James Harden has agreed to remain with the LA Clippers on a two-year, $70 million deal, league sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The Clippers and Harden wasted little time reaching an agreement as free agent All-Star wing Paul George’s future with the team remained uncertain. George ultimately signed a four-year, $212 million max deal to join the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday morning, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Clippers traded for Harden in late October and after a slow start, the point guard helped the Clippers rebound from a 3-7 start to atop the Western Conference standings with a 34-15 finish in early February.
Harden, a Los Angeles native, has repeatedly expressed during this season how happy he is to be playing at home. The point guard, who turns 35 in August, averaged 16.6 points and 8.5 assists in 72 games for the Clippers last season.
“We thought James did a great job for us when we had him five games into the season,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Thursday. “We thought he had a great season. … He’s been great in terms of the offseason, too, coming in, working out, coming in twice a day, putting in the extra work.”
Harden forced a trade to Los Angeles last summer after a public falling out with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey over Harden’s contract situation. It was Harden’s third team change within three calendar years following his long tenure with the Houston Rockets, where he became an MVP and helped revolutionize the way offense was played in the NBA.
Though he’s no longer posting big scoring numbers alongside Kawhi Leonard and George, Harden showed last season that he remains a strong pick-and-roll operator and good 3-point shooter. Harden was also second in the NBA in points in isolation last season, reminiscent of his days as a 30-point scorer, but he also attempted 153 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers — his most since 2017-18 — as he spent more time off the ball in L.A.
His 72 games played were his most in a season since 2018-19. Harden averaged 21.2 points and 8.0 assists in the Clippers’ first-round loss to the Mavericks while Leonard missed the previous three games with a knee injury.
ESPN Stats & Information and Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
