00:00There is Jake Fisher and Mark Stein reporting that the Cavs should have a verbal agreement
00:06on a new multi-year deal with James Harden, and then there is, I can't remember who had
00:12the report, it might have also been Jake Fisher as well, that when the Timberwolves were looking
00:16for a playmaking combo guard, that James Harden was one of two guys he looked at before moving
00:22on to the Lomelo trade.
00:23And so it's interesting, I thought that this was already a done deal, and that we're just
00:30basically waiting for the new league year to begin, and then we go from there, I thought
00:36it was interesting that some of the reports have said that maybe it wasn't as a done deal
00:40as maybe previously thought.
00:42Well, it's a done deal from the standpoint of, it's up to James, and it's always been
00:48up to James, it's been up to James since February, when he decided to waive his no trade clause
00:52to come to Cleveland.
00:54But if there's a situation out there that he thinks is better than Cleveland, he's probably
00:59going to explore that, right?
01:00And maybe the Cavs are going to give him some latitude to explore that.
01:03But I think when all of this is said and done, James Harden's going to be back on something
01:08like a two-year 60, two-year 64, two-year $70 million deal, something like that, because
01:15here's the thing, it is also beneficial for the Cavs.
01:19I know people are down on James, and they didn't like the style that he played during
01:22the playoffs.
01:23I'm right here.
01:24Yeah, they have a hard time with him dribbling the air out of the basketball and the ISO stuff
01:28and some of the defensive breakdowns and things along those lines.
01:32But the Cavs knew at the time that they traded for James that they were going to use him in
01:38a way to get below the second apron, and they needed some of the things that he brought
01:43to the table.
01:44And I think the Cavs understand that they would not have advanced, maybe even past the
01:49first round in Toronto, if they didn't have James Harden on this team, and they don't
01:54have the means to replace him if they don't come to this agreement with him, which will
02:00be a little bit more team-friendly from the Cavs' perspective.
02:03I just think it's, you know, we had the Harden Wars on this show.
02:06The morning show had the Harden Wars.
02:08I had the Harden Wars with the morning show.
02:12It was Donny Brooke after Donny Brooke after Donny Brooke.
02:16And I came to appreciate what some of the James did early in the playoffs, the first
02:21two rounds.
02:22So I'm not as maybe out on Harden as I was when they traded for him.
02:25He earned some of my respect, even if I still find him to be a pretty maddening player.
02:31I do think just from the side of me that's interested in chaos, if, and I think at this
02:38point, if he was going elsewhere, we'd probably know about it by now.
02:41But I do think I would be fascinated to know what is more interesting or what is more explosive
02:48in the Harden Wars.
02:49Harden opting out and signing elsewhere or Harden opting out and re-signing in Cleveland
02:55at one of the three price points you said, because I do think either way, the Harden
03:00Wars would kick up one more time.
03:03Why are there wars, though?
03:05Well, because JP and Lima were staunchly in the James Harden camp, and I was staunchly out
03:14of the Harden camp.
03:16Okay, but they can't do better than him.
03:18That's the problem.
03:19Oh, no, no, I know.
03:19I'm just talking about, I think that's where I'm interested in is how would the Harden
03:24Wars evolve, because I would imagine all those staunchly supportive Harden people, if
03:30he opted out and signed elsewhere, would all of a sudden be very defensive about their previous
03:35stances on James Harden.
03:36I don't think it's a situation, Nick, where James Harden's the best running mate for
03:40Donovan Mitchell, and you can't do any better than him.
03:43I don't think it's a situation where it's James Harden's the perfect playoff player, and
03:50this is something that a lot of fans should just ignore some of those playoff-related
03:57limitations and some of those shortcomings that he has had, both throughout his career
04:01and throughout the course of this Cavs playoff run.
04:04But there also has to be an understanding that if James Harden's not on this roster this
04:09coming season, then it makes the Cavs a worse team, and they don't have the means or the
04:15finances to go out and find somebody to replace him and give them comparable maturity, comparable
04:22production, comparable ball handling, comparable shot creation, and all those other things
04:28that the Cavs wanted from him in February.
04:31Because if you look at the free agent market, what are you going to do?
04:35Go sign DeMar DeRozan?
04:36Aren't one of the Joneses available?
04:38One of the Joneses?
04:40Oh my gosh.
04:41I'm being facetious.
04:43I'm being serious.
04:44Keeping up with the Joneses?
04:45No, we are actually in a point where because...
04:47Are you going to go get Zach Levine?
04:48Because, no, never.
04:50Ever.
04:51Never with Zach Levine.
04:51You want to overpay for Norman Powell?
04:54I like Norm, but not as the point guard of this team, no.
04:57But I do, and so I actually agree with you, and I think we're now in a point where if
05:01Harden
05:02did opt out and sign elsewhere, and I would actually see it as the beginning of the end
05:07of times for Donovan here, because you can't replace Harden, and I think it puts a lot of
05:13pressure on the deadline, and it puts a lot of pressure on remaking this team over the
05:17next six months, and some of that is based on luck.
05:20Like, getting those kind of deals, for instance, like what's happening with Jalen Brown?
05:24I think there might be an element of luck for whoever lands him, because I don't think the
05:29market can be as robust as the Celtics wanted, given the needle they're trying to thread.
05:35Like, that's the kind of thing you need, but then you need it at a specific position and
05:39point guard if James opts out and goes elsewhere.
05:42That is, we're weird, because again, did not love the Harden trade, was annoyed by it,
05:47I thought it was a panic move, I understood it on a lot of levels, but I also just didn't
05:51like it, right?
05:52And now I'm like, well, right now, we need to get him in the fold, because I also think
05:56this is where, going forward, I don't look at James as a guy definitively going to be
06:01here for the next two or three years.
06:03I look at him and saying, he's here now, and this next year is a big year for his spot
06:09with the Cavs, but we could also get through either the trade deadline this next year or
06:14next summer, and the Cavs could have one of those other doors open up, and his salary
06:19becomes the thing that allows you to get that other player to pair with Donovan, Evan, and
06:24Jared.
06:24I think the benefit of James is that he's not preventing them from doing other things.
06:29He's not preventing them from getting a star that's out there.
06:34He's not preventing them from, you know, having all of this financial flexibility.
06:39They were never going to have financial flexibility.
06:43And if anything, his contract situation, compared to what Darius Garland's was, is a benefit to
06:50the Cavs, especially when he agrees to this new two-year deal that has less in terms of
06:57what you have to commit to him.
06:59Now, you have to give him that extra year, and maybe that makes you a little bit queasy
07:03because we're talking about a 38-year-old guy, but that's the carrot that you provide to
07:07him for taking less money and helping you get below the second apron and having some
07:13semblance of optionality and flexibility this offseason.
07:17If they would have kept Darius Garland on this roster, the way for them to get below the
07:22second apron would have been cutting players that are meaningful to their success and guys
07:28that they want to keep around.
07:29So I think they're committed to James now, and the question becomes, all right, can James
07:35find something better elsewhere?
07:37I also think that as early as next, what, January, that their commitment to James could
07:44change based on what's out there and what's available.
07:47How long do you think they're truly committed to James beyond whatever the contract says?
07:52For as long as they continue to think that he helps them win and compete for a championship.
07:58That was the situation with Darius Garland, right?
08:01I think that's the situation with Jared Allen.
08:03I think that's the situation with Evan Mobley.
08:05Every single time that they have any kind of trade conversation with another team, the
08:11thing that they have to ask themselves, because of the situation that they're in and because
08:14they want to maximize this championship window, they have to ask themselves, the deal that
08:20is presented to us, does it make us a better basketball team?
08:23The deal that's presented to us, does it improve our chances of competing with the likes of Boston,
08:29New York, Indiana, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Detroit, some of these other teams?
08:35And if the answer to that question is yes, then they're going to give it some real thought
08:41and they might actually, you know, they might actually pull off the trade.
08:45But if they're presented with a package where they sit there and they say, you know, we're
08:50still a better basketball team despite the flaws of James Harden.
08:54We're still a better basketball team with him.
08:57We're going to continue to stay the course.
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