New James Harden, Jonathan Kuminga Rumors Surface After Cavs' Dennis Schroder Trade

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded guard Dennis Schröder and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Tre Mann, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Following that report, Charania dropped more news on the Cavs' efforts to re-sign free agent guard James Harden as well as their pursuit of free agent forwards Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga.

"The Cavaliers remain in constant communication with James Harden and his agents on a new contract to return to Cleveland while they strongly pursue two free agent forwards -- restricted Peyton Watson and unrestricted Jonathan Kuminga -- made more viable with Friday's trade."

NBA salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan explained how the trade affects the Cavaliers' cap.

The Cavs acquired Harden in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers last February for Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick. Harden averaged 20.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Cavs en route to helping guide them to the Eastern Conference Finals.

At this point in the offseason, one can safely assume that Harden is heading back to the Cavs barring something unforeseen. It's just a matter of the financial terms.

The big question is whether the Cavs can make a good run at Watson or Kuminga.

Watson, who will be 24 when the season begins, played four seasons with the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 14.6 points on 49.1 percent shooting, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Watson is a restricted free agent, so the Nuggets can match any offer sheet he gets from another team.

Kuminga, who will also be 24 when the NBA campaign starts, has played five seasons. He played his first four-plus seasons with the Golden State Warriors before they traded him to the Atlanta Hawks last February. He averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists last year. Atlanta declined its team option, making him an unrestricted agent.

We'll see what the Cavaliers do soon enough as the season rapidly approaches. They open the 2026-27 season on Oct. 22 at the Philadelphia 76ers.