James Harden has agreed a three-year, $97million deal to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harden was traded to the Cavs from the Los Angeles Clippers in February and helped them to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were swept by the New York Knicks.He turned down his $42.3m player option earlier this offseason but, according to ESPNs Shams Chanaria, Harden has now come to terms on a contract that features a player option and a trade kicker.Chanaria revealed that the Cavaliers worked on contract structures with Harden from the outset of free agency, with a three-year deal preferred to allow them to get under the first and second apron spending thresholds.In addition, Hardens actions in declining his option and signing a three-year deal helped Cleveland facilitate a five-team trade for small forward Peyton Watson. Harden played a key role in recruiting Watson to the Cavs after a season in which the 23-year-old averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game for the Denver Nuggets.Harden makes history with new dealThe deal will take Hardens career earnings to $511m and see him join LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry as the fourth NBA player to surpass the $500m mark.Harden, who turns 37 next Wednesday, will also join James as only the second player in NBA history to sign for over $90m in guaranteed salary aged 37 or older when the deal becomes official.The 11-time NBA All-Star and former MVP averaged 20.5 points per game across 26 regular-season games for the Cavs last season. He shot 46.6 per cent from the field and 43.5% from three-point range.He averaged 19.2 points per game in the playoffs, going 41% from the field and just 29.9% from beyond the arc. Topics Cleveland Cavaliers James Harden NBA Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read NBA: LeBron James agent says former Lakers star will not be rushed into picking new team Mitch Fretton 21st July, 2026 Warriors Green declines $27.7million option amid LeBron, Davis speculation Nicholas McGee 29th June, 2026 Mavericks to hire National Championship-winning head coach as successor to Kidd Nicholas McGee 22nd June, 2026 New York Knicks seal NBA title with Game 5 win over San Antiono Spurs Mitch Fretton 14th June, 2026 Wembanyamas trust in basketball gods pays off as Spurs force Game 7 Nicholas McGee 29th May, 2026 Knicks fans party like its 1999 after sweeping Cavaliers to cruise into NBA Finals Jon Fisher 26th May, 2026
