07/16/2023
Did you know that James Harden passed on being the highest paid player in NBA history not once, but TWICE?
In 2020, the NBA was financially hurting from the pandemic and Daryl Morey’s China comments. The 2021 salary cap was projected to be around $115M, but the revenue dip brought it down to $109M.
So when the Rockets offered Harden a 2-year, $103M extension in 2020, Harden’s agent told him to wait until the cap returned to steady growth before signing a new contract.
Essentially, Harden gave up a guaranteed $149M from 2022 to 2025 for a chance to make $300M from 2022 to 2027. This actually made sense- the league’s finances did stabilize and the salary cap is now growing by 10% annually.
But Harden’s downfall came when he demanded trades. It cost him Houston’s $103M offer, and then he repeated the mistake in Brooklyn.
In 2021, Harden rejected a 3-year, $161M extension so he could sign a 4-year $223M extension with Brooklyn at the end of the season. That deal would've made him $60M at age 37. But then Harden demanded another trade to Philly mid-season.
In 2022, Harden took a $15M payout to help Morey sign PJ Tucker and Danuel House. Rumor says Harden and Morey had a handshake agreement to make that money back with a longterm deal in 2023. And you know the rest.
Philly got eliminated in the 2nd round again. Harden struggled again. Daryl Morey went back on the handshake, and Harden demanded his 3rd trade in 3 years. But this time, the market for Harden has cooled off.
And there’s a good chance he lost his last chance to secure one of the biggest bags in NBA history…🤯
