James Harden’s honeymoon period with the Cleveland Cavaliers still appears to be going strong.
The former MVP guard Harden is expected to decline his player option for next season and sign a new longer-term contract with the Cavs, Ashish Mathur of Cavaliers Nation reported on Friday. Mathur adds that Harden is expected to sign a two-year, $75 million contract with Cleveland (including a player option for the 2027-28 campaign).
Harden, the three-time NBA scoring champion, was acquired by the Cavaliers last month as part of a blockbuster trade with the L.A. Clippers. Cleveland has now become Harden’s fifth team over the last six NBA seasons.
In 19 games since joining the Cavs, Harden has averaged 21.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game as the backcourt partner to Donovan Mitchell. Since Harden’s debut, Cleveland has gone an impressive 14-7 (with Harden having missed two games in late February due to a thumb issue).
Harden holds a $42.3 million player option for next season. But with his strong play for the Cavaliers over the last month-and-a-half, Harden has reason and incentive to lock in a bit more long-term money over the summer.
There is some age-related risk with Harden as he will turn 37 in August. But on a traditional 1+1 contract for aging superstars, that arrangement should make sense for the Cavaliers, who may also have another big order of business to pursue in the offseason.