The late-night rumor caught the basketball world by surprise.
There’s at least a chance the Cleveland Cavaliers trade Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden by the NBA’s Thursday trade deadline.
That was just the rumor, though, first from ESPN’s Shams Charania and then Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix.
What would an actual deal look like?
It actually could be quite simple.
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How would a James Harden-Darius Garland trade work?
Because the Cavs are a second apron team by the salary cap rules, they’re very limited in what they can do, but this is a trade they can make.
Those limitations will likely prevent this from being a huge deal, though.
The reality is that a 1-for-1 trade is the easiest thing that does work legally under the cap:
- Clippers get: Darius Garland
- Cavs get: James Harden
Given Harden’s age, and the fact that he can opt out of his contract after this season, Cleveland may also request some draft pick ammunition from the Clippers.
It’s unlikely that the deal will include other players, though.
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If the Cavs wanted to throw Lonzo Ball in to finally get rid of him (and give the Clippers a point guard), there’s only one deal that would be legal:
- Clippers get: Darius Garland, Lonzo Ball
- Cavs get: James Harden, Derrick Jones Jr.
Ball and Jones have exactly the same cap hit for this season, so that would work on paper, too.
