NBA Analyst Reveals Why James Harden Hasn't Signed With Cavaliers Amid Peyton Watson & Jonathan Kuminga Rumors

After only one year of playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden is now a free agent. While Harden could've opted for his $42.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season, he chose to decline it. His goal is seemingly to leverage more money from the team and secure a longer tenure. The answer lies in Cleveland's broader roster ambitions.

NBA analyst Amin Elhassan has shed light on Harden's situation with the Cavs. According to Elhassan, the reason for the delay in Harden's extension is that Cleveland aims to prioritize expanding their roster first before making a contract offer.

"He's not signed to a team, but he's on the Cavs," Elhassan said about Harden on "The Dan Le Batard Show". "What the Cavs are doing, they know, and James knows he's coming back. But if they sign him to this new deal, it takes away a lot of flexibility. So what they're trying to do is do some other deals."

Elhassan spoke about the two biggest names currently associated with new contracts with the Cavs: Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga.

"There's Peyton Watson," Elhassan added. "The other one is Jonathan Kuminga, which I think is their backup plan... All of that is able to happen because Harden remains unsigned. They know exactly how much they're going to pay him."

Watson and Kuminga have been on the Cavs' priority list since the beginning of the summer. After another disappointing playoff exit last season, courtesy of the New York Knicks sweeping them 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers aim to expand their roster into a more solid contending team.

According to other sources, Harden is expected to sign a multi-year deal with the Cavs. As for how much Cleveland will offer him, that remains to be seen.

Cavaliers Land Peyton Watson From Nuggets While James Harden Waits For New Contract

As mentioned earlier, the Cleveland Cavaliers have actively been pursuing Peyton Watson. The tricky situation was that Watson was a restricted free agent, meaning that his former team, the Denver Nuggets, had priority over any other NBA rival.

However, it seems that the Cavs were able to convince the Nuggets to a sign-and-trade deal, and Watson has been sent to Cleveland. The Cavs and Nuggets agreed to a three-team trade, sending Max Strus to the LA Clippers, while Denver received a couple of draft picks.

"Cleveland, Denver and the Clippers have agreed on a trade sending Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers, Max Strus to LA, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to the Nuggets," NBA insider Shams Charania reported on X.

Charania also noted that Watson is expected to sign a new four-year, $88 million deal with the Cavs, inclusive of a player option and a trade kicker.

What does this mean for James Harden? Cleveland currently doesn't have any cap space remaining after the Watson deal. However, because the team holds Harden's Bird Rights, they are allowed to exceed the salary cap.

With $88 million going to Watson, other sources reported that Harden should be expecting an annual salary just shy of $30 million. It will depend on how long the Beard's contract would last with the Cavs.