The Cleveland Cavaliers Just Fell For the James Harden Trap

James Harden will go down as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history. He's recently climbed to No. 9 overall on the all-time scoring list, and he has a trophy case full of regular-season awards, ranging from scoring and assist titles to Sixth Man of the Year and MVP.

He's also become one of the greatest NBA actors and con men of this generation.

After this week's Harden-Darius Garland swap between the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, we're bracing ourselves for a new season in Harden's reality series—this one set to take place in Cleveland, following recent stops in L.A., Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Houston.

Following his announced trade from the Clippers to the Cavaliers, Harden's name still creates a buzz around the NBA. But why? He turns 37 this year, and we're now eight seasons removed from his MVP campaign in 2017-18. He's even missed the All-Star team in three of the past four years.

Cleveland, giving up a freshly-turned, 26-year-old multi-time All-Star point guard in Darius Garland (and draft pick) in exchange for Harden, is the latest example of an NBA team to turn into the Arrested Development "But it might work for us" clip.

Of course, history tells us, it won't.

The James Harden Experience

In The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum's character, Ian Malcolm, is unfazed by his search party's reaction to seeing live dinosaurs for the first time.

"Yeah, ooh, ahh, that's how this always starts, and then later there's running and, and screaming," he says prophetically.

This phrase can perfectly sum up Harden's last six years, with the 36-year-old always doing the running and his previous teams doing the screaming.

Things will begin fine. Harden will drop a 30-point triple-double. He'll cash six threes on some night and look like the perfect backcourt mate next to Donovan Mitchell. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen will get consistently fed in the pick-and-roll. The Cavs will go on a winning streak, and fans will point and say, "See! See! This is why we traded Garland for him!"

It's very important that, like Malcolm, we stay calm and think of what's about to happen next.

As good as Harden was with the Houston Rockets, there was a constant turnover of star teammates. He initially clicked with and later clashed with Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. He reportedly pushed for Howard to later be traded, coaches to be fired and threatened to demand a trade himself if the organization didn't bring in who he wanted.

Bad habits were made in Houston by an organization that never told Harden the word "no."

What we've witnessed the past six years has proved that.

Harden forced his way out of Houston, joining a different cast of star teammates in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Brooklyn Nets. Everything looked great at first and the Nets were set up for an extended championship window, until Harden again became restless after just a single playoff run.

But, hey, Philadelphia! The 76ers would be different! Reunited with Daryl Morey and Joel Embiid looking like one of the best players in the NBA! Surely this would be Harden's final spot. Two short playoff runs (coupled with a 39.9 percent shooting mark and a messy divorce from Morey) and Harden was again forcing his way out.

Los Angeles would be different, though. It's his home city! Kawhi Leonard! Playing under Ty Lue, who coached LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to a title! Now it's different! Ooh! Ahh!

We've again reached the running and screaming portion.

Will Life with the Cavs Be Different?

Superstars in the NBA have always received special treatment. This is nothing new.

Harden's days of being able to demand trades should have died out years ago, though.

He is no longer good enough to pick and choose his destination when he's under contract, something he's done now four times in the past six years.

We can praise his regular-season numbers and good health while also criticizing the absolute playoff meltdowns that have been all too common. 

Harden's most recent playoff game saw him register just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting (25.0 percent) in a Game 7 loss to the Denver Nuggets. There was the nine-point calamity in Game 7 of the 76ers' 2023 playoff series against the Boston Celtics, where he finished the game with a plus/minus of minus-30. His 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting (18.2 percent) in a series-ending loss to the San Antonio Spurs in 2017 had an NBA executive question if Harden was actually point-shaving.

For a Cavs team that has suffered three straight first- or second-round playoff exits since trading for Donovan Mitchell, this was the player the franchise believed would help them exceed in the postseason?

Maybe Mitchell wanted a more reliable offensive co-star during the regular season. Maybe the Cavs were scared off by Garland's list of injuries in recent years. 

Giving up a young, All-Star point guard and someone who could have been a key piece in trading for a true superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo would have made sense. To do it for Harden, who may be retired by the time Garland hits his prime, was both a short-sighted and desperate choice.

Harden isn't going to magically become a big-time playoff performer at age 36, leaving the Cavs stuck with a tricky contract situation to navigate this summer.

It's Always Been About the Money

We've seen star players across every sport take pay cuts to help their teams win. Tom Brady did so with the New England Patriots, while Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki both settled for far less near the end of their careers.

Harden hasn't been quite so generous.

He originally left a potential dynasty with the Oklahoma City Thunder to get a max contract from the Houston Rockets. He publicly shamed Daryl Morey on a summer Adidas trip for reportedly not giving him a previously promised max deal. This latest escape from the Clippers was "all about a contract extension," according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

The Cavs are the NBA's most expensive team and the only franchise above the second apron. Trading Garland for Harden was essentially an even-money swap this season, although the latter carries a player option for next year vs. two more guaranteed years for the former.

Because Harden essentially had a no-trade clause because his latest contract was for one guaranteed year, he had to approve a deal to Cleveland. It's fair to wonder if a new contract is already in place for this summer, putting the Cavs right back to where they were with Garland's substantial money.

Put up big numbers, flame out in the playoffs, demand max money and then force your way out when you don't get it. The Harden trap has claimed victim after victim, each time leaving his previous team in a worse spot than before. 

This may be the one exception, for the Clippers at least, as they flipped someone with seemingly little trade value into a new franchise point guard.

The Cavs are now the latest (but probably not the last) team to get duped by Harden.