NBA trade deadline: The biggest questions on the Harden-Garland deal

In a shocking development just ahead of the NBA trade deadline Thursday, star guard James Harden is on his way out of Los Angeles.

Harden, who has missed the past two games for personal reasons, according to the team, helped lead the Clippers back into the playoff picture after a 6-21 start. They are 23-26 and in ninth in the Western Conference.

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.

Why did Harden and the Clippers part ways? And what does Harden’s potential departure mean for LA’s future? Our NBA insiders answer the biggest lingering questions:

So what’s next for the Clippers?

As recently as two weeks ago, Harden was talking about how “blessed” he felt to be able to play in his hometown at this stage of his career. By all accounts, the feeling was mutual with the organization.

Harden was well-liked in LA and more productive than anyone would’ve expected after how his time in Philadelphia ended. The problem is, he’s 36 and due to make the kind of salary the best player on a contender makes, not that of an aging superstar on a team that has probably missed its championship window.

Moving Harden, and getting Darius Garland, gives the Clippers something of a future.

Which is saying something considering how bereft of draft picks and promising younger players the Clippers are.

It’s not clear where this would leave Kawhi Leonard, 34, who has helped lead the Clippers back to the playoff chase after their horrible start. — Ramona Shelburne

And what’s next for the Cavaliers?

In two trades that pierced the second apron’s attempted lock on high-spending teams, the Cavs totally renovated their backcourt in an attempt to better support franchise player Donovan Mitchell.

The Harden acquisition is truly an unexpected twist, Harden choosing to leave his hometown team amid an inspiring season-turning hot streak — and the Cavs moving on from a decade younger, multi-time All-Star who is under contract for multiple seasons.

But the Cavs clearly didn’t think they’ve been good enough this season and Harden, despite his age, has demonstrated he is reliable and can put up big numbers in big minutes while Garland has battled numerous injuries. Figuring out how to share the ball with Mitchell is going to take time, but Harden has plenty of experience navigating midseason trades.

The Cavs are making two things clear:

1. They are all-in on 2026, which makes some sense considering they need Mitchell to sign an extension this summer and the East is perceived as being wide open (apologies to Detroit).

2. They are no longer precious about their “core four” (RIP). That means they might not be done, and seeing as they have at least had some conversations about Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis, sources said, they should be considered motivated to keep looking at moves.

They are still second-apron restricted, so such a big deal would require money-dumping machinations, likely including moving off the salary of Lonzo Ball, but the Cavs’ aggression should not be underestimated at this juncture. — Brian Windhorst

What was the scene inside Intuit Dome on Monday night?

Harden was nowhere to be found, missing his second consecutive game for what the team called personal reasons. That he had perhaps played his last game for the Clippers, though, was not a secret on the floor.

Players from both teams, the Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ers, whispered about the situation before the game and even chatted before tip about the concept of him ending up in Cleveland. With a handful of Clippers players wearing Harden’s signature shoes (which is normal), LA fell down 16-2, looking flat out of the gate.

It was the second night of a back-to-back, and that happens, but Harden’s tenure in LA was marked by him carrying the team through tough times. It felt as if the team was expressing itself knowing what was taking place. — Windhorst

What’s the early chatter across the NBA?

The main reaction around the league is wondering what’s next for Cleveland.

That the Cavaliers moved on from one of their “core four” players is a sharp departure from how they have operated the past few years, when they’ve constructed everything with the mindset of building around Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

This move is a recognition of their disappointing season, which has seen them hovering in the lower half of the East playoff picture for virtually all of it – after entering the season being, at worst, co-favorites to win the East.

From a talent standpoint, though, the reaction is almost universally in Cleveland’s favor. Harden might be a decade older, but he’s been unequivocally better – and healthier – this season.

That said, given Harden’s leverage to hold up a trade, there is curiosity around the league as to what a potential contract for Harden might look like this summer when he can become a free agent if he turns down his player option for next year. — Tim Bontemps

What are the contract ramifications of this deal?

There are two salary cap mechanisms that get finalized in this James Harden-for-Darius Garland trade.

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. — Bobby Marks

What does it mean for Harden’s legacy that he’s being traded for what would be the fifth time in his career?

Welcome to modern stardom. Through the 1990s, just two MVPs had played for more than three teams during their careers: Moses Malone (seven, plus two more in the ABA) and Bob McAdoo (seven). Since Shaquille O’Neal played for six teams, bouncing to four in as many seasons at the end of his career, that’s been as much the rule as the exception.

Harden’s former Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant has played for five teams, albeit with only two trades in the mix. And Russell Westbrook, his teammate with the Thunder, Houston Rockets and LA Clippers, is on team number seven. Although it’s easy to pin this to the so-called “player empowerment” era, the reality is also that teams are quicker to move on from aging stars with high salaries than they once were.

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Having Harden come full circle to finish his career with the hometown Clippers was a nice storyline, and certainly a more romantic one than Harden going to the Cavaliers with no particular tie to the organization other than its history of serving as a late-era stop for itinerant former MVPs O’Neal and Derrick Rose.

Still, the difference between Harden (and Westbrook) and Durant is that he belongs to a specific franchise. No matter how many teams Harden ends up playing for, even if he wins an elusive championship elsewhere, he’ll always be remembered as a member of the Houston Rockets. Harden is the franchise leader in 3s, assists and triple-doubles while ranking second behind fellow MVP Hakeem Olajuwon in scoring.

The eight full seasons Harden spent in Houston, resulting in an MVP and two trips to the conference finals, will be his lasting legacy. — Kevin Pelton

What does Harden bring to Cleveland at age 36?

One irony of Harden’s trade request was that he’s playing his best basketball in years.

The 2017-18 NBA MVP is posting his highest scoring average and usage rate since he left Houston half a decade ago, and he’s one of just four players this season — along with Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Cade Cunningham — averaging at least 25 points and eight assists per game.

And while he’s not quite as efficient from the field as he was at his peak, he compensates by drawing a ton of fouls. Among high-usage stars, Harden has a higher true shooting percentage than Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown and Devin Booker.

In other words, Harden is still an offensive engine unto himself, with advanced stats that place him in the range of Kevin Durant — another veteran still excelling into his late 30s — in terms of offensive impact.

The Clippers are scoring 120.4 points per 100 possessions with Harden on the court, per databallr, versus just 109.5 without him; that’s the difference between a top-three offense and a bottom-three unit. Team Harden up with another star, and the results are even better: Harden and Kawhi Leonard have a scorching 125.1 offensive rating together.

However, part of Harden’s legacy is uncertainty over whether his statistical renaissance will translate to the postseason. Last season, he scored just seven points in a Game 7 as the Clippers were eliminated; in 2023-24, he scored 23 combined points over the Clippers’ last two losses; and in 2022-23, he scored just nine points in a Game 7 as the 76ers fell.

Harden can still help Cleveland over the next couple of months, especially because he’s almost always available: He played in 44 of the Clippers’ first 47 games this season before missing the last two. But the Cavs had better be able to rely on other scorers once they reach the postseason. — Zach Kram