Stephon Castle, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Week
Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has won the award in the East, the NBA announced today (Twitter links). Week 16 of the 2025/26 season covered games played from February 2-8.
Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, helped San Antonio go 3-0 last week. The 21-year-old filled the stat sheet, averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 block in just 26.7 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .630/.364/.769.
As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, Castle’s week was highlighted by a phenomenal performance in Saturday’s victory vs. Dallas. The former UConn standout scored a career-high 40 points (on 15-of-19 shooting, or 78.9%), grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, and swiped three steals in 32 minutes.
Castle became the youngest player in NBA history with a 40-12-12 stat line (the record was previously held by Oscar Robertson), per Wright, and the second player in league history to register a 40-point triple-double while shooting at least 75.0% from the field, joining Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat three times. And it all came on the one-year anniversary of when he set his previous career high with 33 points.
“I don’t know, something about this day,” Castle said, smiling. “Having a game like this, it’s definitely a dream come true. It felt good just to be out there feeling comfortable with every shot that I took and [got to] see them go in.”
As for Johnson, the 2026 All-Star continued his standout season last week, averaging 27.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 11.3 APG and 1.0 SPG on .544/.294/.750 shooting in three games (Atlanta went 2-1 in those contests). Johnson recorded a pair of triple-doubles from Feb. 2-8, raising his season total to 10, the most in the East and second-most in the NBA, only trailing Nikola Jokic (18).
No other player has ever recorded 10 triple-doubles in their entire Hawks career, let alone in a single season, per the team. It was the second weekly honor for the fifth-year forward, who also won Player of the Week in November.
According to the NBA, the other nominees in the West were Trail Blazers teammates Donovan Clingan and Jerami Grant, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, and Castle’s teammate Victor Wembanyama. Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid of the Sixers, Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), and Ryan Rollins (Bucks) were nominated in the East.
Cam Thomas Signs With Bucks
9:20 pm: Thomas has officially signed with the Bucks, per a press release from the team. It’s a minimum-salary deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom, which means Milwaukee will carry a rest-of-season cap hit of $844,607.
4:37 pm: Thomas confirmed his decision to sign with the Bucks in a statement to Spears (Twitter link).
“I picked Milwaukee because they wanted me and they told me they’ve been interested for years now,” Thomas said. “So, it’s good to have this opportunity come to fruition. And I’m just hoping to meet everybody, get to know everybody and contribute as soon as possible.”
Thomas’ contract with Milwaukee will cover the remainder of the season, reports Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
4:02 pm: Free agent guard Cam Thomas has reached a contract agreement with the Bucks, agent Tony Ronzone tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Thomas was waived by the Nets on Thursday evening after he wasn’t traded prior to the deadline. He was hoping he would be released if he wasn’t included in a deal so he could pick his next team.
“Super excited ready to actually help and contribute to another team,” Thomas told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “My next team is getting elite scoring, good play-making and a good combo guard.”
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype linked Thomas to the Bucks multiple times leading up to the deadline. The Cavaliers also expressed trade interest in Thomas, according to Scotto, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal would have included Lonzo Ball and second-round draft compensation. The Cavs instead traded a pair of second-rounders to Utah take on Ball’s $10MM salary.
Thomas, 24, led the Nets in scoring during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons. However, he was limited to just 25 games last season due to a left hamstring injury, which he strained again in early November. He wound up missing 20 consecutive games as a result of that injury.
Although Thomas is an undeniably talented scorer, he isn’t the most efficient offensive player, and his game isn’t very well-rounded. In 24 games this season, he has averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds on .399/.325/.843 shooting splits.
Milwaukee has an opening on its 15-man standard roster and won’t have to waive anyone to add Thomas. The Bucks also have an open two-way spot.
NBA Announces Eight Participants For Three-Point Contest
The NBA has announced the eight-player field for the 2026 three-point contest, which will take place on February 14 at 4:00 pm CT (Twitter link).
Here’s the full list of participants:
Devin Booker, Suns- Kon Knueppel, Hornets
- Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
- Tyrese Maxey, Sixers
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets
- Bobby Portis, Bucks
- Norman Powell, Heat
Lillard’s inclusion in the competition is a surprise, as the nine-time All-Star will miss the entire season after tearing his Achilles tendon last April. The 35-year-old guard is a two-time winner of the three-point contest.
Booker is another former three-point contest champion, though he’s only shooting 30.7% from long distance this season, which represents a career low.
No. 4 overall pick Knueppel has a chance to become the first rookie to win the event, per the league. The former Duke standout has connected on 42.8% of his outside looks on high volume (7.8 attempts per game).
Portis is the only big man among the eight competitors. He has also been the most accurate three-point shooter in the field this season, converting 45.1% of his 4.3 attempts per game.
First-time All-Stars Murray (43.2% on 7.5 attempts per game) and Powell (39.3% on 7.2 attempts) are having strong seasons for their respective clubs. Mitchell (37.9% on 9.7 attempts) and Maxey (38.2% on 8.8 attempts) are the highest-volume three-point shooters in the field and are also the top two scorers.
Last year’s winner, Tyler Herro, is currently sidelined because of a rib injury. He declined an invitation to focus on his health over the All-Star break.
Mitchell: Cavs’ ‘Ceiling Is Higher’ With Harden
While several players with All-Star appearances on their NBA résumés were traded this week, only one former Most Valuable Player changed teams: James Harden.
Of the highest-impact players who were on the move this week, Harden was also the only one who was dealt to a team with title aspirations this season — Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Davis, and Ivica Zubac all ended up on lottery-bound clubs looking ahead to 2026/27, but the Cavaliers believe Harden will give them a better chance to contend right now.
The Cavs had their first conversation about a Harden trade six weeks ago, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). That lines up with the timeline provided by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, who says the Clippers began receiving calls about Harden, Zubac, Kawhi Leonard around the time they fell to 6-21 on December 18.
At the same time, Shelburne writes, Harden’s representatives began to assess the market in the hopes of getting ahead of potential trade discussions and getting a better sense of which teams might be interested in him. According to Shelburne, a reunion with the Rockets – whose starting point guard Fred VanVleet is out with a torn ACL – was an idea that intrigued Harden, but Houston didn’t reciprocate his interest.
Cleveland, on the other hand, did show interest in Harden, viewing him as the sort of player who could get the most out of big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen while sharing the ball-handling responsibilities with Donovan Mitchell, per Shelburne. Darius Garland had been that player sharing the backcourt workload with Mitchell in recent years, but he has been plagued by toe issues over the past year.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman strongly denied rumors that the team was frustrated by Garland’s durability and injury prevention, referring to that reporting as “BS,” per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Still Garland’s inconsistent availability this season has been an issue for a team very much in win-now mode.
According to reports from Tony Jones of The Athletic and Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), Harden and Mitchell spoke at length on the phone on Tuesday night, a day before the Clippers and Cavaliers reached an agreement on a trade sending Garland and a second-round pick to Los Angeles for Harden. That conversation helped convince the two star guards that they wanted to team up and that they believe in the Cavs’ championship upside.
“We both know that it’s going to be an adjustment,” Mitchell told Jones. “But, we’re excited. I’m excited about what he can do for me as a player, and I’m excited about what he can do for our team as a whole. We want the same thing. We both want a championship. So, at the end of the day, we’re shooting for the same goals, and we have to go about trying to win at a high level.”
Mitchell went on to acknowledge that he’s going to have to “figure out how to play without the ball a little bit,” but he pointed out that he’s done that before and indicated he’s confident he can do it again. According to the six-time All-Star, both he and Harden are willing to do what it takes to maximize Cleveland’s potential for a title.
“Our ceiling is higher,” Mitchell told Fedor. “We all know what he brings. But with that, there is an expectation of what we have to do. We weren’t able to get it done for the past three years and now the goal is to try to get it done. This is the time. Gotta go out and do it.”
Asked about how he intends to utilize the Harden/Mitchell duo in his new-look backcourt, head coach Kenny Atkinson suggested he’s not worried about the fit, according to Fedor.
“Great players fit together,” Atkinson said. “Usually, it’s rare that that doesn’t work. So now it’s up to us as coaches and collaborating with Donovan and James on what that looks like, how that looks, what do the rotations look like, how we stagger them, how we play when each is alone on the court, how we play when they’re together. That’s all things to figure out.
“But usually when you have such talented players and I can’t emphasize this enough, high-IQ players, it makes it a heck of a lot easier for the coaching staff to figure out. I think with the great ones, you step back and let them be themselves.”
Post-Deadline Notes: 2027 Draft, Tanking, Pacers, More
Two teams near the bottom of the NBA’s standings, the Wizards and Jazz, raised eyebrows this week by making blockbuster deals for veterans stars Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr., respectively.
According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Washington’s and Utah’s willingness to push their rebuilds forward by sacrificing 2026 cap room and attempting to contend next season reflects not just the lack of top-level free agents expected to be available this summer but a league-wide lack of enthusiasm about the 2027 draft class.
While the 2026 draft is viewed as especially strong, the same can’t be said for ’27 or ’28 — sources tell Bontemps that neither year rates nearly as high as the ’26 class. In other words, after this year, there will be less incentive for teams like the Wizards and the Jazz to remain deep in lottery territory, pursuing high draft picks.
Still, the key caveat there is “after this year.” As Sam Vecenie of The Athletic writes, the NBA’s race to the bottom might get ugly in the next couple months, with the Wizards and Jazz still extremely motivated to hang onto their top-eight protected 2026 first-rounders while other sub-.500 clubs like the Kings, Pacers, Nets, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Bucks, and Bulls also have incentive to lose as much as possible.
The NBA is reportedly considering rule changes to discourage tanking and already has the ability to penalize teams for resting certain healthy players and/or mischaracterizing injuries. But teams will likely be willing to push the boundaries of the current rules and risk facing fines if it helps them secure a top 2026 pick, Vecenie writes.
“The value of confirming a top-five pick or improving your chances at a top-two pick in this draft class is very large,” one executive told The Athletic. “Is it worth $5 million if you keep getting fined by the PPP (player participation policy) and the price tag rises? Is it worth $10 million if you’re successful? We haven’t done modeling on that, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a team has and comes to the conclusion that getting access to one of the top players in this draft is worth a certain amount in fines.”
Here are a few more notes related to this year’s trade deadline and what’s to follow:
- In another story for ESPN.com, Bontemps spoke to scouts and executives about their impressions of the trade deadline, which included lottery teams emerging as buyers and many of the top contenders standing pat or making minimal roster adjustments. “These aprons are tough to build around,” one Western Conference scout told ESPN. “It means teams are going to have to negotiate harder moving forward.”
- Bontemps adds that people around the league are debating whether the Pacers will tank the rest of the way in the hopes of keeping their top-four protected 2026 first-round pick or go all-out in an effort to move up the standings in the hopes of pushing the pick to its other protected range (10-30). “If it was me, I would tank and get the best possible odds at the high pick,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “But if they choose to get to 10, I think they could.” The Clippers pushed for that 10-30 protection, according to Tony East of Circle City Spin, since they’d rather take their chances on an unprotected 2031 first-rounder if it doesn’t land between No. 5 and No. 9.
- The trades that didn’t get done at this season’s deadline could set the stage for a “wild” summer, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a TV appearance on Thursday. “There’s a lot of unfinished business that didn’t get done,” Windhorst said, per RealGM, pointing to the Heat, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Cavaliers as some candidates to shake up their rosters if their postseason runs don’t go as planned. “… You will see a revisiting of the Giannis (Antetokounmpo) situation in the summer. “We know that the Clippers are now in the middle of a controlled tear-down. I don’t want to use the word ‘rebuild.’ What about Kawhi Leonard? And then you look at Domantas Sabonis — he was being floated and they couldn’t do a deal for him. None of that mentions Ja Morant.”
- This year’s “weird” trade deadline was characterized by “too-late” trades, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. As Hollinger explains, players like Davis, Trae Young, Jonathan Kuminga, and a handful of Bulls would’ve been warranted stronger packages if they had been moved earlier, but those teams instead settled for modest returns.
No Trades Involving Morant, Kawhi, Sabonis, Zion, More
The Bucks informed rival teams a few hours ahead of Thursday’s deadline that they wouldn’t be trading superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and several other noteworthy players will remain with their respective teams after the deadline passed at 2:00 pm CT.
Point guard Ja Morant was available on the trade market for at least four weeks, but even after lowering their asking price, the Grizzlies were unable to find a taker for the two-time All-Star, confirms Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (via Twitter). According to Siegel, Memphis will revisit trade talks for Morant in the offseason.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), while a few teams were “intrigued” by the 26-year-old’s talent, none were willing to make a “serious offer.” The Kings, Bucks, Heat and Timberwolves were all linked to Morant in recent days, though there’s no indication that talks ever reached an advanced stage.
As Siegel writes, the Grizzlies were looking for a first-round pick for the two-time All-Star, but no teams were willing to meet that asking price. Miami, for instance, was only willing to give up expiring contracts and second-round picks for Morant, sources tell Siegel.
Morant’s injury history and maximum-salary contract limited his appeal on the trade market, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. The former No. 2 overall pick is on a guaranteed deal that runs through 2027/28.
“You’re committing to several years, and if it doesn’t work, you’re probably carrying that contract until it’s an expiring at least,” one league source told Afseth. “Most teams would want to be compensated just to take that deal on, whether they believe in Morant or not.”
The Clippers made a pair of major trades, swapping James Harden for Darius Garland and sending Ivica Zubac to Indiana for two first-round picks, one second-rounder, Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson. All-Star Kawhi Leonard won’t be going anywhere though, tweets NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Two-time All-NBA big man Domantas Sabonis, who was repeatedly linked to Toronto until Sacramento’s talks with the Raptors “flat-lined,” will stay put with the Kings, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The Kings were also unable to find suitable deals for Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk, per Haynes (Twitter link).
Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers), Lauri Markkanen (Jazz), LaMelo Ball (Hornets), and Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones of the Pelicans are among the other noteworthy players whose names came up in trade speculation this season who will remain with their respective clubs.
Of course, we saw a flurry of trades that did transpire in the lead-up to the deadline. The full list can be found here.
Western Notes: Garland, Porzingis, Watson, Pippen Jr.
Darius Garland wasn’t particularly surprised that the Cavaliers traded him to the Clippers. The 26-year-old guard was dealt, along with a second-round pick, for James Harden.
“I knew about it. It wasn’t a shock, though,” Garland said, per Doug Padilla of The Associated Press. “It’s the business of basketball. Cleveland was great to me and my family, and I have respect for all of those guys over there. … Seven years was a really long time, and it was great. I’m glad I’m here now. The next chapter in my book.”
Garland will now try to develop chemistry with Kawhi Leonard. He’s eager to see how coach Tyronn Lue plans to utilize him.
“I hope T-Lue uses me like he did Kyrie (Irving) in that championship run they had (in Cleveland),” he said. “But whatever T-Lue wants me to be, whatever position he wants me to be in, I’m going to do that. I’m here to win games.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Warriors didn’t acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Hawks in an impending trade without some assurances that the big man will return to the court soon, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania. Porzingis hasn’t played since Jan. 7, but the ESPN duo hears that the Warriors anticipate Porzingis will get back in action soon after joining Golden State. Porzingis has played only 17 games this season due to illness and left Achilles tendinitis.
- The injury-riddled Nuggets now have another ailment to overcome. Peyton Watson, who is enjoying a breakout season, injured his hamstring during the fourth quarter of their double overtime loss to New York on Wednesday, Tim Bontemps of ESPN reports. “Waiting to see the MRI,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “But just seeing so much of this this year. I just feel bad for the guys in the locker room. It’s deflating when you keep seeing people go down around you when you’re trying to build towards something.” Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun recently returned after missing chunks of time, while Aaron Gordon is currently dealing with a significant hamstring strain and Cameron Johnson has been out since before Christmas with a knee injury.
- Scotty Pippen Jr. is close to making his season debut for the Grizzlies. Pippen, who underwent toe surgery in October, is in the final stages of his rehab, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets. Coach Tuomas Iisalo is optimistic Pippen could return as early as this week. Pippen averaged 9.9 points and 4.4 assists in 79 games last season.
Jazz Acquire Lonzo Ball, Second-Rounders From Cavs
February 5: The Jazz have officially acquired Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers, according to press releases from both teams. Utah also separately completed its deal with Atlanta involving Landale.
“Lonzo Ball was the consummate professional during his time with the Cavaliers, and we’re grateful for his hard work and team-first mentality,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Oddly, neither the Jazz’s release nor the Cavs’ announcement indicated what exactly Cleveland received from Utah to complete the deal, but RealGM’s official transaction log indicates it was cash.
February 4: The Jazz have agreed to a pair of trades, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links), who reports that Utah will be acquiring point guard Lonzo Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers and is also sending center Jock Landale to the Hawks in exchange for cash considerations.
The Jazz are making their deal with Cleveland solely for the draft capital and are expected to waive Ball after the trade is complete, Charania adds (via Twitter). Once he clears waivers, he’d be eligible to sign with any team except the Cavs.
The Cavaliers acquired Ball from Chicago last summer in a swap for Isaac Okoro in the hopes that he could provide the team with a reliable replacement for Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome, who departed in free agency. However, Ball had a disappointing season in Cleveland, averaging career lows in several categories, including points (4.6) and minutes (20.8) per game, as well as field goal percentage (30.1%) and three-point percentage (27.2%).
With the Cavs making an effort to reduce payroll and perhaps duck below the second tax apron, moving Ball and his $10MM salary made sense, especially after the team acquired guards Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis from Sacramento over the weekend.
The Cavs will save approximately $65MM as a result of the Ball trade and are now just $3.9MM over the second apron, tweets Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron. Cleveland may very well keep looking for ways to get out of second-apron territory in order to avoid having its 2033 first-round pick becoming “frozen” for trade purposes this offseason, but the club has already generated massive savings as a result of its recent moves — approximately $115MM in total, per Gozlan (Twitter link).
Utah, meanwhile, still had a significant amount of breathing room below the luxury tax threshold after adding to their payroll in Tuesday’s Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster and will take advantage of that flexibility to take on some unwanted salary and acquire the Cavs’ 2028 and 2032 second-round picks in the process, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those were the only second-rounders Cleveland had available to trade.
The Jazz still have a trade exception worth more than $12MM from last summer’s John Collins deal that they’ll use to absorb Ball’s pseudo-expiring contract (he has a $10MM team option for next season that will be automatically declined when he’s waived). That Collins exception was initially worth over $26MM and has since been used to acquire Georges Niang and John Konchar as well.
Landale was one of three role players the Jazz acquired alongside Jackson in Tuesday’s blockbuster with Memphis, but he wasn’t part of Utah’s future frontcourt plans and will now head to Atlanta.
The 30-year-old Australian center was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to the trade, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game. He’ll provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been hit hard by injuries up front this season.
The Hawks will have to waive a player in order to make room for Landale, but that shouldn’t be a problem — both Duop Reath and N’Faly Dante are out with season-ending injuries and are candidates to be cut. They’ll be able to take on Landale without sending out any salary of their own since he’s on a minimum-salary contract.
Trade Rumors: Morant, Thomas, Gafford, Hawks, Raptors
While Sacramento has been one of the teams linked to Ja Morant, the Grizzlies guard and his camp don’t have interest in a trade to the Kings, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Morant’s other rumored suitors – the Heat and Timberwolves – would rank much higher on his wish list.
The Kings essentially reciprocate Morant’s tepid interest, says Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick explains, Sacramento hasn’t ruled out the possibility of acquiring Morant, but would want Memphis to add draft capital as an incentive to take on his maximum-salary contract, which runs through 2027/28. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are looking to acquire a draft pick or two in a Morant deal, even if it means taking on some unwanted salary.
The Kings also have potential fit and chemistry concerns about Morant, Amick adds, noting that a deal between the two teams appears unlikely.
While that could just leave Miami and Minnesota in the running for Morant, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) says he’s been advised not to rule out the Bucks. All three of those teams may need resolution on the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation before they can realistically make a play for the Grizzlies guard.
We have more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Nets guard Cam Thomas wasn’t with the team for its flight to Orlando today and is listed as out for Thursday’s game due to personal reasons, tweets Fischer. Thomas holds a de facto no-trade clause after signing his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in 2025, but has long been considered a trade candidate and is drawing interest from the Cavaliers and Bucks, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have maintained interest in Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links), who reports that Dallas has been seeking a first-round pick for Gafford and Atlanta has only been willing to give up second-round capital. Stein’s report came in just before word broke that the Hawks had agreed to acquire Jock Landale from Utah — adding a minimum-salary big man on an expiring deal wouldn’t preclude a trade for Gafford, who is under contract for three more seasons after this one, but it may reduce Atlanta’s need for immediate help in its frontcourt.
- The Raptors were engaged in trade talks with the Mavericks about Anthony Davis before Dallas agreed to send him to Washington, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who says Toronto also spoke to the Grizzlies about Jaren Jackson Jr. prior to the trade that sent the big man to Utah. The Raptors, who are on the lookout for a frontcourt upgrade, have also discussed Domantas Sabonis but reportedly reached an impasse in their negotiations with Sacramento.
Clippers, Cavs Swap James Harden, Darius Garland
February 4: The Cavaliers have officially traded Garland and their 2026 second-round pick to the Clippers in exchange for Harden, the two teams confirmed today in press releases just hours before they face one another in L.A.
As Law Murray of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman and Clippers president of basketball ops Lawrence Frank both put out statements thanking the guards exiting their respective franchises and expressing excitement about the newcomers.
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the plan is for Harden to make his Cavaliers debut this Saturday against Sacramento.
February 3: The Clippers and Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a much-rumored James Harden trade. Harden is headed to Cleveland in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (via Twitter). The pick is Cleveland’s own second-rounder this June, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
Word broke within the past 24 hours that Harden and the Clippers were working together to find him a new home, with Cleveland considered to be the leading suitor. NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) reported this morning that the two teams ramped up their trade discussions in an effort to reach an agreement prior to Thursday’s deadline — now they have.
Harden, a Los Angeles native will join his fifth different team in the last six seasons. As part of the deal, he’ll have to waive his one-year Bird restriction (a de facto no-trade clause) and all but eliminate his $2.3MM trade bonus, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
The Cavaliers cannot make Harden’s salary exceed Garland’s due to apron restrictions, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets. That bonus is capped at $263,397, which is the difference between the two players’ salaries. Harden could waive the entire amount to help the Cavs move slightly closer to the second tax apron.
In the short run, Harden should increase the Cavs’ chances of competing for a title in the wide-open East as he teams up with All-Star Donovan Mitchell in a dynamic backcourt. Despite his advanced age, Harden is still a prolific scorer — he’s averaging 24.7 points and 8.1 assists along with 4.8 rebounds per game this season.
Garland — a two-time All-Star — is averaging 18.0 PPG (down from 20.6 last season) and 6.9 APG in 26 games. He has been sidelined for 10 consecutive games due to a right toe sprain after missing time earlier in the season due to left toe issues. Sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that Garland has made progress in his recovery and could return soon, though there’s some concern about whether his toe problems could turn into a longer-term issue.
Garland, 26, gives the Clippers a younger starter who could fill a guard role for seasons to come, assuming his toe injuries don’t linger. He’s in the third season of a five-year, $197.3MM contract that runs through 2027/28. According to Gozlan (Twitter link), he’ll become eligible this offseason for an extension of three years and up to $178MM.
Harden’s contract situation is more much complicated. He’s making $39.2M this season and has a $42.3MM player option for next season. However, the option would only be partially guaranteed for $13.3MM if it’s picked up. In that scenario, Harden’s salary wouldn’t become fully guaranteed until July 11.
It remains to be seen whether Cleveland gave Harden any assurances about guaranteeing his entire 2026/27 salary or re-signing him to a new contract if he opts out — the veteran guard’s desire to sign a new guaranteed two-year deal that L.A. wasn’t prepared to give him after this season was rumored to be one key factor why he sought a change of scenery.
If Harden declines his option, the Cavs would hold only his Non-Bird rights. However, those would be more than enough to sign him to a market-value contract, since they allow for a deal covering up to four seasons and a raise of up to 20% on the player’s previous salary.