Shams Charania: The Cavaliers remain in constant communication with James Harden and his agents on a new contract to return to Cleveland while they strongly pursue two free agent forwards -- restricted Peyton Watson and unrestricted Jonathan Kuminga -- made more viable with Friday's trade. x.com x.com
More on James Harden: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
D'Antoni on the James Harden and Chris Paul Rockets: "We thought we were the best team in the league by far that year for sure. And we had Golden State on the ropes, with their Big 3 -- Big 4, actually, they'll probably have four Hall-of-Fame guys going in. They were good, and Steve Kerr does a great job. We had 'em, you know? We had 'em, and just, Chris [Paul] got hurt, and that's just the way it goes. And then we missed 27 3s in a row, which didn't help. Analytically, I know that's not good! I knew it wasn't when we were doing it, but just a great team." — 8/14/2026 YouTube NBACentral: Austin Rivers calls out the media and NBA fans for failing to appreciate Russell Westbrook during his career, and predicts James Harden, Devin Booker, and Donovan Mitchell won’t get their proper respect until they’re gone (h/t @big_business_) — 8/14/2026 x.com This season, Cleveland will have 16 sets of back-to-backs, a trio of four-game homestands, a lengthy six-game road trip (March 9-18), four holiday games (Halloween, Veterans Day, New Year’s Eve and MLK Day) and five matinees. James comes to Cleveland with the Sixers twice (Nov. 6 and March 1) this season. The Cavs pursued him in free agency this summer, hoping for a third stint with the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2003. Former Cavalier Darius Garland will return to Cleveland for the first time since being traded for James Harden last February, with that visit scheduled for Dec. 31. The Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs visit for the only time on Dec. 15. — 8/13/2026 Cleveland Plain Dealer Chris Fedor: If the Cavs don't get Kuminga, if the Cavs don't get DeMar DeRozan, if the Cavs don't get Peyton Watson, then James is probably going to say, "Hey, I was willing to create some financial flexibility. I was willing to be patient. I was willing to wait on LeBron and Kuminga and DeRozan and Peyton Watson and I was giving you guys the freedom to explore avenues to improve this roster. None of those materialized. I want to be compensated for that. Does that mean that he's going to get an extra year, a third year instead of two years? Does that mean he's going to get a little bit extra money? — 8/13/2026 YouTube Chris Fedor: There's no benefit right now to the Cavs getting something locked in with James Harden. And there's nothing that is preventative for the Cavs to wait. And there's nothing preventative for James Harden to wait. It may be frustrating because you don't have it official. It may be frustrating because you don't have a specific number, but like I said, everybody inside this Cavs organization is talking about James Harden, the Cleveland Cavalier. Not James Harden, the free agent, James Harden, the Cleveland Cavalier. It wouldn't be surprising if James, wherever he is in this off season, is wearing calves shorts or calves gear when he's going to workouts and stuff like that, because everybody expects him to be a member of the Cavs, and they're planning for him to be a member of the Cavs. Just like they have been since they traded for him in February. So, I don't sense any kind of situation between the Cavs and James where talks are going to break down or talks are going to get so bad that there's going to be bad blood between James and the organization or James' camp and the organization. Everybody understands the financial aspect of things related to James and I think everybody understands how James and what contract he ultimately signs with the Cavs is tied to the kind of activity that the Cavs can make this off season and the kind of improvements that they can make as a team. — 8/13/2026 YouTube APHoops: The Cleveland Cavaliers may wind up backing out of sign-and-trade talks for Jonathan Kuminga and Peyton Watson as James Harden and his camp grow impatient awaiting his contract, per @JakeLFischer. “I would expect Harden to be paid handsomely.” — 8/11/2026 x.com Oh No He Didn't: Marc Spears on where things stand between James Harden and the Cavs: "The Cavaliers are working through different iterations of a deal, trying to come up with something that's best for James and also best for them. And to James' credit, they're saying that he's been patient his people has been patient, and I hear that they expect aresolution to come soon for him to re-sign" — 8/10/2026 x.com James Harden’s gun case will not linger into the NBA season. The misdemeanor unlawful carrying of weapons charge that the Cleveland Cavaliers guard had been hit with stemming from his June arrest was dropped on Thursday, according to court records viewed by the California Post. — 8/6/2026 New York Post Byron Scott on LeBron James: "If they didn't have James Harden, I think he would have did it a third time. But then again, we also heard reports that Donovan Mitchell wasn't a good fit with LeBron." — 8/3/2026 YouTube Bryon Scott believes James Harden prevented LeBron James from returning to the Cavaliers"If they didn't have James Harden, I think he would have did it a third time. — 8/3/2026 Apple Podcasts
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Cavaliers remain in 'constant communication' with James Harden on new deal and are strongly pursuing Peyton Watson, Jonathan Kuminga