4 years and 212 million US dollars, the 76ers gave away a super maximum salary contract, and the last thing Harden wants to see is about to become a reality, which is really miserable!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
The NBA free agent trade market has officially opened, and the trade information of various teams in the league has come one after another: Paul was cut by the Warriors, joined the Spurs with a base salary, teamed up with Wembanyama, and in the first season of his career with all new teams, the record of a better regular season record than the previous season will most likely continue; The Magic signed Pope of the Nuggets for 3 years and 66 million; The Lakers agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract extension with Christie; Gordon joins the 76ers with a base salary; The Pistons sent their first super max salary contract this summer offseason, re-signed Cunningham for 5 years and $226 million, and continued to lead the team to the playoffs!
So far, the Clippers are one of the most active teams except for the Warriors. According to the latest report from the American media TA Shams, the Clippers and the team's point guard James Harden officially reached a two-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $70 million, of which the second year is a player option. It is reported that after the first round of the season was out, Harden's three managers began to negotiate with the Clippers management, and finally officially finalized a new contract extension after the trade day opened, and continued to team Leonard to attack the championship.
According to the data, in the 2023-24 season, after Harden broke up with the 76ers and joined the Clippers, he played a total of 72 regular season games for the team, averaging 16.6 points, 8.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 42.8/38.1/87.8%; Played in 6 playoff games, averaged 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game, and also improved all three shots, 44.9/38.3/90.6%.
Clearly, Harden's performance won over the approval of the Clippers management. However, there is also a big core, although he has been playing for the Clippers for 5 years, but he has been losing the chain because of critical moments, and he has completely lost the confidence of management this offseason, and his final departure is a foregone conclusion.
According to ESPN's Woj, the Clippers have informed forward Paul George that the team will not offer him a contract extension and decided to abandon him. Just before the deadline for the player option, George and his agent team had announced in advance that they had decided to refuse to exercise the Clippers' $48.7 million player option in the final year and officially become a free agent out of the contract.
Since neither side has any intention of renewing their contracts, the rest of the league has long been eyeing this offseason fish. According to Woj's previous report, the Warriors and Kings in the West and the 76ers and Magic in the East are all pursuing George, while the Warriors are only willing to make offers including Paul, Wiggins, Payton Jr., Looney and Moody during the negotiation process with the Clippers, while the Clippers insist on asking for Kuminga, and in the end, the two sides collapsed and the Warriors were out.
Subsequently, Shams also followed up with a report, saying that George will complete a meeting with the 76ers today, and concluded that it is only a matter of time before he finally joins the 76ers. Clippers reporter Farbod Esnaashari also confirmed the report, saying: As far as I know, George's meeting with the other team is just a walk-around formality, and he has decided to go to the Philadelphia 76ers!
The 76ers have made it clear that they are willing to give George a contract with a maximum salary, Embiid and Maxey also have a strong desire to join forces with George, and George's departure has entered the countdown! Farbod Esnaashari said. According to NBA salary expert Bobby Marks, George can sign a four-year contract with a maximum salary of $221 million with the Clippers, while he can sign a maximum salary contract of $212 million with other teams in the league.
The Clippers parted ways with George for a long time, and when the management signed Leonard to a three-year, $153 million early contract extension in the middle of the season, they did not notify George in advance, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst: "When George watched the news, he learned that Leonard had reached a contract extension with the Clippers, and he himself was completely kept in the dark, and then he knew it was time to get out of here!" ”
In the 2023-24 season, George played a total of 74 regular season games for the Clippers, averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 47.1% from the field; By the playoffs, that number had shrunk to 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals, and the shooting percentage dropped to 41.1%. In the absence of Leonard, George had the opportunity to prove that he deserved a contract with a maximum salary, but once again buried the opportunity with his own hands.
Even so, the loss of a star player by the Clippers in vain can be regarded as a disguised loss of the team's combat strength, will Harden be once again branded as a 'team demolition expert' by the outside world? is far more than that, when Harden left the 76ers, it was because he sacrificed the ball and the opportunity to pay the highest salary, but the Philadelphia management reversed course and deceived Harden not to pay the maximum salary, which led to a break between the two sides. Now, he voluntarily gave Harden the core salary contract of his next team, isn't this a disguised slap in the face of Harden?
The last thing Harden wants to see is about to become a reality, and he is really miserable!