"The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a two-year, $70 million contract with Harden," local media ESPN reported on the 1st (Korea time). The Clippers have been qualified as free agents one after another as the core of their team's strength. Along with Harden, Paul George also used player options to declare free agents instead of $48.78 million (about 67.3 billion won) guaranteed for the 2024-2025 season. Multiple teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, also expressed interest in George. 파워볼사이트
The possibility of George leaving increased, but negotiations with Harden were easy. "The Clippers wasted no time negotiating with George, whose contract was uncertain. They focused on negotiating with Harden and concluded the contract relatively quickly," ESPN reported.
Harden left the Philadelphia Phillies through a big deal in October last year and wore the Clippers uniform. Unsealed, Harden showed off his robustness with 16.6 3-pointers, 2.6 3-pointers, 5.1 rebounds, and 8.5 assists and 1.1 steals for an average of 34.3 minutes in 72 games. The 72 games were the most played by Harden since the 2018-2019 season (78 games) when he was a member of the Houston Rockets.
After just three wins and seven losses in 10 games since the opening of the season, the Clippers have been on the rise since Harden was recruited and ranked fourth in the Western Conference with 51 wins and 31 losses. "We felt that we had a great player just five games after Harden was recruited. He had an excellent season. He continued to manage himself throughout the offseason as well," said Lawrence Frank, president of the Clippers.
Harden is from Los Angeles. After joining the Clippers, Harden expressed satisfaction with his life in Los Angeles, but recently became a hot topic of conversation due to local news reports that he wants LeBron James to recruit veterans like Harden and Clay Tamson. While attention was paid to whether LeBron James would stay with the Los Angeles Lakers and transfer to the Lakers based in the same region, Harden chose the Clippers.