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Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN writer
James Harden has agreed to remain with him Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $70 million contract, league sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The Clippers and Harden wasted little time in reaching an agreement as All-Star free agent Paul George’s future with the team remained uncertain. George was scheduled to meet with the Clippers, Sixers and Magic beginning Sunday night, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Clippers signed Harden in late October and after a slow start, the point guard helped the Clippers go from a 3-7 start to briefly atop the Western Conference standings at 34-15 early. of February.
Harden, a Los Angeles native, repeatedly expressed during the season how happy he was playing at home. The point guard, who will turn 35 in August, averaged 16.6 points and 8.5 assists in 72 games with the Clippers last season.
“We think James has been fantastic for us when we acquired him five games into the season,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Thursday. “I think he’s had a fantastic season. … He’s been fantastic even in the preseason, coming in, working out, coming in twice a day, doing extra work.”
Harden forced a trade to Los Angeles after a very public fight with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey over Harden’s contract situation last summer. It was Harden’s third managerial change in less than three calendar years after his long tenure with the Houston Rocketswhere he became MVP and helped revolutionize the way offense is played in the NBA.
While he no longer publishes large scoring numbers along Kawhi Leonard And George, Harden proved last season that he’s still a good pick-and-roll operator and a capable 3-point shooter. Harden still ranked second in the NBA in points per play last season, a nod to his days as a 30-point scorer, but he also attempted 153 catch-and-shoot 3s, his most since 2017-18, as he spent more time off the ball in Los Angeles.
His 72 games played were the 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 when Leonard missed the final three games due to a knee injury.
ESPN Stats & Information and Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.