The LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly completing a major guard swap, with James Harden headed to Cleveland in a move that sends the 11-time All-Star back to the Eastern Conference during his highest-scoring season in six years.
In return, the Clippers are set to receive point guard Darius Garland along with a future second-round pick, according to multiple reports, though the deal has not yet been officially finalized. Approval could come by Wednesday, when the two teams meet in Inglewood, California.
Harden, who is averaging 25.4 points this season—his most since scoring 34.3 per game in 2019-20—has been a key factor in the Clippers’ resurgence after a 6-21 start. “He means a lot to our team and we’ve seen it the last three years,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Monday night, when reports first surfaced about the trade. “Who wouldn’t want to have James Harden?”
For Cleveland, the trade pairs the 36-year-old Harden with star guard Donovan Mitchell, adding scoring and playmaking to their roster for what appears to be a short-term push. For the Clippers, acquiring Garland, a 26-year-old two-time All-Star averaging 18 points and 6.9 assists this season, is a move aimed at the future.
Harden will join his sixth NBA team in Cleveland, after previous stops in Oklahoma City, Houston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. Last summer, he opted out of the final year of his Clippers contract to sign a new deal worth $81.5 million over this season and 2026-27, with the second year as a player option. The contract followed a season in which Harden averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 8.7 assists while returning to the All-NBA team for the first time since 2019-20.
