JAMES HARDEN TRADED TO CAVALIERS FOR DARIUS GARLAND

## The Beard Goes East The Los Angeles Clippers are trading James Harden Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, completing a blockbuster swap just 48 hours before Thursday's trade deadline. This marks Harden's sixth team in 16 seasons. Harden, 36, has been traded four times in his career, three of which came after trade requests: from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets (2021); Nets to Philadelphia 76ers (2022); and then 76ers to Clippers (2023). Harden is averaging 25.4 points per game this season, his highest since his final full season in Houston in 2020-21. He has played 44 games and is averaging 35.4 minutes. The man still has juice. ## Contract Gymnastics and Championship Math The first is that Harden will waive his one-year bird restriction. The de facto no-trade clause is a result of Harden signing a two-year contract with the Clippers in the offseason that contained a player option. The second is Harding having a 15% trade bonus in his contract that is valued at $2.3M. Because the Cavaliers are a second-apron team and not allowed to take back additional salary in the trade, Harden will need to reduce the bonus to $266,397. That's $2 million Harden left on the table to join a real contender. Over the past 24 hours, as the trade materialized, the Cavaliers' odds to win the NBA title moved from 22-1 to 12-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Cleveland, coming off of a 64-win season and still in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, seemingly didn't need to make a shakeup this significant. Yet the Cavaliers made the deadline stunner in hopes of enhancing their 2026 title chances. ## What Cleveland Gets and Gives Up The Cavs get a proven closer who has unquestionably been the better of the two players this season, averaging over 25 points and eight assists for the Clippers as he kept them afloat early in the season. Harden has been remarkably durable in recent seasons, appearing in more than 70 games in each of the past two years and on track to hit that threshold again this season. An 11-time All-Star (after just missing the cut this season) and former MVP winner, Harden's sterling career résumé is missing a championship ring. They're giving up Garland, who is averaging 18.0 points and 6.9 assists in 26 games this season, is dealing with a right foot injury and has not played since Jan. 14. Garland's selection in the 2019 draft kick-started Cleveland's rebuild after LeBron James took his talents to Los Angeles, and the point guard blossomed into a two-time All-Star with the Cavaliers. Cleveland is sending out an injured 26-year-old for a 36-year-old 11-time All-Star. That's either championship desperation or championship conviction.