Things are going well for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are 8-2 in their past 10 games and just made a savvy trade, acquiring Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder just a few days ago. So why did we wake up this morning to news that the team is gearing up to trade Darius Garland for James Harden?
It's a great question. At the end of the day, it all comes down to convincing Donovan Mitchell that he can win in Cleveland, and that he should not jet for greener pastures when his contract expires after next year.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN had this to say of the Cavs' current situation:
"If the Cavaliers again exit in the first or second round...Will [Mitchell] be willing to commit to another extension in Cleveland? That seems unlikely. No one is more aware of that than the Cavaliers, who have already made one deal and are clearly interested in making more between now and Thursday afternoon."
The thought process makes sense. The action following the thought process is a little more confusing, as Harden himself has come up short time and again in the playoffs. Is this the move that gets the Cavs over the second-round hump? Would 36 year-old James Harden be the saving grace in Cleveland? It's a bit of a tough sell.
Plus, Harden has a player option next season; he might end up being a rental if the Cavs do trade for him! In that case, the Cavs would need to win this year, or risk entering Mitchell's contract year with no Garland or Harden. It takes some mental gymnastics to really make sense of the Cavs interest in Harden, I must admit.
Cavaliers might officially be in panic mode
Two days ago, when the team acquired Ellis and Schroder, it felt like the Cavs had already made their big move of the deadline. With how well the team was playing, adding a high-level defender seemed to be "the" move of this deadline, and that was fine!
Now, things feel more chaotic than ever as the Cavs are ready to trade Darius Garland for James Harden potentially as a preemptive move because they're afraid of Donovan Mitchell leaving after next season.
I don't know if any of that makes any sense, but the Cavs clearly see Harden as a win-now move — and they do, admittedly, need to win now. It just feels odd that they are entering what feels like panic mode even though things are trending in the right direction on the court.
Buckle up, Cavs fans. What appeared like it would be a relatively quiet deadline for the Cavs after the Hunter trade now has the possibility of a franchise-altering 48 hours.