More than 10 weeks after him refused his 2025/26 player option and almost three weeks after that agreed to re-sign with Cavaliersthe guard James Harden officially completed his new deal with the team, according to a press release.
While the Cavs’ release did not provide any specific terms of the contract other than calling it “multi-year,” reports in August indicated the two sides agreed to a three-year, $97 million deal. Harden’s new contract is also said to include a third-year player option and a 15% kicker trade.
Harden could have made $42.3 million in 2026/27 had he exercised his player option, but he opted for a longer-term deal that would start closer to $30 million. Lowering his starting salary allowed the Cavs to get out of tax territory as well as acquire Peyton Watson via sign and trade this offseason.
At the time Harden agreed to re-sign, Cleveland didn’t have the cap space necessary to sign him to the stated terms. Since then, the club has gained additional flexibility rejection Cam Whitmore and using the contract extension clause that expires and then signing a former second-round pick Khalifa Diop at least a rookie contract that carries a lower cap than a veteran free agent contract.
Even with those moves, the Cavs only have enough cap space left to raise about $96.7 million over three years for Harden, so it doesn’t seem like his new contract will be worth it exactly 97 million dollars. If the total value of the deal ends up being even lower than $96.7 million, it would give the team more flexibility to sign a 15th man before the end of the 2026/27 season. With Diop and Harden under contract, Cleveland has 14 players on standard deals.
Harden, who turned 37 in August, was acquired from the Clippers at the February trade deadline in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick in 2026. Garland has been hampered by recurring toe problems in the 2025-26 season, and the Cavs have been looking for a veteran point guard for the team Donovan Mitchell to improve their title chances. Although Cleveland did not win a championship, the team reached the Eastern Conference finals this spring for the first time since LeBron Jamesdeparture in 2018.
In 26 games with the Cavaliers in the second half of 25/26, Harden averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per night with a strong .466/.435/.840 shooting line. His postseason production has been less consistent. Although he averaged 19.2 points and 5.5 points, his shooting percentage from the floor dropped to 41.0% and 29.9% from three-point range, while his turnovers per game jumped to 4.7.
Despite the disappointing victory in the third round of the future champions Knicks, Harden and Mitchell immediately expressed a desire to stay with the Cavs, and Harden told reporters after the Game 4 loss to New York that he thought the team had “found something.” Mitchell signed a new contract in July, refinement extending the maximum salary for four years.