James Harden appears set to stay with Cavaliers

Those hoping Cavaliers point guard James Harden packs up his beard trimmer and returns home to California for good are going to be disappointed. A plan is in the works to sign him to a contract extension this summer. Here's how it will most likely work: Harden has until June 29 at 5 p.m. to decide whether to opt out of his $42.3 million player option for the 2026–27 season and become an unrestricted free agent. In all likelihood, that's what he'll do. If the 36-year-old chooses to opt in, his salary for next season would be partially guaranteed at $13.3 million until July 11. He would only do that if he wanted out of town, which it doesn't appear that he does. He said late Monday night after the Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks that he "100 percent" wants to return to Cleveland. The plan, possibly negotiated when he was traded to the Cavs at the deadline, is for him to sign a two-year deal for about $25 million a season. That will appease the "bearded one," as well as pull Cleveland under the second apron of the salary cap. That will provide trade flexibility for the Cavs, who could have their sights set on huge deals this summer, including one for Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Despite his advanced age — he'll be 37 in August — Harden had a large impact on the Cavs. In 26 games during the regular season, he averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 0.85 steals. He shot .466 from the field, .435 from the 3-point line and .840 from the foul line. His numbers took a dip in 18 playoff games. Harden averaged 19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals and shot .410 from the field, .299 from long distance and .831 from the foul line. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder leads the NBA in playoff minutes (672) and committed a career-high 4.7 turnovers per game. Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell, who is expected to sign a contract extension this summer, said after the sweep by New York that, "I hope he'll be back." "He's helped this group get where it's never been," Mitchell said. "Now we'll have a whole year (together). He wants to get to the mountaintop." Mitchell went on to stay that Harden is overlooked at times. "I think we ignore leadership by him — by you all, not us," he said. "I think we ignore his character, all positive. We ignore the empowerment that he gives people. We ignore his greatness in a major way. This man changed the game of basketball in ways we've never seen before. This guy has transcended basketball. No one has been able to do what he does. You can say the same about Steph Curry, (Allen) Iverson and (Michael) Jordan. James Harden is in (that group). "We don't talk about his greatness enough. The person he is. He played next to (Philadelphia's) Joel Embiid the year he won MVP. He was 2 inches away from the conference finals with the Brooklyn Nets. It was just some unlucky stuff — he was on a bad hamstring. You can't control that. We haven't heard anything about his thumb since the report came out. We haven't talked about the mental fortitude to deal with that. He could have one leg and he'd be the same. It's really unfair. That's the society we live in. We live in a ring culture. People overlook (his) greatness … 17 years. That's a long time. He's 36. He ran into a really good Golden State team a few times. People forget about what he brings to the brand of basketball." Harden is tied with Utah's Karl Malone for the most playoff wins without a championship (98) and holds the active record for most playoff games without a title (191). "I'm still here," he said. "That's all I can do. You have to keep pushing. Keep pushing until you can't play anymore." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.