James Harden Signs New Deal with the Clippers

It’s now official that the 2017-18 NBA MVP James Harden has signed a new deal with the Clippers for two years, worth $70 million. Harden entered unrestricted free agency this summer as one of the best players available. Coming off a playoff run where he averaged 21 points, eight assists, and four and a half rebounds, he reminded teams around the league why he is still valuable at age 34. The Los Angeles Clippers had the seventh-best record after January 1st, and a lot of it stemmed from James Harden feeling more comfortable in the offense. Over the past couple of years, Harden has made it clear that the only thing he is missing on his resume is an NBA Championship. Now that he will be a part of a stacked Clippers roster, he will have one of his best chances yet.

James Harden helped lead the Clippers to a 51-31 record, finishing as the fourth-seed in a stacked Western Conference. Although his team didn’t go far during this postseason, he was able to take sole possession of 15th place on the NBA’s All-Time Playoff list. Harden also took sole possession of 20th place on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring list. You could debate who the best player in the Mavericks vs. Clippers series was between Kyrie Irving and James Harden, but there is no doubt that Harden was the best player in that series for the Clippers. He started off the series with a bang, scoring 28 points in a game-one win without Kawhi Leonard.

This trio of James Harden, Leonard, and Russell Westbrook could end up being one of the best in the Western Conference. The trio complement each other perfectly. Plus, if they could just maintain health, you could expect them to be talked about amongst all the contenders. Harden averaged 16.5 points, eight and a half assists, and nearly five rebounds during the regular season while also shooting 38% from three.