sports
Harden Declines $42 Million Option; Cavaliers Seek New Deal to Cut Payroll
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden declined his $42.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season. The team is negotiating a new multiyear contract expected to pay between $28 million and $30 million annually.
Jun 29, 10:50 AM·1m read5 sources
SHTH
+1
Substrate placeholder — needs reviewAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden declined his $42.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season on June 29. The sides are negotiating a new multiyear contract. The deadline to exercise the option was 11:59 p.m.
On June 29. The option formed part of the two-year, $81.5 million contract Harden signed last summer. Harden averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 26 regular-season games after joining the Cavaliers at the February trade deadline.
The team advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018. In 18 playoff games, Harden averaged 19.2 points, 5.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 29.9 percent from three-point range and committing 4.7 turnovers per game. The new contract is expected to pay Harden between $28 million and $30 million per year and could extend up to three seasons.
Declining the option is projected to save the Cavaliers $12 million to $14 million against next season's payroll. The team carried the NBA's highest payroll last season and is seeking to stay below the second apron, projected at $222 million. Harden, who turns 37 in August, has an arraignment hearing scheduled for Aug.
3 in Harris County, Texas, on a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully carrying a gun in his car. "I think we found something," Harden said on June 29. Lakers center Deandre Ayton separately opted into his $8.
