The Cleveland Cavaliers made an audacious, win-now move prior to the trade deadline. They said goodbye to floor general Darius Garland and swapped him for another point guard — James Harden, who averaged 25.4 points and 8.1 assists per game with the Los Angeles Clippers this season before he changed teams.
Former Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett thinks that the move to acquire Harden could pay dividends for the Cavaliers. He suggested that if Harden unlocks Cavaliers big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the offensive end, it’s “over.”
“He’s gonna help them,” Garnett said of Harden. “You know why? [Ivica] Zubac was a lob threat. … [Clint] Capela, he made him a lob threat, got him a big contract, you understand? If Mobley and Jarrett Allen can tap into what he was doing with Zubac, it’s over. He can reinvent Mobley right now, bro. He can get Mobley and Allen six to eight points a game just off the lob threat and what he was doing for the Clippers.”
Harden has long been one of the premier playmakers in the NBA. He has paced the league in assists per game twice (most recently while playing with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2022-23 campaign) across his lengthy career.
Even though he’s on the other side of 35 years old at this point and past his prime, he can still facilitate with the best of them. He ranks fourth in the league this season among all qualified players in assists per game. In addition, he should have fans optimistic that he will be a great on-court partner to Mobley and Allen with how he passed the ball in his Cleveland debut.
In the Cavaliers’ win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, Harden dished out a team-high eight assists, and Allen was on the scoring end of half of those dimes. He helped Allen get some quality looks inside, and the 29-point showing from the big man might be a harbinger of things to come now that he’s playing next to an all-time passer.
While Harden has yet to play with Mobley, who’s been out for a little while thanks to a calf strain, they should be sharing the floor together sooner rather than later, considering how much time has passed (about two weeks) since Mobley was ruled out for up to three weeks. Mobley could also use the upcoming All-Star break to prepare for a return.
Hopefully, the Harden trade will pay off not only for Mobley and Allen but the Cavaliers as a whole, and the team will finally get over the hump in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Whether or not the move was the right one will likely be judged by how far the team advances in the postseason.