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The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a blockbuster trade ahead of this year’s NBA trade deadline, acquiring former MVP and three-time scoring champ James Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick.
In effect, the Cavs break up their “core four” of Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, instead opting to retool the roster in hopes of making a deep playoff run.
Garland, a two-time All-Star during his time with Cleveland, has struggled to stay on the court. He’s been out with a foot injury since Jan. 14, missing the start of the season and a chunk of November as well.
The addition of Harden is a win-now gamble for the Cavs, who will look to come out of an Eastern Conference that seems open for the taking.
Let’s grade the blockbuster for both sides.
Cleveland Cavs acquire former MVP James Harden from Clippers
Although Harden is in his age 36 season, the 11-time All-Star continues to play at a very high level. At the time of the trade, the former No. 3 overall draft pick is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. He’s making a less-than-stellar 41.9% of his field goals, but he’s making up for that by cashing in a career-best 90.1% of his free throws.
Harden immediately gives head coach Kenny Atkinson a primary ball-handler, scorer and distributor to pair with incumbent All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. Harden’s gravitational pull of opposing defenders will take substantial pressure off of Mitchell to run the offense, allowing him to play more off the ball for spot-up shots.
Mitchell is converting 42.4% of his catch-and-shoot 3-point looks this season, considerably better than his overall percentage of 38.2%, according to NBA.com data. With defenses now needing to key in on Harden, it stands to reason that Mitchell will get more of those catch-and-shoot opportunities while playing off the ball.
Harden’s defense (or lack thereof) has been an issue throughout his career, but the defensive chops of Mobley and Allen gives the Cavs plenty of defensive firepower to cover for Harden’s shortcomings on that end of the floor.
Harden has a player option for the 2026-27 season. If he opts out, he’d become a free agent at season’s end. Either way, Cleveland is looking to free up a fair bit of money sooner than they would with Garland, who is owed more than $42 million per season over the next two years.
As a win-now move that raises Cleveland’s immediate playoff ceiling, it’s hard to fault them opting to bring in Harden for Garland and a second rounder. Harden is looking for his first championship ring, and he has a better shot at that if everything clicks with the Cavs than he did in the loaded Western Conference trying to battle back up the standings with the Clippers.
Going from a sidelined Garland to Harden is no doubt an upgrade. Making this move makes the Cavs better right now on paper and frees up salary either this summer or next. That’s worth the gamble. Now they have to see if it pays off.
Cavs grade: B+
LA Clippers acquire Darius Garland from Cavs
The Clippers, meanwhile, opt to move on from Harden in the midst of one of the more bizarre NBA seasons in recent memory. The Clippers started their season with an ugly 6-21 record. Then they unceremoniously severed ties with veteran point guard Chris Paul during what was supposed to be CP3’s farewell tour.
They also continue to navigate the fallout of a report from Pablo Torre Finds Out that owner Steve Ballmer allegedly skirted the league’s salary cap rules to give Leonard under-the-table payments through what Defector called a “baroque greenwashing scam.”
The Clips have gone 17-5 in their last 22 games, but Harden (as he often does) put in a trade request and was granted his wish being sent to Cleveland.
The Clippers replace Harden with an injured Garland and a 2026 second-round pick, not exactly a huge haul. Still, beggars can’t be choosers and the Clippers didn’t have much leverage in the situation to speak of.
This could be the start of a fire sale in LA, but Garland just turned 26 years old and has made two All-Star teams, so he’s no slouch when healthy.
The “when healthy” part is what the Clippers need to focus on for the remainder of Garland’s contract.
Clippers grade: B
The Akron Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.