The New York Knicks embarrassed the Cavaliers enough by sweeping them in the Eastern Conference finals, but there's more to it than that. Cleveland swapped Darius Garland for James Harden before February's trade deadline, thinking that would be the championship upgrade the team needed, and now, it's stuck with the 36-year-old.
Well, not technically. Nothing is set in stone yet, but as Joe Vardon of The Athletic reiterated in his recent piece, Harden agreed to the Cleveland trade because it would result in the extension he wants to sign this summer (subscription required).
Harden could pick up his $42.3 million player option for next season, which would make it practically impossible for the Cavaliers to trade him, even if they wanted to. Instead, as Vardon noted, he will likely decline the option to sign a two-year extension, which would put him with the organization through the tail end of age 38.
Cleveland could always decline to extend Harden after saying it would, but that's not good business and isn't how the Cavaliers operate.
Cavs are stuck trying to make things work with James Harden
When Cleveland traded for Harden a few months ago, it was in a move of desperation. The front office knew that it needed to shake up the team's current core, and with Garland's injury troubles and the backcourt pairing with him and Mitchell not working, he was on his way out.
The Cavaliers thought that trading for Harden, who has a reputation for not showing up when it matters most in the playoffs, was the fix they needed. The results looked good at first, but what happens in the regular season doesn't always translate to the postseason. Cleveland learned that with Harden.
In the Cavs' Game 7 win over the Raptors in the first round, Harden had 18 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 from three in 37 minutes. He added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals with just one turnover to help cover up his shooting, at least. In Game 7 against the Pistons, the guard had only nine points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 from deep in 36 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, Harden's worst series came against the Knicks, as he averaged 16 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals, and 4.3 turnovers in 37 minutes per game, shooting 38.9% from the field and 17.9% from three. In Monday's Game 4, he shot 2-of-8 from the field, missed all six of his three-pointers, and had more turnovers (five) than assists (2).
None of that includes his effort on the defensive end. Jalen Brunson going at Harden over and over again in Game 1 is why the Knicks came back from their 22-point deficit.
Cavaliers won't win a championship with Mitchell and Harden
Still, all signs point to Cleveland running it back with Harden. He said after Monday's loss that he wants and expects to be back with the Cavaliers next season. Mitchell, who will be eligible to sign an extension, said he loves being with the organization. Keeping him is their top priority.
The Cavaliers traded for Mitchell in 2022 with the sole purpose of winning a championship. They got closer than ever to that goal this year by advancing to the conference finals for the first time since 2018, but even with that, as the Knicks proved, they're not a true contender.
Cleveland needs to try to right its wrongs this summer by reconstructing the roster around Mitchell, though that'd be a lot easier said than done, particularly financially. Keeping Harden shouldn't be part of the plan, but it is. In other words, the Cavaliers will stay right where they are, which isn't where they want to be.
Add us as a preferred source on Google