Harden's charge dismissed, and Cleveland's offseason just got a lot simpler

The gun charge from June is gone. A court dismissed it August 7, and James Harden is expected to re-sign with the Cavaliers — which, if it happens, quietly renders most of the summer's hand-wringing moot.

Cleveland spent six weeks scrambling after Harden declined his player option and walked. The front office chased LeBron, missed. Signed Donovan Mitchell to his max extension, which was the right call regardless. Got tangled up in the Hezonja paperwork, which I've been noting here since late July. The backcourt hole was real: 20.4 points and 7.1 assists per game don't just walk out the door without consequence. Now the expectation is that they walk back in.

The forward situation still exists — Dean Wade at the top of that depth chart remains a problem the Hezonja signing was meant to fix, and that signing is still unresolved. But the bigger structural question, how Cleveland replaces its second-best offensive player, appears to be answering itself. Mitchell, Mobley, Allen, and a returning Harden is a legitimate core. That's the group that went 52-30 and reached the second round.

The defensive collapse down the stretch — 119 points allowed per game in the final ten regular-season games — doesn't fix itself just because Harden is back. That's still the real work of training camp. But at least the front office now knows what it's building around.