The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ offseason strategy has largely been defined by their interest in acquiring a reliable wing, leading them to pursue players such as LeBron James, Peyton Watson, and Jonathan Kuminga. Although Cleveland came up short in reuniting with James, a failure the franchise was heavily criticized for, their recent acquisitions may be better received.
In a five-team trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers successfully acquired Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets and Cam Whitmore from the Washington Wizards. With Watson signing a four-year, $88 million contract, which includes a trade kicker, the Cavaliers have certainly upgraded their wing depth. However, the same cannot be said for Cam Whitmore.
Whitmore was a later addition to the deal after it was expanded to include the Wizards and the Hornets. Although he is a valuable pickup at $5.4 million (team option), the Cavaliers are expected to waive his contract soon. ESPN’s Bobby Marks elaborated on this, stating:
“Cleveland gets Peyton Watson. Four years, $88 million – that’s a sign-and-trade that hard caps them at the first apron. They still have to go out and sign James Harden, which will have cap ramifications as far as what’s going to happen with them.”
“They get Cam Whitmore as part of the trade. They are going to waive and stretch Whitmore over three years. It’s basically a $1.8 million cap hold that will then give them the flexibility to go out and sign James Harden to a new deal.”
Although Cleveland’s offseason has been defined by the pursuit of another star-caliber player, there have also been conversations about James Harden‘s next contract and how it could affect this venture. For the most part, Harden has displayed a willingness to accept less money as long as it improves the team’s chances of winning. Still, rumors about his growing impatience raised some concerns.
Now that Watson is on board, the Cavaliers are far more likely to re-sign James Harden. Unfortunately, given the amount of free cap space they currently have, waiving and stretching Cam Whitmore’s contract may be the only viable option to present Harden with a meaningful new offer.
In some ways, this could work out well for Whitmore as well. As a 22-year-old forward with a keen scoring instinct, Whitmore could easily earn a larger role in a different system. Although his averages of 9.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on 45.6% shooting from the field may not stand out, there may be teams around the league willing to take a flyer on him on a low-cost contract.
What Could The Cavaliers Offer James Harden?
As things stand, with the addition of Peyton Watson’s assumed cap hit of $20.5 million and Whitmore’s $5.4 million, the Cavaliers’ total payroll has risen to $181.7 million. This positions Cleveland roughly $19.3 million below the tax line and $27.3 million below the first apron.
According to NBA insider Keith Smith, this would place the Cavaliers in a comfortable position to offer Harden a new deal, which could begin at roughly $25 million, as he wrote:
“The L.A. Clippers will acquire Max Strus via the $17 million John Collins TPE they created earlier this offseason. The Cavs will be roughly $46.3 million under what will now be a first-apron hard cap after acquiring Peyton Watson via sign-and-trade. If Watson starts at ~$20.5 million, that will leave ~$25.8 million for the Cavs to offer James Harden, who will fill their 14th mandatory standard roster spot.”
In some ways, a two-year, $50-$52 million contract wouldn’t be a terrible deal for the veteran guard. However, given that he earned $39.1 million last season and averaged 23.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game, the 36-year-old may be dissatisfied with such an offer. Thus, the decision to stretch Whitmore’s $5.4 million deal seems quite meaningful.
With Whitmore’s cap hit being reduced to approximately $1.8 million per year, the Cavaliers would have roughly $30.9 million at their disposal this summer. This would allow Cleveland to slightly improve their proposal, potentially offering the veteran superstar a two-year, $56 million deal.
Since the contract would be worth roughly $28.0 million annually (potentially less in the first year), the Cavaliers would also have enough space to sign another player to a veteran minimum deal to fill out their final roster spot.
Although there may be some downsides to waiving Whitmore, especially given what he’s capable of, in the long run, it could be crucial in bringing James Harden back. Overall, once Harden’s return is finalized, the Cavaliers will look like a considerably more formidable unit entering the 2026-27 season.
