Because James Harden is on a two-year deal and an NBA contract must cover at least three seasons to be extended, the Clippers star won’t become extension-eligible before he reaches free agency this summer. However, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, Harden indicated on Tuesday that he’s enjoying his time in Los Angeles and hopes to remain with his hometown team beyond this season.
“I’m here, home,” Harden said. “We have an opportunity. I want to be able to keep the core together for a few years and I haven’t had those opportunities the last few years. So things are going well and I’m happy.”
It took a few games for the Clippers to hit their stride following the acquisition of Harden on November 1, but the club has been on a roll since getting off to a 3-7 start, winning 23 of its past 30 games. L.A. now holds a 26-14 record, good for the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference.
Harden’s 16.9 points per game this season would be his lowest mark since he was a sixth man in Oklahoma City in 2011/12, but he’s among the NBA’s assist leaders with 8.4 per night, and his 41.9% three-point rate would represent a career high.
Prior to Harden’s postgame comments, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT reported during Tuesday’s TV broadcast that the former MVP would like to sign a long-term contract and spend the rest of his career with the Clippers. That suggests that Harden is conveying that desire both publicly and privately.
Still, as Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report observes, this wouldn’t be the first time that Harden’s desire to spend the rest of his career with his current team was reported by the media or expressed by the guard himself, only for that not to come to fruition. Similar reports surfaced during Harden’s time in Houston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, and he ultimately asked to be traded out of all three spots.
Harden acknowledged on Tuesday that he “thought the same thing last year” about signing long-term in Philadelphia, per Youngmiusk, which is why he “did all those sacrifices” — that’s presumably a reference to the pay cut he took in 2022, as well as the role he accepted in the Sixers’ offense, which he later said felt like being “on a leash.”
Still, as long as his relationship with the Clippers’ front office doesn’t break down as dramatically as his relationship with Sixers president Daryl Morey did, it sounds Harden plans on remaining in L.A. past 2023/24. For what it’s worth, after Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year contract extension with the Clippers last week, he expressed a belief that “everybody is coming back,” while Paul George said he’s optimistic about reaching an agreement on a new deal of his own with the franchise.
Until he doesn’t. It is the same James Harden every year.
He’s a waste of space & money
Was very fun to watch in Houston, but at the end it was nice to see him go somewhere else. Between him and Morey they set the franchise back years.
What are you talking about? 76ers are having one of their best years in recent memory. You don’t think they’ll be good for a few more just because Harden was on the team? What a dumb opinion. Keep it to yourself next time.
Your lack of reading skills is very worrisome.
He’s talking about Houston. But go off.
Fools gold ……. I don’t care how well he is playing now. I could never have him on my team. Will be 35 in August. He looks 40 already. Has looked 40 for yrs imo.
Clippers need Harden more than Harden needs the Clippers unfortunately. Not the guy he was in Houston but has certainly showed his value.
Balmer will hand deliver a burlap sack with a “$” on it full of dollar bills that smell like a strip club before letting Harden go
3 yr contract with partial guarantee on the 3rd yr.
Not sure how it’s going to work out with his salary desires? Is he willing to take less to back up his words?
We’ll see how much he wants to stay with the Clippers when he realizes they can offer him a fraction of what they’re giving Paul George and Kawhi leonard. He’ll thus change his desires real quick.
We’ve heard that before from the beard while with his previous 3 teams…
Where else would Harden want to be traded when he’s from LA besides the lakers?
the beard is a man of his word