Imagine this scene:
LeBron James and his son Bronny, in Cavs uniforms, capping off a historic farewell tour with another championship in Cleveland. As they tackle each other in euphoria, James Harden peers over at Giannis Antetokounmpo, both also wearing wine-and-gold, and laughs maniacally at the craziness of it all. Harden finally earns his championship — and ruins the chances of his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, at a three-peat in the process. (Yes, I'm projecting the Thunder win it all this year.)
That's the storybook ending for LeBron's 24-year career. Walking off as a champion — something Michael Jordan once had, but gave it up with a last-ditch run with the Washington Wizards.
And believe it or not, it can be done. Especially since the Eastern Conference is wide open.
The trade rumor mill is kicking into high gear ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. And it's possible Harden and Antetokounmpo (and, in time, LeBron and Bronny, too) will be packing their bags for Ohio soon.
Here's how it all would go down.
Trade 1: James Harden for Darius Garland
On Monday night, kicking off trade deadline week, Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko broke the news that the LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers wereengaged in James Harden trade talks. According to Iko, the Cavs were leading the chase for Harden's services at the deadline.
The Harden news may have blindsided some considering the Clippers have pulled off one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in NBA history, going 16-3 at one point after starting the season 6-21. But for anyone who has been paying attention to Harden's career-long pattern of asking out, it was only a matter of time before Harden and the Clippers headed for a divorce.
When Harden arrived in ClipperLand in 2023, my first reaction was:Great, so where's he going next?Sure enough, less than three years later, amid a team resurgence for the ages, the NBA's most mercurial star was suddenly sitting out games for "personal reasons" and, voila, trade talks emerged.
[Subscribe to Yahoo Sports NBA on YouTube]
There has been no formal trade request, but we can read the tea leaves here. Harden is eligible for a contract extension and hasn't gotten one. His co-star, Kawhi Leonard, is at the heart of an NBA investigation into Steve Ballmer and the Clippers front office for cap circumvention allegations regarding an apparent no-show contract for Leonard. Recently, Leonard and Harden were noticeably left off the All-Star team despite more-than-worthy campaigns and the Clippers hosting the All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome. That's a lot of bad vibes.
The Cavs reportedly hold interest because of Darius Garland's injury woes and the need to keep Donovan Mitchell happy amid a pressure-packed, underwhelming season. Harden has been playing brilliantly this season and, perhaps more importantly, his contract is almost perfectly aligned with Garland's salary of $39 million this season, making a one-for-one swap possible under the CBA rules. Key to all of this is the Cavs are a second-apron team and therefore cannot aggregate contracts to make a deal work.
So that's the first deal: Harden for Garland straight up. I wouldn't be surprised if the Clippers ask for Cleveland's 2026 second-round pick for taking on another year of Garland's contract, even if he is just 26 years old. The Clippers get a much younger two-time All-Star guard who is entering his prime, but they've notably kept their 2027-28 books completely clean for a potential massive free agency pursuit. Acquiring Garland would be a minor departure from that strategy.
Trade 2: Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley and picks
I mentioned earlier the Cavs are operating as a second-apron team, which complicates any Giannis trade talks for Cleveland. They can't aggregate salaries unless they dump about $14 million worth of salary to a third party. Enter the Brooklyn Nets who, according to Spotrac salary data, havejuuuuuustenough space to grease the wheels for Milwaukee and Cleveland to consummate a deal. Assist point to my pal Kevin Pelton, who proposed the general framework.
So the trade: Cleveland receives Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo; Milwaukee nets Evan Mobley, Lonzo Ball and a 2031 first-round pick from Cleveland, and Tyrese Martin from Brooklyn; Brooklyn absorbs Max Strus' contract and earns the right to swap first-round picks with Cleveland in 2028, 2030 and 2032.
The Cavs need Harden to make Giannis feel comfortable that they're championship-ready enough for him to commit to a long-term extension when he's eligible for a four-year, $275 million pact this upcoming October. With Garland sidelined, I'm not sure the Cavs, as is, have enough to get that critical sign-off from Antetokounmpo. Last thing the Cavs want is to give up Mobley only for Antetokounmpo to walk in the summer of 2027.
Would a starting five of Harden, Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Antetokounmpo and Jarrett Allen win a title? Maybe. But they could use a star small forward to complete the set.
What's that? Is that The King's music!?
Move 3: LeBron James signs in free agency with Cavs
LeBron James is a $52.6 million expiring contract this season and has veto power on any trade. It's possible he engineers a deal (again, he has to sign off on a trade for it to go through) to Cleveland to set up hislast hurrah next season back home, but doing so would probably gut the Cavs' depth ahead of a championship pursuit.
Instead, James could slow his roll and wait until this summer to head back to Cleveland when he could sign a Dirk-esque contract with the Cavs. Why would he take a discount if he's still playing at an All-Star level? It would serve as something of a compromise so the Cavs would trade for son Bronny, who is due a guaranteed $2.3 million next season.
The Cavs could head into next season with a starting lineup of Mitchell, Harden, James, Antetokounmpo and Allen with Tyson, Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis (eligible for extension), Bronny James and Sam Merrill anchoring the second unit. Maybe bring back Kevin Love for the double farewell tour? Can we get J.R. Smith off the golf course and in Cleveland again?
The backdrop of all of these Cavs blockbuster deals is fortifying a long-term commitment from Mitchell, who can walk as a free agent in the summer of 2027. He holds a player option for $53.8 million during a summer in which the Knicks, Lakers and Clippers could carve out the requisite cap space to hit the Donovan dance floor.
Moving past the current star-studded core that has underwhelmed in the playoffs would certainly be a risk, but bringing three former MVPs into the fold would represent the kind of massive swing that might inspire Mitchell's confidence that Cleveland is his home. Sure, the Cavs would be banking on three players on the wrong side of 30 (and the wrong side of 40 in LeBron's case), but it's not like the youthful core in Cleveland has been cutting it in the playoffs.
If the Harden-Giannis-LeBron Plan is truly the goal, it would make a lot of sense why Klutch Sports has been attempting to represent Giannis,according to TrueHoop's Henry Abbottlast week. Having Giannis as a client wouldn't just be a boon for Rich Paul when Antetokounmpo comes up for a massive extension, but it would also serve as an information pipeline to assure everyone is on the same page in Cleveland.
Would the blockbuster deals be enough to win James a fifth championship and ride into the sunset as a champion? Perhaps. If you thought the 2016 championship in Cleveland couldn't be topped, I present to you the James retirement plan with Harden finally earning his ring and Giannis winning his second.
