How James Harden Trade Re-energized the Cavaliers’ Championship Bid
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CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to swap former All-Star guard Darius Garland for 36-year-old James Harden at the Feb. 6 trade deadline has delivered an immediate payoff, producing six wins in the club’s first seven games with its new backcourt and restoring confidence in a season once mired in inconsistency.
Harden-Mitchell duo clicks quickly
The spark was evident on Feb. 24, when Cleveland defeated the New York Knicks 109-94 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Donovan Mitchell shot just 5-for-18 yet finished with 23 points, largely thanks to a season-high 14 free-throw attempts. Harden added 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting but did not attempt a foul shot, only the third time in the past two seasons he has gone to the locker room without a free-throw try.
“One of us had to get to the line,” Harden joked across the room after the game, while Mitchell laughed that he “never” sees 14 attempts in a night.
Deadline overhaul
Cleveland’s front office moved aggressively on Feb. 6, sending Garland to the LA Clippers and packaging last year’s key additions, De’Andre Hunter and Lonzo Ball, in separate deals that returned Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said the series of trades was designed to maximize a championship window that appeared to be slipping away after a 17-15 start.
Numbers behind the resurgence
- The Cavaliers are 21-9 since Christmas Day, the NBA’s third-best record during that stretch.
- Mitchell’s 32.8 usage rate is his highest since 2019-20 and ranks fifth in the league.
- Harden-led pick-and-rolls have produced 1.068 points per direct action this season, compared with Garland’s career mark of 1.004, according to GeniusIQ.
- In the eight games Jarrett Allen has played with Harden, the center has posted six double-doubles, while Harden has assisted on 17 of Allen’s field goals—fourth-most for any league tandem in the same span, per ESPN Research.
Health still a concern
The Cavaliers’ surge has been tempered by injuries. Mitchell has missed the past three games with a groin strain and is listed day-to-day. Harden fractured his right thumb last week, sat out two contests and returned Sunday wearing a wrap; Atkinson acknowledged the veteran is not yet fully comfortable dribbling or catching the ball.
Inside the locker room
Team sources said Mitchell pressed management to act before the deadline, wary of another season derailed by health issues after last year’s second-round loss to Indiana. Atkinson compared Mitchell’s steady influence to Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez, whose poise helped the baseball club rebound from mid-season slumps in 2025.
“If your leader starts doubting, you’re in trouble,” Atkinson noted, crediting Mitchell for keeping the roster unified through early adversity.
Looking ahead
The Cavaliers have not advanced beyond the second round since LeBron James carried them to the 2018 NBA Finals, and Harden’s lone Finals trip came in 2012. Both guards said the present roster gives them a renewed shot at a deep playoff run, though center Evan Mobley cautioned that the team must reach “a few more notches.”
Mitchell, 29, has one guaranteed season left on a three-year, $150 million contract with a player option for 2027-28, increasing the urgency to capitalize now. Harden, an 11-time All-Star who has appeared in 202 regular-season games the past three years—44 more than Garland—embodies that win-now posture.
“This feels like a make-or-break move,” Allen said. “But adding a player like that brings confidence. Things are clicking.”
The Cavaliers will try to keep the momentum when their star backcourt is fully healthy, believing the deadline gamble has already begun to pay off.
Source: ESPN
