The Cleveland Cavaliers believe that the Eastern Conference is wide open right now. Trading for James Harden gives them a better chance to seize that opportunity.
“We think that he raises our ceiling and gives us a chance to have real playoff success,” Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said on Thursday.
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“He gives us a different look in the backcourt. He’s 6’5” and he gets downhill, and he is ninth in the league in drives. He’s strong. He’s creative. I think he’s going to be great for our bigs. I also know that Donovan [Mitchell] is excited to play alongside him. Obviously, this is not a trade that we took lightly. But we do know that James is going to help us, and so we’re excited to welcome him.”
Harden will help the Cavs in many ways. He’s still one of the best point guards in the league and is a clear upgrade over Darius Garland at this point.
“[We’re] really excited about when it gets to a chaotic time in the playoffs and we’re on the road, and there’s a fever pitch, being able to throw the ball to him and calm this thing down,” Altman said. “Let’s get a good possession, right? Let’s get a good possession when it gets really, really tight, and it’s loud in that building. We’ve gone to the playoffs the last few years largely as a young team, not a very experienced playoff team, trying to figure it out. Now I think we’re adding just a tremendous amount of experience and know-how.”
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Harden is a one-man offense that can seemingly get good shots for himself and his teammates every time down the court.
That said, those comments ignore the elephant in the room. Harden was brought in to help in the playoffs despite being known as one of the biggest postseason chokers in league history.
“We looked at it, and we studied really hard,” Altman said. “There’s some elimination games that he probably wishes he had back, probably five really bad games out of 173 playoff games. But overall, he certainly raises his level, raises our level. It’s hard being the number one option on a championship-level team. I think the good news for him is he has another number one option right next to him.”
Whether or not Harden fits next to Mitchell remains to be seen. We’ve seen Harden coexist decently well with other ball-dominant players like Chris Paul, Tyrese Maxey, and Kevin Durant. How that carries over to sharing the floor with Mitchell will determine whether this trade ultimately pays off.
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What we do know is that the Cavs have a second player who can carry some of the playmaking burden in the playoffs. That has been an issue in recent postseason runs.
“When it gets really tough in the playoffs, the team takes away your play, your second counter, and we need to get the ball in Donovan’s hands, we need to get the ball in James’ hands, that we’re going to have a great possession, we’re going to have a great possession,” Altman said. “And so really that’s what we’re thinking of. And in the playoffs, I do still think it comes down to largely a half-court game when it comes down to it.”
There’s also the concern that the Cavs play a different brand of offensive basketball than Harden. Head coach Kenny Atkinson’s teams have been built around ball and player movement and attacking in transition.
Harden’s teams have been the opposite. He’s thrived in slower tempo, iso-heavy systems. The Cavs are hoping both sides can meet in the middle.
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“We’re going to have to adapt to James,” Altman said. “He’s that good a player, but I think we’re going to still run. … [Playing fast is] still part of what we do. I don’t think that’s going to stop. I do know that James is a great rebounder, and so our pitch-ahead game is going to be great.”
Harden can take the Cavs to another level. How exactly that’s going to look remains to be seen. There will undoubtedly need to be some give-and-take on both sides. But there’s a reason this move was made. The skill upgrade is clear, and that will help when it matters most.
“My job at the end of the day is to bring the best talent to Cleveland and set them up for success,” Altman said. “That’s the job. And so we’re bringing one of the greatest players of all time to Cleveland, who’s still playing at an elite level. We couldn’t be more excited.”
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