in the Eastern Conference amid the rise of the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, who arguably have the biggest summer among all teams.
Traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Cavs before February’s deadline, Harden averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 26 games for Cleveland last season.
