Why James Harden’s New Deal Is GREAT For The LA Clippers

Why James Harden’s New Deal Is GREAT For The LA Clippers

on today’s show James Harden is back with the Clippers he resigns on a twoyear $70 million deal what does it mean for the clips what does it show about James Harden and how he feels about being a Clipper and what’s ironic about the whole situation with Harden and Paul George going to be talking about it all on today’s lock on 213 is over Clippers you are locked on Clippers your daily Los Angeles Clippers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day yes sir you are locking in with the clips thank you for making locked on Clippers the first listen of your day your team every day I’m your host Darian vieri born and raised in LA and in the off season of my nth season as a Clipper fan going into 20 you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram at dim dropper pod And subscribe to my own YouTube channel dim dropper for even more NBA LA Clipper and LA Sports content and locked on Clippers is free and available wherever you get your podcast including YouTube hit the notification Bell so you know every single time we post a video and subscribe to all your friends that are Clipper fans and let’s get the channel up to 6,000 subscribers and start reaching some more of those locked on NBA channels and this episode episode is brought to you by FanDuel America’s number one sports book visit fanduel.com locked on to place your bets on baseball uh Copa Medica whatever it may be fanduel.com lockon and start making the most out of your summer all right so this episode is going to be dedicated to James Harden and I said earlier this week that I was going to release a bunch of episodes and I was there was so much news that was just happening all at once that was coming out all at once and it was all very hard to fit into one episode so I said I’m just going to release a bunch of episodes and I’m going to go through each thing one at a time so there’s so many moves that have been that have been made by the Clippers so many small Acquisitions since we’ve lost Paul George so far I’ve just checked off the Paul George departure podcast now we’re on the second most important thing which was James Harden resigning so we weren’t going to resign James Harden till we knew what was going on with Paul George and mind you the Clippers released a an actual statement from the team that Paul George wasn’t coming back which was something you just don’t see very often but that’s when you knew after that that James Harden law muray said it when he came on the show whether or not Paul George was back the Clippers are always going to bring back James Harden when you give up an unrestricted first round pick or unprotected first round pick for James Harden and Lawrence Frank goes for his point guard we knew he was going to be getting resigned in the summer unless he was catastrophic in the playoffs which he wasn’t he was actually our best player either him or V zubot he was going to get resigned so for those that uh you know want to blow it up and didn’t want James Harden back it was just never realistic you know what I mean the Clippers went for him they they gave up a first round pick they gave up some fan favorites one of which we did get back and I’ll talk about that in an episode either probably tomorrow Wednesday or or still on Tuesday maybe I release another episode on Tuesday but you were going to resign James Arden right it was just a matter of for how much and what kind of deal you were going to get him on kawh Leonard took a pay cut three years $152 million he was an all-nba player so he could have gone for a Max but he wanted to take a team-friendly deal so that Paul George and James Harden could resign James Harden took a team-friendly deal two years $35 million my first reaction was damn that’s better than I thought I thought he was going to ask for three years like 90 95 million maybe three years 100 million some people were even suggesting three years 120 million so 40 million for three years but the fact that he took $35 million for two seasons 35 each season one I’m happy about the two seasons because let’s say this next year goes badly then we have James Harden on an expiring contract and it’ll be easier to move let’s say it takes two seasons and we’re like okay we’re out on kawhai we’re out on James Harden now’ll be easier to move them as well so it’s you’re not really pledging a lot to them you’re not going all in with these guys two years is is not a big deal at all and it’s a very solid value contract I mean James Harden is still you know again OG anobi is one of the best role players in the league but this guy’s getting paid $42 million per year James Harden I still think he’s a better basketball player than OG anobi he’s making $35 million a year that is very good value for James Harden at his age and if we’re being real and we’ll talk about it more as the episode continues Paul George is getting paid $17 million more per year essentially than James Harden who just outplayed him in the playoffs and arguably outplayed him in the regular season so I think it’s just a fantastic value contract for the Clippers it keeps them under that second apron and it allows them to go out and spend money with the tax paay mid-level exception and the remaining money that they got by letting Paul George walk and then if they can move some other salaries like Westbrook and PJ Tucker some other contracts that could free up something now now Norman teren man I would keep an eye on because with the Clippers getting all these other guys maybe they want to go for a power forward and Norm he won’t get you as much as Terence man but there are teams that could use a score like Norman Powell and he is $20 million per year so he’s getting paid the most after Kawhi Leonard and James Harden but as far as James Harden that contract is really really great I can’t I can’t lie even though I I didn’t want James Harden on the team when we got him he for him to take A Team friendly deal that’s very solid I was very happy to see that so I’m just going to keep repeating two years $70 million as reported by Adrien wowski so James Harden will have his first full training camp as a Clipper will be I think he’ll we’ll see if he ends the season as a Clipper but I think he will which will make him a Clipper for a season and a half the thing about Russell Westbrook is that now that James Harden is re I don’t think I don’t know if it has a direct correlation I mean it probably does to a degree because Westbrook wants to start but now that James Harden is going to be coming back it’s even more obvious that Russell Westbrook will be on the way out the question is with West Westbrook is he going to get an opportunity to start anywhere because that’s the one position that a lot of teams just don’t need is point guard a lot of teams have point guards if he comes off the bench how is that that much different than what he’s doing doing with the Clippers so I don’t know but as for James Harden this past season he averaged 17 points eight and a half assists and five rebounds it technically was his lowest PPG since 2011 expect that to go up next season without Paul George it was his lowest assist per game season since 2020 but still a very solid season indeed shot 43% from the field 38% from three and 88% from the line and I think he can do some similar things next season so James Harden gets the contract stays with the Clippers what does it show about James Harden gonna be talking about that coming up I got to tell you a little something about FanDuel America’s number one sports book I love sports I can’t lie it’s my favorite thing in the world but in the summer things change a little bit you don’t have basketball you don’t have hockey even though I don’t watch that much hockey throughout the regular season I love the Kings though it’s mainly international soccer tournaments if it’s that kind of uh summer and baseball and thankfully this summer we’ve got the Olympics FanDuel this summer is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus day that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long and if you want to play some duel on uh play some bets on FanDuel head over to fanduel.com lockon and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball all right back here talking about James Harden reigning as a Clipper you know for two years $70 million $35 million a year here’s what we learned about James Harden in his with his with his new contract he does want to win he does want that Championship that’s the one thing that’s missing from his resume I do question his effort at times on the basketball court mainly defensively and with like rebounding in little things I always have even before he was a Clipper but as far as relative to Paul George and I don’t want to say relative to Kawai because Kawai when he does play he you rarely will fault his effort it’s just off the court you don’t hear from kawhai you don’t feel that sense of urgency to win the Clippers their first ring you know you don’t hear much from him you don’t you didn’t hear anything about him being you know hesitant to see Paul George go or anything like that and you probably wouldn’t hear anything if he did did have an opinion on Paul George leaving and whatnot but James Harden he’s shown since he’s been here he said basically basically all the right things that he wants to be here even though he didn’t outwardly say that except for more than once I believe to the media it’s been obvious that James Harden he’s been around he comes back home remember he is from here Aria high school he wants to be here he forced his way here and he also forced his way to Brooklyn and Philly but the front office wasn’t as upfront with him and as law Murray said when he came on the show last week Clippers front office and management have been lock step with James Harden since the beginning because the thing about Brooklyn was James Harden still wanted a solid payday and he was coming off that hamstring injury where he did not look the same at all and if we’re being real yes the Nets were a little hesitant on that and that was probably a mistake but James Harden was getting fed up with the situation there with Kyrie’s vaccination situation so Harden you know you can make an argument he left Brooklyn and saw the writing on the wall before everybody else he saw that Sai and Shawn Marx were kind of working a little scummy you know what I mean and I did not agree with the way that Harden went out of there it was very passive aggressive he basically quit in that game against the Sacramento Kings which I thought was just very weird but in terms of the overlying theme of the Brooklin Nets I think James Harden was on it before Kyrie and KD were he really was it just sounded like a circus he got out of there and got to Philly and then we know with Philly the rest his history he took a pay cut to try to get them to sign other guys in that 2023 season and then Harden has a very solid bounceback season looks his healthiest since before the hamstring injury averages 20 and 11 with the Philadelphia 76ers gets snub from the 21- 11 gets snub from the All-Star game has some fantastic games in the playoffs and then darl Mur still not trying to pay him because he was bad in gamees six and seven of that Boston series and that caused James Harden to call Daryl Mor liar in the rest is history so the Clippers they’ve wanted to have James Harden headline the new Arena they know he’s a good safety net because James Harden’s one of those Great alltime Floor raisers in basketball history where he’s a oneman offense you can put a group of Shooters around him in one roll threat and his pick and roll Brilliance will be able to generate good shots throughout a game to give you a chance is it stagnant yes but if James Harden’s creating enough offensive advantages for you that’s when the ball can get moving and that’s when you get the defense in rotation and that’s what he did in his prime so often so what this move shows is that James Harden is pretty committed to win and hopefully his body language and his effort reflects that later down the line in the playoffs I didn’t really fault his effort too much but in games two and three I think defensively was not great game five I mean you can also make an argument game five as well but here’s the thing with James besides the fact that it shows that he wants to win he wants to be here he came here for a reason he wanted to stay here it didn’t matter if Paul George was here or not didn’t matter if Westbrook was here or not he wanted to be here with this organization I I know he and Co seem to get along well but he wanted to be back in LA and for this franchise and at the end of the day regardless of what your opinion of James Harden is he is one of the great players to ever play this game and he wanted to come to the Clippers which is wild because when James Harden first entered the NBA we were a joke we were an absolute probably the worst run franchise in the NBA with the owner that every Star didn’t want to play for and that he wouldn’t pay you know he wouldn’t pay players so we’re we’re at the point where a former MVP one of the more influential players of his era and one of the best offensive players well you know a guy that’s made the top 75 right and James Harden wanted to play for the Clippers so takes a pay cut takes a team-friendly deal to play with the Clippers again and of course James Harden is is not he knows his value isn’t very high around the league right now he knows that and his Camp knows that so this was just the best option he’s already made plenty of money in his career he’s talked about over and over he’s talked about that over and over again he’s made his money you know he’s made his money apparently for Paul George that wasn’t quite enough but he had been getting paid but James Harden he’s been through a lot in terms of management controversy and you know his disagreements with the recent teams management that he has played for with Brooklyn and Philly so the fact that him and the Clippers have always been on good terms since he got here and have kind of been having a mutual understanding that is good to hear because you always want to see that your franchise and your stars are on the same page and James Harden is now the second option for the Clippers that part is a little bit questionable for me James Harden to me right now and even his fans agree most of him that he’s a third option on a championship team but second option we saw that with KD in the 2022 season and it was going pretty well but then the injury started rolling in and it was hard for him to carry that load and I don’t believe that KD and James hard would have want to ring with no other stars without Kyrie Irving Joel embiid we saw how that turned out James Harden was solid till he wasn’t kawh Leonard is I would even go out on a limb and say if he’s healthy I would take him in the playoffs over and beat in KD which I said in the last episode but I’m still not convinced that it’s a championship team with James Harden being the second guy I really am not but I just want to take a look real quick if I can pull it up James Harden’s contract history so of course you look back at James Harden’s career the Houston Rockets signed him it was also that I think that was the sign in trade right they got Kevin Martin sent to yeah Kevin Martin dayquon cook Jeremy Lamb two 2013 first round draft picks to Oklahoma City for James Harden and then James Harden signed a 5-year $78 million contract which is around 15.7 million per year which you’re looking back at it now just sounds crazy and then in 2016 he signed a contract extension with the Rockets after he had proven like look I’m about I’m an MVP caliber player so July 9th 2016 he signed a 40-year $118 million Max which got him $29 million a year which at the time was one of the highest paid contracts in the NBA a and then he got the big one the big one from Houston after 2019 re averaged 36 points a game he got the contract from Houston for exactly $171 million no oh I see that’s what was crazy I remember this James Harden signed a four-year Max and then he signed a four-year extension on literally a year later that kicked in starting in 2019 $ 42.7 million per year on average from 2019 to 2022 and he took that contract to Brooklyn so that was what the Nets were paying him and I don’t necessarily remember exactly what James Harden wanted after he hit free agency in 20202 but I remember that he was extension eligible after 2021 and because of the injury I remember the Nets didn’t pay him which I always felt was a little questionable cuz don’t you want him to be there long term but the injury was a little bit suspect and I know that that conversation was not exactly easy that whole season and of course the rest is history James Harden doesn’t even spend he just spends what a little over a full year in Brooklyn and then he goes to Philly and signs a 2-year $68 million 640,000 contract $68 m6400 contract with the 76ers for those two years 34 million per year and obviously finished the second year of that right here with the Clippers so he’s essentially getting around the same amount of money again at an older age so that’s a pretty solid deal for him that’s a pretty solid de deal for him I think he was looking for a better contract by this from the Sixers after 2023 but he didn’t get it so he had to settle for what he could get and that was this but he’s also at home so shout out to James Harden love what he did coming up going to talk about the irony of the entire situation with Philly and with Paul George switching places with him essentially going to be talking about that coming up all right so back here talking about James Harden signing a contract extension two years $35 million shows he wants to be here wants to be in LA and likes the role that he has here and has been lock stepped with the front office as La Murray said on the show when he came on it now here’s the whole funny part about everything the ironic part about what has happened Daryl mury didn’t want to pay James Harden because he was aging didn’t do great in the playoffs in 2023 lied to him essentially after James Harden took a more team-friendly deal to give them flexibility to make some other moves and and James Harden did that to also show look I’m doing this I do you a solid you do me a solid in the summer of 2023 and myy went against that the craziest part is that Daryl Mor’s paying Jame uh Paul George essentially the same contract he said no to James Harden I’m not I don’t have any proof that James hor was asking for that much but definitely something closer to that ballpark than what he got and he pays Paul George who just got outplayed by James Harden in a playoff series on the same team so that’s the crazy part like the idea of Paul George as we know is a lot better than the actuality I defended him all year in the Harden Paul George debates because when Paul George is at his best yes I would absolutely take him over James Harden right now absolutely he’s just still more athletic he’s toer he’s a better two-way player can use him in more versatile ways but the thing is James Harden just more consistently gets the most out of his talent and that’s also why James Harden’s better than Paul George all time because James maximized his talent more Paul George leaves a lot to be desired I think Harden got the most out of his abilities the only thing I I had a problem with with Harden offensively was I think that he neglected the mid-range and the in between game for so long in his prime and that’s something I really felt could have helped him in certain playoff situations and I think this season when we talk about James Harden what he needs to do better what he needs to do more of in his increased role that’s going to be coming up as the second option of this team he needs to embrace that mid-range like he was at times throughout the season but just completely you know when it’s there he’s got to take it because at his age with his lack of speed lack of burst he’s not going to be able to just get a three and a layup or a floater every single time down the floor or an open shot for someone else he’s that mid-range is going to be there he’s got to take it and he’s got to continue to make it and the thing is he’s not bad at it he just needs to come to a Full Stop which at times can make it easy to contest but he’s got that little push off stiff arm step back down pat I just think the whole situation is hilarious because Paul George literally you can argue might not even be better than James Harden right now and he’s getting all that money and my didn’t want to pay Harden let’s see how it goes let’s see how it goes let’s see if he can live up to that price tag now granted Paul George is the third option clearcut James Harden and Tyrese Maxi they kind of they’re both guards that create so I don’t think he was Harden actually limited Maxi though Maxi got better with Harden and Maxi talks about how James Harden was a big influence to him but of course he limits his touches that’s obvious any any team that James Harden goes he’s going to limit your team’s touches in terms of stars or creators if you’re a roller though a guy that sets screens or spot up shooter you might get more touches you’re going to get more open shots with a guy like James Harden so I just think it’s really funny let’s see who has a better season this year because here’s what I’ll say about it I think as of 20145 James Harden was better than Paul George every single season up until 2021 where I’ll give Paul George The Edge because the playoffs and Harden wasn’t healthy and then 2022 I think Harden just didn’t look good that year Paul George only played 31 games and when he did he looked good so I would give him the edge then and that’s when I thought he he had surpassed him 2023 regular season I think they were both solid Harden was probably better but in the playoffs we didn’t get to see Paul George and then last year they’re on the same team and we had the debates all year but James Harden ultimately had a better postseason season so you can say that James Harden’s been better again the last two years and the Harden stands will tell you that Paul’s never been better which again I’m not a Harden stand I’m not aulan this is just my opinion but anyway this was the James Harden episode he’s back uh having him in a second option role does concern me a bit but look having James Harden on your team he gets you to the playoffs he’s made the playoffs every year when he and kawi are healthy if they’re surrounded by the right people it’s not a bad team at all on the following episodes though come com up we’re going to be talking about let’s see who do we go to next the Westbrook situation in terms of trade and whatnot you know I’ll read the comments what should be my next episode will should be a Westbrook situation or n you know what we’re going to go to Derrick Jones because Westbrook if he gets trade we can talk about that we’re going to Derrick Jones Jr next big pickup be talking about that maybe some moves around the margins maybe we’ll talk about the drafts in the last segment Brandon Boston Jr I still haven’t addressed him being off the team and the new additions elsewhere including one fan favorite you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Dime dropper pod subscribe to my own YouTube channel dime dropper for even more LA Clipper LA Sports and NBA content and locked on Clippers is free and available wherever you get your podcasts including YouTube comment on the video continue to show love hit the notification Bell so you know every single time I post a video and I mean yeah you’ve got you’ve got we’ve got you covered right here on lockdown Clippers all summer long for all things LA Clippers the 213 era is over it’s my first taste of being locked on host without Paul George and you know what I’m excited for a new chapter the age-old proverb continues it’s always go Clippers

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