James Harden‘s arrest for a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully carrying a gun over the weekend in Texas isn’t expected to impact his contract negotiations with the Cavaliers, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

According to Fischer, the anticipation remains that Harden will re-sign with Cleveland after he reportedly angled his way to the Cavs ahead of the February trade deadline. Teams have been permitted to speak to their own free agents (or potential free agents, in Harden’s case — he has a player option for next season) since Sunday, the day after the NBA Finals ended with a Knicks championship.

Harden’s 2026/27 option is worth $42.3MM, though only $13.3MM of that total would be guaranteed if he opts in. Fischer hears the 11-time All-Star, who turns 37 years old in August, is generally projected to sign a two-year contract in the range of $60MM, though some believe he might make more than that.

Here are a few more free agent and trade rumors from around the NBA:

The Suns have started contract negotiations with Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin and rival teams believe both guards will stay in Phoenix, Fischer reports. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported on Sunday (via Twitter) that the Suns were still prioritizing re-signing Gillespie and Goodwin, and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported on Suns After Dark (Twitter video links) that he expects both players to return as well. “When you talk to people around the league, generally the prevailing thought process is somewhere around $12MM or $13MM a year,” Scotto said of Gillespie. However, Scotto was less certain of Goodwin’s market value, suggesting he could land somewhere in the minimum to taxpayer mid-level exception range.
Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu figures to be a popular name if he hits the open market, but Minnesota is trying to re-sign him before that can happen, according to Fischer, who says the two sides have begun discussing a new deal.
Rival front offices and NBA agents refer to the Pistons, Timberwolves and Nets as three teams that are “highly interested” in acquiring backcourt help this offseason, Fischer writes, specifically ball-handling and play-making. The Nets are said to have interest in Austin Reaves, though Fischer’s colleague Marc Stein reported on Sunday that he’s “widely expected” to re-sign with the Lakers. Fischer reported that Trae Young is expected to remain with the Wizards, but he’s drawing trade interest as well. Ja Morant is another player who could be on the move, Fischer notes.
While the Rockets were a little thin in the backcourt after Fred VanVleet tore his ACL in the offseason and missed all of 2025/26, they haven’t been linked to many guards recently, says Fischer. As we noted in our Offseason Preview, general manager Rafael Stone expressed optimism after Houston was eliminated from the playoffs about the roster he had assembled last summer. The Rockets highly value VanVleet’s contributions and think he’ll be impactful again when he returns next season, Fischer adds.