​James Harden expected to re-sign ‘soon-ish’ after Cavs’ $88M bet originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Cleveland Cavaliers’ re-signing plans for James Harden received an insider update after Peyton Watson was traded from the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.The former NBA champion joins Cleveland on a four-year, $88 million deal with a player option and trade kicker. As part of the multi-team deal, Cleveland sent Max Strus to the Los Angeles Clippers.According to Marc Stein, Harden’s long-awaited new deal with Cleveland is expected to be finalized “soon-ish,” according to a source familiar with the process. The delay might have to do with the Cavaliers creating enough financial flexibility to go for Watson and other roster upgrades.Reported on Sunday night that, according to one source briefed on the process, James Harden’s long-awaited new deal with the Cavaliers would be signed “soon-ish.”Cleveland can finally proceed with finalizing Harden’s pact after its Schröder/Strus/Watson five-teamer is official. https://t.co/RFtfN1TuTD— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 20, 2026MORE: Peyton Watson trade gives Cavaliers new weapon to finally get past the KnicksHow Cavs could remain under first apron even after potentially re-signing James HardenWithout James Harden, Cleveland is $28.4M under the first-apron hard cap after the recent offseason moves. The Cavaliers can use this money for Harden and can still be under the NBA’s first apron for the 2026-27 season, which is $209 million.So, it might be only time before the Cavaliers finally announce the re-signing of Harden.Before the Peyton Watson trade, the Cavs dealt Dennis Schroder to the Charlotte Hornets for Tre Mann on Aug. 14. Schroder was entering the final year of his three-year, $44 million contract and was due $14.8 million next season. Since Mann’s salary was substantially lower, Cleveland gained roughly $6.8 million in savings.With Watson’s induction, the Cavs essentially have a winger who could shoot and defend multiple positions. This could allow both Harden and Donovan Mitchell to play freely on offense with a winger who can make the 3s at a good clip.More NBA news: Nuggets in talks with six-time All-Star to be Peyton Watson replacementWhy Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama made $51 million sacrifice on contract extensionLakers commitment to Walker Kessler could be costly for this key reasonLeBron James will move up the all-time rankings in these 4 stats during 2026-27 NBA seasonRussell Westbrook turned down offer from Eastern Conference team to play in 2026-27 season