Star James Harden is staying with the Clippers.<\/b>
\nThe Los Angeles Clippers are retaining free agent guard James Harden. They have agreed to a new contract with him. It’s a two-year, $70 million deal. NBA insider Shams Charania was among the first to break the news.
According to Charania, Harden will get a player option in year two of the deal. This is a big win for both sides, especially Harden, who was quite successful in his time with the Clippers.
Los Angeles entered the offseason with many questions about the roster’s future. Both Harden and Paul George entered the summer as free agents, so the Clippers needed to make some big decisions. The discussions with George haven’t gone according to plan so far, so Harden became a priority. Harden forced his way to the Clippers last season, so the expectation was that he was always going to stay.
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The Clippers are entering a brand new arena next season, so the team wanted to make sure that they brought multiple stars back. They still have Kawhi Leonard in the mix, so Harden adds more talent to the team. Los Angeles believes Leonard and Harden can be a championship-level duo if George were to depart. If George does stay, it creates a lethal big three for Los Angeles to go forward with.
Last season with the Clippers, Harden averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. He was a primary reason the Clippers found success this past season, so the organization brought him back. Harden seemed to enjoy playing in Los Angeles this past season and will now get a chance to run it back. He wasn’t a distraction last season with the Clippers as he had been in the past and is looking to help bring the first title to the Clippers in franchise history.
Los Angeles will look to build out the rest of the roster around the star players as it seeks to be more competitive. They finished this past season as the No. 4 team in the Western Conference but were easily defeated by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Bringing Harden back allows for more continuity on this team, and at times, they looked very strong on the court. This is the first big domino in what is expected to be a wild offseason for the Clippers.
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