{"id":197514,"date":"2026-05-26T10:58:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=197514"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:58:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:58:48","slug":"cavaliers-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/26\/cavaliers-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Cavaliers Stars Donovan Mitchell And James Harden Commit To Future Despite Humiliating Knicks Sweep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CLEVELAND \u2014 <strong>Cleveland Cavaliers<\/strong> stars <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mitchdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Mitchell<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a> commit to future in the wake of a 130-93 season-ending blowout, offering an expected public defense of the current regime.<\/p>\n<h2>Cleveland Cavaliers Stars Donovan Mitchell And James Harden Commit To Future Despite Humiliating Knicks Sweep<\/h2>\n<p>While the 4-0 sweep by the <strong>New York Knicks<\/strong> has sparked <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/26\/cavaliers-must-exorcise\/\" target=\"_self\">calls for a total roster teardown,<\/a> both stars utilized their post-game media availability to express a desire to remain in Cleveland long-term. Donovan Mitchell, who officially becomes extension-eligible on July 7, explicitly stated he &#8220;loves it here,&#8221; while James Harden echoed the sentiment, praising the foundation built by head coach Kenny Atkinson despite the team\u2019s defensive collapse in the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cavs vs Knicks | James Harden Post Game | 05.25.2026\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-F6Fg8t7kus?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>The extension outlook for Mitchell and Harden<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_181317\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-181317\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Cleveland Cavaliers Stars Donovan Mitchell And James Harden Commit To Future Despite Humiliating Knicks Sweep\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" class=\"wp-image-181317 size-large\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28468612_168401876_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-181317\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 11, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The commitment from the backcourt duo creates a fascinating financial crossroads for the Cavaliers&#8217; front office. Mitchell is eligible for a four-year extension worth a projected $277 million, a deal that would secure his prime years in Ohio and end the perennial trade rumors linking him to major markets. Meanwhile, James Harden holds a $42.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season. While Harden has expressed a willingness to stay, his decision on that option\u2014or a potential long-term discount\u2014remains the &#8220;key&#8221; to Cleveland&#8217;s ability to navigate the league&#8217;s restrictive second-apron penalties.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">James Harden will opt out this summer to re-sign with the Cavaliers on a team-friendly contract for them to dip underneath the second apron, per <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WindhorstESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Harden returning at a discounted figure would open up Cleveland to aggressively pursue trades. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0Q1Y609CnS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/0Q1Y609CnS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Evan Sidery (@esidery) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/esidery\/status\/2059280455543714243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, both stars went out of their way to defend Kenny Atkinson. Despite a public lack of accountability regarding the Game 4 surrender, Mitchell insisted that the coaching staff has the locker room\u2019s full support. &#8220;We have unfinished business,&#8221; Mitchell noted. &#8220;This team we just faced had to go through this. Now it&#8217;s our turn to learn.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>The 2032 trade lock and the Giannis &#8220;Pinch Point&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>While the stars are signaling a desire to run it back, the front office is staring at a significant mechanical hurdle: the &#8220;Frozen Pick&#8221; rule. Because Cleveland could finish the 2025-26 season as a second-apron team , their 2033 first-round pick is currently frozen and cannot be used in any trades. This effectively eliminates the Cavaliers&#8217; ability to offer a &#8220;maximum asset&#8221; package for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo unless they find a miraculous way to duck the apron.<\/p>\n<p>This makes Harden\u2019s contract the most pivotal variable of the summer. If Harden opts out and signs a more team-friendly deal, the Cavaliers could theoretically unfreeze their future assets to pursue a true needle-moving trade. For now, the exorcism of Cleveland\u2019s playoff demons relies on Mitchell and Harden proving that their verbal commitment can translate into the mental fortitude they lacked against the Knicks.<\/p>\n<p>Credit: \u00a9 David Dermer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CLEVELAND \u2014 Cleveland Cavaliers stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden commit to future in the wake of a 130-93 season-ending blowout, offering an expected public defense of the current regime. Cleveland Cavaliers Stars Donovan Mitchell And James Harden Commit To Future Despite Humiliating Knicks Sweep While the 4-0 sweep by the New York Knicks has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":197516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,9,62,12,3],"tags":[50432,900,1591,444,236,297],"class_list":["post-197514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-nba","category-knicks","category-news","tag-2026-nba-playoffs","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-eastern-conference-finals","tag-james-harden","tag-kenny-atkinson","tag-nba-free-agency"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197514"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197519,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197514\/revisions\/197519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}