OrganicHunt952

115 | 3 hours ago

For 26 games with the Cavs he shot 43.5% from 3 which is wild lmao

nbaistheworst

77 | 3 hours ago

And then came the playoffs, where he shot 29.9%.

His intermittent playoff shrinkage happened.

No-Nature3939

21 | 2 hours ago

I mean was their best player in the first two rounds and he’s gotten Cleveland to their first ECF since Lebron. He didnt shrink.

Opposite-Skirt5158

-4 | an hour ago

I like Harden but don’t understand why people think he was their best player in those series. He was truly horrendous in the losses and did not have great game 7s. Meanwhile Mobley and Allen were ultra consistent and dominated opposing bigs. Detroit got rid of Harris and Beef Stew and are low now on Duren. The Raptors bigs could not hold up against Mobley/Allen either. Harden was ok overall, but the Cavs bigs carried them into the ECF.

Antique_Pin5266

9 | an hour ago

Rewatch the games and tell me who ran the offense and kept the Cavaliers from being headless chickens

Opposite-Skirt5158

-5 | an hour ago

I’ve watched them enough to know that the bigs made the difference. Is it not proof enough to see that Detroit has obliterated their frontcourt since that series?

nbaistheworst

-4 | an hour ago

So you think going from 43.5% from three to 29.9% isn’t shrinking? If you prefer TS%, he went from 64% to 57%. His ppg and apg were down as well.

And that decline includes his gigantic shrinkage in the ECF, where he shot just 39%/18%/81% with 3.0 apg and 4.3 TO/gm, and a +/- avg of -13,8

oochiewallyWallyserb | Knicks

18 | 3 hours ago

It was cold dammit!

deepinmanaan | East

8 | 3 hours ago

I was in the pool!

SquintsRS | Hornets

-2 | 3 hours ago

Game 7 Harden never disappoints

nbaistheworst

0 | 3 hours ago

Or in the ECF, game 4 Harden

jefe_hook

1 | 3 hours ago

Wild James

IamSofakingRAW | Raptors

54 | 3 hours ago

Harden, Mitchell, Watson, Mobley and Allen is solid. Paying out the ass for that team so they better be a conf finalist at the very least

petataa | Cavaliers

15 | 2 hours ago

There’s at least 5 eastern teams that think they should at least make the ECF. Sixers, Celtics, Knicks, Heat, and Cavs. 3 of them can’t

WeCantBothBeMe

21 | 2 hours ago

Celtics and Heat shouldn’t be there

hoopbag33 | Celtics

4 | 2 hours ago

Heat agreed but the Celtics definitely should

icantflyjets1 | Raptors

8 | an hour ago

The Celtics replaced their #2 with Playoff P and Tatum is coming off a major injury i would wait to see them play first

hoopbag33 | Celtics

0 | an hour ago

Take last years team, which should have had those aspirations, and switch in Tatum for brown. Add Mitchell Robinson, and add even 30 pg games. They should be aiming no lower than conference finals.

WeCantBothBeMe

2 | an hour ago

They were eliminated in the first round and then traded one of their two best players for Paul George. Where do you see the improvement to go from RD1 exit to ECF contender? Mike Conley? Mitchell Robsinon?

freerealestatedotbiz | BOS

8 | an hour ago

Pacers can easily be back in the ECF as well

bco112 | Knicks

2 | 2 hours ago

I dont think you should ignore the pistons. Detroit young core is dangerous and now theyre experienced.

Antique_Pin5266

2 | an hour ago

Teams will game plan out the ass for Duren now

nikwin | Slovenia

1 | 5 minutes ago

They had a disappointing postseason and it’s hard to feel like the offseason did enough to move the needle. Assuming the get Duren back, it’s also not clear that the experience will be enough for him to maintain his regular season production in the playoffs.

jkliette | Cavaliers

2 | an hour ago

Yeah I put raptors and pacers higher than heat. Celtics are a question mark

Antique_Pin5266

1 | an hour ago

Raptors with Kawhi got a case too

Opposite-Skirt5158

3 | an hour ago

How are they paying out the ass when they’ve been a 2nd apron team for a couple years and not only did they get under the 2nd apron they are now under the 1st as well.

JoeFalcone26 | Cavaliers

1 | 31 minutes ago

They are not nearly the highest payroll now. People just say shit

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

1 | 2 hours ago

Solid starting 5, terrible depth

Clithzbee | Cavaliers

13 | 2 hours ago

You MUST have forgotten the Hezonja signing. I forgive you.

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

-3 | 2 hours ago

No one forgot, my comment remains the same

Clithzbee | Cavaliers

9 | 2 hours ago

Life’s too short to be so serious about basketball my man 😂

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

5 | 2 hours ago

Lol I thought we were having a serious convo about the Cavs depth. My bad 😔

alextheruby | DAL

2 | 2 hours ago

It was an obvious joke my g

Opposite-Skirt5158

5 | an hour ago

Literally 2 of the best 3-point shooters in the league off the bench. Not sure what you mean by ‘terrible.’ Merrill and Tyson could both average 13 or 14 ppg off the bench which is awesome. You only really need to be 7 deep in the playoffs. And btw Porter, Proctor, and Thomas all look they could be solid young guards. They need frontcourt depth sure but overall depth is not bad.

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

0 | an hour ago

If any of the bigs miss extended time, the Cavs will be relying on Thomas to somehow make up for the loss. Merrill is a great catch and shoot 3 pointer, but can’t facilitate for himself. Tyson is ok. The others you mention don’t move the needle.

Like I said, terrible depth.

Opposite-Skirt5158

3 | an hour ago

Agree to disagree then. Merrill and Tyson are actually solid rotation players and great to have as 6th and 7th men. CPJ is better than everyone thinks posting a 2.0 BPM last year and is always a positive +/-. Meleek and Proctor could be pretty good I believe. Bryant and Tomlin could be better but most teams struggle if their top bigs get injured.

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

0 | an hour ago

A lot of things you said are based on believing haha. Who is the backup big on the roster? It’s not even about injuries, you can’t expect your starters to play 48 minutes. They don’t have a backup PF, let alone a C that can be trusted.

Opposite-Skirt5158

2 | an hour ago

Thomas Bryant will get 15 minutes behind Allen. That’s about what he’s good for. He’s actually had productive postseason minutes before. N. Tomlin is young and had some productive minutes last year. He can play D and should get 15 minutes backing up Mobley. Tomlin is still an ascending player, and the only thing I mentioned as beliefs are that Meleek and Proctor have a lot of untapped potential. Meleek was first team all-summer league, and Proctor in year 2 could take a leap. I’m firm on CPJ. He’s a solid 20 mpg player, always stuffs the stat sheet when he’s in there.

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

0 | 40 minutes ago

Ok, the depth isn’t terrible because a bunch of unproven talent is somehow better than anyone thinks. Gotcha 👍

Opposite-Skirt5158

2 | 36 minutes ago

Actually, Tyson, Merrill, Bryant, and CPJ are all proven talents and better than a lot of other six through nines in the league

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

0 | 34 minutes ago

Bryant is so bad that he saw no playing time in the playoffs lol. CPJ averaged 4/3/3 in 17 MPG last year. Tyson and Merrill are both 6’6” or shorter. Who’s their backup PF?

ObviousAnswerGuy | NYK

2 | an hour ago

eh, they made ECF this year with almost the same roster

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

0 | an hour ago

Except they lost key pieces, but sure lol

ObviousAnswerGuy | NYK

2 | an hour ago

like who? They lost Strus, but got Payton Watson.

So basically Dean Wade, Larry Nance, and Keon Ellis? Maybe decent role players, but are those guys really “key pieces” in getting them to the ECF?

Leading_Stop546 | Clippers

0 | an hour ago

Strus, Wade, Ellis, Schroder

Watson is a huge piece, but they’ve lost key depth pieces. Who’s their backup PG now? They’re essentially relying on their starting 5 to remain entirely healthy or else they have no options to replace them.

ObviousAnswerGuy | NYK

3 | an hour ago

ah, forgot about Schroder

DanTheMan14331 | Knicks

37 | 3 hours ago

I don’t know why anyone is surprised by this? Isn’t it obvious that Cleveland offered to give him as much as they could under the second apron as long he waited for them to play out their offseason moves without looking elsewhere?

lisbon_OH | Cavaliers

22 | 3 hours ago

That’s exactly what happened but people go feral whenever James Harden is involved lmao

Revenged25 | Cavaliers

9 | 3 hours ago

Pretty sure that was exactly what was reported. Harden even put in a lot of effort to get Peyton Watson to choose to come to Cleveland.

Chill_Knight | Lakers

17 | 3 hours ago

And the strippers wept!

killacam101388 | Thunder

7 | 3 hours ago

Tears of joy for the money he’s about to go throw at them.

True-Noise9176

17 | 3 hours ago

Player “option” lol, think we can pencil in his answer right now

gradedonacurve | Knicks

22 | 3 hours ago

You’re underestimating Harden’s ability to opt out and get paid even more. The man has always found a way to get paid again.

varsityvideogamer | GSW

7 | 3 hours ago

would be very surprised if he can command more going into his age 39 year but crazier things have happened

gradedonacurve | Knicks

5 | 2 hours ago

I’ve stopped doubting one of the GOAT bag-getters.

a_moniker | Hornets

3 | 3 hours ago

Spotrac also has it at $35 Million in the third year, because it’s an escalating contract. Highly doubt he’ll decline that option.

Superlolz

1 | an hour ago

If he gets a 2y/$60M offer he absolutely would.

Antique_Pin5266

2 | an hour ago

Rockets would probably take him back at ²⁄₄₀

jbrunsonfan

17 | 3 hours ago

I think a lot of the hating is coming from the expectation that this is near max money for Harden the superstar, when in reality it is starter money for Harden the point guard.

How many starting pgs are capable of spacing the floor, posting a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, and playing 75 games? 8? This contract probably makes him around the 9th highest paid of them so it seems fair.

SkepticCritic

2 | an hour ago

That lines up with the perceived rankings of PGs in the league atm, so sounds fair.

arenasfan00 | SAC

15 | 3 hours ago

I mean what other choice did they have? They just came off an ECF run too, and just got their starting SF.

CumAssault | SAS

15 | 3 hours ago

Strippers in Cleveland crying tears of joy today

mvphayden2026

8 | 3 hours ago

Cavs really went all-in on this window

Defiant_Classroom_31 | Trail Blazers

6 | 3 hours ago

They’re never getting another LeBron type player. They really didn’t even have a window during the Price/Ehlo days. It’s now or a really long time from now.

jphamlore | NBA

2 | 2 hours ago

For a few years the Cavs had lottery luck only equal to the Spurs?

Defiant_Classroom_31 | Trail Blazers

3 | 2 hours ago

Lottery picks don’t always equal success, see…my flair, unfortunately 😕

oochiewallyWallyserb | Knicks

1 | 3 hours ago

I like how they stopped to not make it look like $100

cmv1

1 | 3 hours ago

Keeps the floor pretty high for this team but if the Cavs play this man 35+ minutes a night for the regular season it’s gonna be the same story all over again come playoff time.

SkepticCritic

1 | an hour ago

Hopefully this man can mentor the backup PG to be serviceable.

FoundationSmooth9777

1 | an hour ago

Poverty franchise

Lucky-old-boy | Nuggets

1 | 17 minutes ago

Monkeys paw is just about used up

Sick_Cards_Bro

-1 | 3 hours ago

The death knell for Cleveland has officially happened.

LoggraFloozy | Lakers

16 | 3 hours ago

Don’t wanna be that guy but it’s “death knell”

Impressive_Trust_395 | Nuggets

6 | 3 hours ago

I rarely say this but the Lakers fan is right.

Sick_Cards_Bro

1 | 3 hours ago

At work and flying lol

Niceguydan8

9 | 3 hours ago

If the death knell was anything it would be either the Mitchell extension he just signed or the Mobley max he’s currently on.

Those two are both way more detrimental to a team than a top 30 guy in the league making 33 million dollars.

mynamesyow19 | Cavaliers

10 | 3 hours ago

If it means Cavs get to the ECF again only to run into a team like NY, the eventual champs, that was shooting lights out, averaging 51% from the field and 38 % from three-point range while putting up 118.8 points per game, Ill take it.

LegitimateMoney00 | Knicks

-9 | 3 hours ago

I’m sorry, did you just say Harden is “top 30”? In like the eastern conference right? Certainly you can’t mean the entire league? lmao

Niceguydan8

7 | 3 hours ago

In the league currently?

How the fuck is that a hot take?

LegitimateMoney00 | Knicks

-7 | 3 hours ago

Go watch him in the playoffs last year (specifically the ECF) and come back and tell me that version of Harden is a top 30 player in the league and not a massive liability for any team that wants to compete for a championship.

Basic_Commercial_806

1 | an hour ago

So Harden helped the Cavs become one of the final 4 teams standing and somehow that makes him not a top 30 player

LegitimateMoney00 | Knicks

1 | 28 minutes ago

If being a ball hog and playing shit and lazy defense means he “helped”, then sure.

Harden averaged 19 PPG, 5.1 REB and 5.5 AST on 41 FG% and 29 3PT% with 4.7 TO per game in this year’s playoffs. He is not a top 30 player, that is a ridiculous statement. He is a liability to any championship contender.

byteturtle | Suns

7 | 3 hours ago

Pretty sure that was giving Mitchell a 35% max that goes until he’s 34

WeCantBothBeMe

0 | 2 hours ago

Both of their contracts are rough

therobshow

5 | 3 hours ago

What was Cleveland going to do without him?

oochiewallyWallyserb | Knicks

0 | 3 hours ago

Analytical nail

nbaistheworst

0 | 3 hours ago

Cavs FO in denial

LoggraFloozy | Lakers

0 | 3 hours ago

Damn so harden’s hitting the 40 year club too then crazy

mrb4 | Suns

0 | 3 hours ago

Feel pretty confident 40 year old James Harden will be picking up that player option.

He may even bust the fat suit out again seeing if he can get that kicker.

Ok_Management4375

0 | an hour ago

This Cavs team is going to do great in the regular season, and then get blown out in round 2. But I don’t think they have much of a choice

sidearmpitcher | Thunder

-2 | 3 hours ago

I just bet 4 trillion dollars on a Harden playoff collapse

Purple-Mountain-Mist

-1 | 3 hours ago

$33M for a dude with more turnovers than baskets is insane

Niceguydan8

9 | 3 hours ago

That’s flat out false though.

bafana_banana999

6 | 3 hours ago

People just being saying shit, huh?

Like, what you said isn’t even remotely close to being true.

arenasfan00 | SAC

5 | 2 hours ago

For that to be true Harden would have to average like 25 TO/game for his career

Purple-Mountain-Mist

-1 | 2 hours ago

We aren’t talking about his career we are talking about the 2026 version of James Harden that is being signed in the present day for 33 million per year. That version has 5.3 shots made per playoff game and 4.7 turnovers per playoff game.

No-Inside2846 | Thunder

-2 | 3 hours ago

Worst contract this decade. And a trade kicker! Nobody wants to trade for him anyways 💀

super_sayanything | Bulls

1 | an hour ago

This must be one of the dumbest comments on reddit.

SnooPies6274 | Magic

-4 | 3 hours ago

Harden keeps fleecing these teams 😂 i aint even mad at it atp

Ok_Temperature6503 | 76ers

-4 | 3 hours ago

I dont think Cleveland fans are happy for this are they

Fubon_

22 | 3 hours ago

We are fine with it. We need a PG and although hardens old he has been very durable so it’s safe to assume he plays at least 2 more healthy years

The team is also better overall this year so interested to see how it goes

arenasfan00 | SAC

13 | 3 hours ago

Even an old washed harden is an excellent playmaker and shooter. They weren’t gonna find a PG of his caliber anywhere else.

vaalbarag | Raptors

2 | 3 hours ago

Yeah, I don’t think it really changes the math for this team whether he’s getting $33m a year or $25m a year. Maybe an overpay on the market rate, but that don’t matter. They’re not signing him for his trade value. They aren’t opening up cap space any time soon. They already made their move to get their fifth starter. The east is still pretty wide open.

ObiwanSchrute | Pistons

-2 | 3 hours ago

I just don’t see how you are better I could be wrong but swapping out Watson for Struss and Schroder is a downgrade in my opinion Struss torched us and I wish we could of got him. Plus Mitchell and Harden are a year older I think Cleveland would be like the 6th or 7th best team in the East right now.

Fubon_

7 | 3 hours ago

Strus played 62 games over the past 2 seasons due to major injuries and is 31. He will be a good shooter for several more years but his defense has taken a hit and he’s 6’5 playing SF for us. SF has been our hole since 2019 when LeBron left. Nothing has worked. Watson is 6’8 a great defender and cutter. That’s all we need. Shooting would be really nice too but we’ll see. Our defense was really bad toward the playoffs

Schroeder is a good playmaker but we are going to be fine at PG, lots of small guys on the roster and a promising rookie

AffordableGrousing | Cavaliers

6 | 3 hours ago

Look up Strus’s stats against the Knicks. Great effort guy but Watson is a way better fit for similar money and like 7 years younger.

Browns440 | Cavaliers

11 | 3 hours ago

The alternative being what?

WhiteBakerMayfield | Cavaliers

10 | 3 hours ago

Why wouldn’t we? Pretty favorable deal for the Cavs

RayWhelans | Cavaliers

9 | 3 hours ago

I think most Cavs fans understand that we are in the most sunk hole to ever exist in team building. There’s no way out of this. Blowing it up can’t happen because we don’t have picks. Apron doesn’t allow us significant salary flexibility. So we have to stay the course for better or worse.

There are worse fates than having a perennial playoff contender for the next 3-4 years.

Also, it’s funny. If you told Cavs fans in less than 10 years after LeBron left again, that we’d have two 3 all stars on the team to replace him with 1 hall of famer, most Cavs fans would’ve been shocked.

Tungsten_Hoarder

4 | 3 hours ago

What was there move otherwise? They aren’t replacing his production even with more money and this is their window now. Who cares about year 3

mynamesyow19 | Cavaliers

3 | 3 hours ago

Why wouldnt we be ?

Who else is available ?

We have an instant HOFer who is a top 10 scorer in league History, who also has a high BBIQ, and always makes the big men around him, which Cavs have, better ?

They lost to the eventual champs in the ECF, the farthest they have been since the LeBron days. Are we supposed to be ashamed of that ?

Loud-Fig-1446 | Cavaliers

2 | 3 hours ago

Eh, kind of in the mindset that we are who we are unless we blow up at least a portion of the team after the Donovan deal. I’d rather have him than not. We wouldn’t have amazing flexibility either way moving forward.

sgtpepperslaststand | Cavaliers

1 | 2 hours ago

We don’t really have any other options at this point anyways

CHEVIEWER1

-5 | 3 hours ago

Good…GLAD its not the Knicks wasting their money like that

oochiewallyWallyserb | Knicks

-3 | 3 hours ago

Analytically wasting a ton of money

BRFCarter

-5 | 3 hours ago

Cavs FO is really convinced this guy is the answer lol. Next level delusion.

petataa | Cavaliers

5 | 3 hours ago

He’s at least a top 10 PG in the league, who can they get that’s better for cheaper?

intensebreathing | Supersonics

-7 | 3 hours ago

Cleveland locking up the 5 seed 😤

petataa | Cavaliers

7 | 3 hours ago

They haven’t been the 5th seed or lower even once with Mitchell.

bafana_banana999

3 | 3 hours ago

I guess when the team you root for doesn’t exist anymore you start to lose touch with what’s actually going on in the league.

oochiewallyWallyserb | Knicks

-2 | 3 hours ago

Analytically

[Scotto] Sources: James Harden and the Cavaliers have agreed to a 3-year, $97 million fully guaranteed deal, including a third-year player option and 15% trade kicker.