2018 MVP Declines Player Option with Clippers, Intends to Sign New Deal with the Team

It certainly has been a rollercoaster few years for James Harden. The 2018 MVP has spent the past two years with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he averaged 22 points, five rebounds, and eight assists on 41 percent shooting last season. The Clippers clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs and were one of the top teams picked to upset one of the top seeds. However, they fell to the Denver Nuggets in seven games in the first round. Harden, who has been inconsistent in Game Sevens in his career, struggled in the seventh game against the Nuggets. The player known for his signature beard shot two for eight from the floor, scored only seven points, and turned the ball over 13 times in the crucial game. It was a tough way for him to end his season, but he seems to have found a home with the Clippers. Now, it has been reported that he has opted out of his player option with the Clippers, but he intends to sign a two-year, $81.5 million contract with the team.

For the first time since his Houston days, Harden has reminded fans of what he used to be. Before that, he was a shell of his former self, hopping around superteam after superteam to get a championship. The first stop was in Brooklyn, where that did not work out due to injuries and personal issues with the organization. In, 2021 he was subsequently traded to the Philadelphia 76ers to pair up with Joel Embiid; however, Harden had a falling out with Daryl Morey, President of Basketball Operations for the 76ers and former general manager of the Houston Rockets, which led to the trade with the Clippers after two years with the 76ers. Before his decline, the 10-time All-Star was one of the league’s prominent scorers. He averaged 29 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in 621 career games with the Rockets.

The Beard started his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he spent four years and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2011-12. The Thunder made it to the NBA Finals in 2012 but fell to the Miami Heat in five games. Harden was then traded to the Houston Rockets, where he became a superstar. He had stretches where he averaged 30 or more points per game, winning three scoring titles because of his offensive production, as he led the Rockets to the playoffs in all eight years that he played there. The farthest he ever took Houston in the playoffs was to the Western Conference Finals in 2015 and 2018, where they lost to the Warriors both times. After his time in Houston was up, Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, and all the aforementioned drama mentioned above began. Now, James Harden is heading into his 17th NBA season with the Clippers, looking to capture that elusive first ring.