The Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers have engaged in advanced discussions on a trade that would send guard James Harden to Cleveland and bring two-time All-Star Darius Garland to Los Angeles, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Harden, 36, missed his second consecutive game Monday due to personal reasons. Head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters the 6-foot-5 guard was at his home in Phoenix but did not provide additional details.
League sources cited by Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports said Cleveland has pursued Harden since December, when the Clippers opened the season poorly. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has held long-standing interest in Garland, a 6-foot-1 guard who has battled injuries throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
Salary and contract considerations
A straight exchange of Garland’s $39.45 million salary for Harden’s $39.18 million deal would fit salary-cap rules, and Los Angeles has room to absorb the slight difference, cap analyst Yossi Gozlan noted on social media. Cleveland is currently the NBA’s only team operating above the second tax apron.
Harden’s one-plus-one agreement with the Clippers grants him an implied no-trade clause and includes a 15 percent trade bonus. Only $13.32 million of his $42.32 million player option for next season is guaranteed, and declining the option would cost him his Bird rights but still allow a sizable contract via Non-Bird rights.
Garland is in the third year of a five-season rookie-scale maximum extension and is guaranteed $42.16 million in 2026-27 and $44.89 million in 2027-28.
Injury updates and recent performance
Garland, who turned 26 last week, has missed Cleveland’s last eight games with a Grade 1 sprain of his right big toe. He underwent offseason surgery on his left big toe, sat out the first eight contests of 2025-26, and missed five additional games in November after re-injuring the same toe. He has averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 assists in 26 appearances this season.
Harden is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals across 44 games while shooting .419 from the field, .347 from three and .901 at the foul line.
Deadline dynamics
Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Harden and the Clippers are working together to find the three-time scoring champion a new team before Thursday’s trade deadline. Earlier Monday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on SportsCenter that Cleveland was weighing a significant move as the club, now 30-21 after finishing 64-18 last season, has struggled with injuries.
Rival executives have long questioned Garland’s on-court fit with Donovan Mitchell, and Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal wrote that teams believe Garland prefers to handle the ball as a primary playmaker.
No agreement has been finalized, but sources indicate negotiations are ongoing as the deadline approaches.
Source: Hoops Rumors
