James Harden turned the 2026 NBA trade deadline on its head by requesting a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers just when the team was starting to play its best basketball of the year. Harden was reportedly seeking a two-year contract extension. that the Clippers weren’t going to give him, and now he’s on his way to being an Eastern Conference contender after the two sides reached a surprising deal.
The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Harden in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. the news was first reported by Shams Charania.
The Cavs are 30-21 in the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference at the time of the trade. The Clippers are 23-26 in the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference on the day of the deal. The Cavs had already acquired Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis before the trade deadline. at the expense of De’Andre Hunter.
This is a fascinating trade. Let’s rate it for both sides.
Cavs grade for James Harden trade
The general rule in sports is that you don’t trade young for old. The Cavs broke that rule by acquiring Harden, 36, for Garland, 26. The difference in this case is that the older player has actually been more durable.
Garland has had some strange injury problems in Cleveland, including a broken jaw and a sprained toe. Garland’s toe injury slowed him significantly in the 2025 NBA Playoffs and helped lead to the Cavs’ second-round exit after a 64-win regular season. Garland never looked like himself this season after missing several games nursing his toe, and Cleveland obviously felt like they couldn’t count on him down the stretch.
Harden is having an incredible year and was one of our biggest snubs in the All-Star Game. He is averaging 25.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game on 60 percent true shooting so far this season. Harden is a fascinating fit with Mitchell, who had spent more time on the ball this year. Harden remains the most on-ball player in the league, and he has never been much of a threat off the ball. This trade frees up Mitchell to do more work off the ball, which could be effective, but will only be maximized if Harden can add some value when the ball is not in his hands.
Harden has a $42.3 million player option after this season. It looked like he would pick it up before this week, but now that could be a question after he coveted a two-year, $80 million extension. Before the Cavs think about their future with Harden, they just need to finish this season. Harden is always a great player in the regular season, but is notoriously terrible (by his standards) in the playoffs. Cleveland felt like it couldn’t rely on Garland to be its physical best, but does it really think it can count on Harden to produce when it really matters?
I just don’t understand the Cavs’ logic for this trade. If they wanted to get out of Garland, trading him for a lot of future assets was a smarter move than this. Of course, Cleveland wants to give itself a chance to make a run this year in a wide-open Eastern Conference, and didn’t think Garland would be able to help them in that effort.
Disappearing Garland makes sense because he simply wasn’t trustworthy. Harden is reliable in the regular season, but he also struggles in the playoffs, is 10 years older, and introduces a new super-dominant player to the mix. Maybe Cleveland isn’t done yet, but for now I don’t love it.
Clippers ready to trade Darius Garland
Garland is a two-time All-Star and overcame accusations that small point guards can’t succeed in the modern NBA… at least until he started getting injured all the time. At his best, Garland offers a fantastic combination of speed, playmaking and off-the-dribble shooting. He’s just about the smallest and best player in the NBA, standing at 6’1 and 190 pounds, and he’s never been known as a good defender.
Garland will make $42 million next season and then $44.8 million in 2027-28. That’s a lot of money, and it will now affect the Clippers’ free agency plan for 2027. Obviously, Los Angeles thought Garland was better than anyone likely to land in free agency, but it’s still a huge price if he can’t return to his All-Star form.
Garland made 40 percent of 11.1 three-point attempts per 100 possessions last year. This season that has dropped to 36 percent on 9.8 attempts. His accuracy has dropped from 65 percent at the rim last year to 60 percent this year. Most damning of all, his net rating is -8.5 for his on-and-off swing.
If Garland’s toe can heal, he can give the Clippers a young point guard just entering his prime years who could help lead the franchise out of its Kawhi Leonard era. He just makes a ton of money and hasn’t been the same player this year. His lack of size gives him less room for error. He will need to be super quick and a lethal shooter and playmaker to be effective. That his turnover rate has increased this year (from 12 percent to 15 percent) is not a good sign, but maybe he can take better care of the ball when he is 100 percent physically.
It would have seemed impossible for the Clippers to get Garland for Harden earlier this year. Do the Cavs know something the Clippers don’t? For now, I like this movement to rejuvenate. Los Angeles gets worse this year, but I never thought they would go anywhere in the West, not even with Harden.
