James Harden once again came up short in the playoffs this year, but it doesn’t sound like he will be flocking for greener pastures once again.
LA Clippers beat writer Law Murray of The Athletic appeared this week on “The Yossi Gozlan Podcast.” During the episode, Murray shared something big about Harden, who holds a player option for next season. Murray said that Harden is expected to remain with the Clippers and sign a new deal that aligns his contract with that of fellow Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
“I just expect James Harden to opt out and get a deal that lines up with Kawhi Leonard,” said Murray. “And that would make 2027 the big year to really look at [doing] something [for the Clippers].
The former MVP Harden, who turns 36 years old in August, had a statistical resurgence with the Clippers this season. Largely playing without Leonard, who was limited to 37 games due to a knee injury, Harden averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game as the Clippers’ primary offensive engine. Harden made his first All-Star team since 2022 as the Clippers went on to win 50 games during the regular season, extending Harden’s streak of never missing the playoffs in his NBA career.
But while Harden remains an excellent regular season floor-raiser, his notorious struggles in the postseason reared their ugly head again this year. Harden’s scoring average dropped to 18.7 points a game during the Clippers’ first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets, and he was at his worst in a Game 7 stinker that led to Harden getting roasted whole over social media.
Given his age and his chronic postseason shortcomings, the best business move for Harden, an L.A. native who seems plenty comfortable with the Clippers, is probably just to stay put. He holds a $36.3 million player option for next season and can turn that down to get a new contract more similar to that of Leonard, who is owed $100 million over the next two seasons. That would keep the Clippers somewhat competitive in the meantime (plus being able to improve their roster using the midlevel exception and multiple trade exceptions) before having the potential to take a drastic swing in 2027 when both Harden and Leonard come off their books.
