Report: Rockets plan on offering James Harden another contract extension
By Nam Tran
The Houston Rockets reportedly plan on offering MVP finalist James Harden a contract extension early next season.
In the 2016-17 season, James Harden’s game improved a lot. He switched over to being the Houston Rockets’ main playmaker and he excelled at that position, even though a lot of critics thought he wouldn’t be able to. But not only did Harden get better, the Rockets got better too. In 2015-16, Houston barely made the playoffs. They slid in at the No. 8 seed with a 41-41 record. But last season, they ended the regular season with 55 wins and landed at the No. 3 seed.
Harden is important to this team, and the Rocket’s brass knows this. That’s why, according to Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle, a person with knowledge of the team’s plan said that the Rockets intend on giving Harden a contract extension at the first chance they get next season, way before he becomes a free agent in 2020 (or 2019 if he decides to decline his player option).
"The Rockets “plan to extend James Harden at the first opportunity,” the individual said. “That is the plan.”"
Harden is currently under contract with the Rockets until 2019, and holds a player option for the 2019-20 season, per an extension he signed last summer. Harden, who is a finalist for the NBA Most Valuable Player award, was named an All-NBA first-team player. Because of this, he is eligible to add another four years to his contract, worth around $168 million.
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Last season, Harden played phenomenally and heard the “MVP” chants regularly. He averaged a near triple-double with 29.1 points, 11.2 assists, and 8.1 rebounds. He led the Rockets to the playoffs and led them to the second round in the Western Conference. Though they put up a tough fight against the San Antonio Spurs, they were not able to advance to the next round. They lost to the Spurs in six games. Needless to say he’s earned that next big deal.