The unofficial second half of the NBA season is getting underway, and the Cavs have new life! A pretty major trade sent point guard Darius Garland and a 2nd-round pick to the L.A. Clippers for James Harden days before the trade deadline. While Harden has many detractors and Garland will be missed, Vegas resoundingly signed off on the deal. Cleveland is now the new favorite to come out of the East, Harden’s playoff proclivities be damned.
Nearly two years ago, after another frustrating early playoff exit, the big story in Cleveland was that they had to break up Donovan and Darius. The Cavs surprised many by sticking with both guards, but last season, too, ended in premature disappointment.
This year, after an uninspiring start and Garland again beset with nagging foot injuries, the Cavs decided it was best to cut ties with their 5th pick of the 2019 draft when an aggrieved Harden became tradable. (Imagine that.)
While a disgruntled Harden can be pretty disgruntling for fans, he is at least available and can still score and play-make with the best of them in his 17th NBA season. Plus, he’s saying all the right things about Cleveland and even has Travis Scott on board. It’s sure gonna be fun while it lasts, and ay, there’s the rub. ‘Cause nothin’ lasts forever, especially playoff James Harden.
Harden has a player option for next season, meaning he could still bail, but it remains highly unlikely another team will pony up the $42M he’d get to stay. Cleveland could also extend Harden at a lower yearly value to free up cap space for impending 2026 free agent LeBron James, a former Cav.
The Cavs also added 3-and-D guard Keon Ellis and the crafty Dennis Schroder, both improvements. Besides Garland, they traded away De’Andre Hunter, who’d been struggling defensively, and Lonzo Ball, who I fear may no longer be an NBA player due to injury. Three major surgeries on one knee and missing almost three seasons might do that. At least he’ll forever be the least annoying of the Ball family.
There were several significant trades in a busier-than-normal NBA Trade Deadline period, even if the most consequential move was what didn’t happen. The Bucks opting to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo may have still had the biggest impact, as teams, like the Knicks, Heat, and Lakers, opted to hold onto their assets to make a run at him in the summer. And thus the stage was set for your ready-made NBA summer soap opera.
None of the contending teams in the East, save Cleveland, added anyone who'll make a major impact. However, they all got better as the Celtics and Knicks added center Nikola Vucevic and point guard Jose Alvarado, respectively, while Detroit, which is still playing a level above everyone else, acquired Red Velvet himself, Kevin Huerter.
It’s those four teams, and no one else, as serious contenders out of the East, but all eyes are going to be on if and when Celtic Jayson Tatum might return from his torn Achilles suffered just nine months ago. While NBA fans should hope he continues to play it safe with no decision made, his return would change things considerably.
In the West, the Spurs have become the surprise of the season, and stand just three games behind the Thunder at the All-Star Break, with an eye-opening 4-1 head-to-head mark against OKC. The Spurs, notably, did not make any trades at the deadline, and I regret to inform the haters that they look to have the chemistry and culture to contend for a long time to come.
The Nuggets and Rockets join this duo as true West contenders, with teams like the T-Wolves and Lakers playing possible spoilers with the right luck. The Thunder have lost 14 games, already as many as last year, thanks partly to injuries, and the West is perfectly set for a wild finish. With every team looking beatable and some fresh new old faces in the Pistons and Spurs, the NBA might be poised for one of its most wide-open playoffs in years.