Kofi Inkoom
Free agent guard James Harden is staying with the Clippers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The former MVP is signing a new two-year, $70 million contract with the team.
Harden joined the team in November following a contentious disagreement with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey over what Harden saw as unfulfilled promises during contract talks. Harden publicly criticized Morey and disrupted training camp in his bid to leave Philadelphia.
Initially, Harden’s integration with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook was challenging, but the four All-Stars eventually resolved their differences.
The Clippers secured the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a 51-31 record, even though crashed out of the playoffs in the first round against the Mavericks.
Harden assumed the role of starting point guard and averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game over 72 games.