The Los Angeles Clippers have had an aggressive NBA offseason thus far. James Harden’s personal sacrifice has helped them accomplish that.
So far this offseason, the team has added a couple of big-time players. Bradley Beal was signed following his contract buyout from the Phoenix Suns, while the team also improved its center position by signing Brook Lopez.
Earlier in the offseason, Harden decided to sign a two-year, $81.5 million contract. He gave the Clippers a discount in order for the team to pursue other moves.
Now, more details have come out about why Los Angeles was able to have the aggressive offseason it has had.
As shared by Farbod Esnaashari of On SI, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank opened up about Harden’s contract. He credited Harden’s will to win as the reason Los Angeles was able to bring in both Lopez and Beal.
“Without James, we cant even get Bradley Beal… All James cares about is winning. He’s willing to sacrifice part of his game, part of his contract,” Frank said.
Harden and the Clippers finished last season with a 50-32 record. They finished second in the Pacific Division behind the Los Angeles Lakers and earned the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the team’s season came to an end against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs in what was an extremely entertaining and hard-fought series.
He played in 79 games during the regular season, averaging 22.8 points per game to go along with 8.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. Harden shot 41 percent from the floor and 35.2 percent from the three-point line.
Los Angeles will now head into the 2025-26 NBA season looking like a potential championship contender. If Beal and Lopez can play key roles and both Harden and Kawhi Leonard stay healthy, the sky is the limit for the Clippers.
